Teaching High Schoolers About Ocean Currents and Heat Capacity

Ted Taylor
Ted Taylor
High School Educator
Bangor High School

Ted Taylor teaches Earth Science, Chemistry and Environmental Studies at Bangor High School in Bangor, Maine. He is a Professional Maine Geologist and holds a B.A. degree from Colby College and an M.S. degree from Lehigh University, both in Geology, and a Maine Teaching Certificate with a Physical Science endorsement. He focuses on teaching the scientific process through inquiry and real-world applications.

Webinar Clip
Ted Taylor walks through a concept map aimed at presenting ways he has incorporated ocean science topics into his classroom. Using a combination of laboratory exercises and hands-on activities, Mr. Taylor is able to explain the connections between sea surface temperature with surface currents, density currents, and ocean circulation.

Full webinar: How Do We Teach Ocean Concepts in the High School Earth Science Classroom?

Click here for a transcript of this clip (PDF, 53.0 KB).

Resources
Applicable Science Standards
  • Developing and Using Models Developing and Using Models. A practice of both science and engineering is to use and construct models as helpful tools for representing ideas and explanations. These tools include diagrams, drawings, physical replicas, mathematical representations, analogies, and computer simulations.
  • Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions. The goal of science is the construction of theories that provide explanatory accounts of the world. A theory becomes accepted when it has multiple lines of empirical evidence and greater explanatory power of phenomena than previous theories.