Launched Corals in the Classroom professional development workshops to introduce middle and high school teachers to our Coral Reef Ecology Curriculum.

The Foundation’s Corals in the Classroom workshops introduce teachers to our Coral Reef Ecology Curriculum and helps build their understanding of coral reef ecosystems. Designed for middle and high school teachers as well as informal educators, this credited, two-day professional development workshop aims to increase ocean literacy while providing teachers with greater confidence teaching about coral reefs. Teachers that are more confident in teaching about coral reefs are more likely to include this information in classroom instruction. 

During the workshop, teachers are introduced to a set of classroom-ready activities from the Foundation’s Coral Reef Ecology Curriculum. The activities include a wide variety of educational materials including custom-built interactive exercises, lesson plans, educational videos, and quizzes, all aligned to the latest education standards (Next Generation Science Standards, Common Core State Standards, and Ocean Literacy Principles). Participants learn how coral reefs can be used to teach about everyday topics, such as classification, mitosis, and symbiosis. They also learn how to connect this information to other subject areas such as Math and English.

Corals in the Classroom is credited by the Maryland Department of Education (MSDE). Maryland teachers that attend the workshop are eligible to receive one MSDE Professional Development Credit.

If you can’t make it to one of the Foundation’s live Corals in the Classroom workshops, we have recorded a 30-minute professional development training that will walk teachers through everything they need to know to get started using the Coral Reef Ecology Curriculum in their classroom.