“Teacher at Sea onboard R/V TKK” is an innovative attempt for China’s marine education. Jointly initiated by Marine Operations (XMU), Xiamen Jimei High School, and Xiamen Youth Development and Education Association, this program was officially launched in June 2020 during the KK2002 cruise.
Mr. Chen introduced a sediment corer pipe to students as scientists were conducted investigations. Photo: Zhigang Gao
Over a century ago, Mr. Tan Kah Kee, the founding father of XMU, established professional schools in Navigation and Fisheries at his hometown Jimei, holding the view of “cultivating maritime professionals for China”. Despite the pioneering contributions he had made to China’s marine education, it remained one of the major national policies in China to develop as a maritime power, which calls for the crucial role played by K-12 education.
Students from LD No. 4 Middle School were having the online lecture. Photo: Voluntary teachers from COE
By offering seagoing opportunities to participating teachers onboard the advanced platform such as R/V TKK, the program provides hands-on ocean science knowledge to K-12 students through this unique at-sea class, implementing a great transform from traditional teaching approaches on land.
Beginning in 2020, selected K-12 science teachers from all over the country will be invited to attend the “Teacher at Sea” program. They will take an expedition at sea onboard R/V TKK and offer live online courses about ocean science and technology.
On June 15, 2020, the first “Teacher at Sea” online lecture was broadcast on R/V TKK with the theme “Adventure to Explore Marine Life and Sea-bottom Sediments in the SCS”. The lecture was given by Mr. Qingjun Chen, a Geography teacher from Jimei High School. Mr. Chen took students from his school and those from Linxia Huimin Middle School in the remote northwestern inland Gansu Province, on an up-close virtual tour of R/V TKK, where they were able to immerse themselves in the approaches and fascination of ocean science field investigations and interactively communicate with each other online. Well supported by scientists of the NSFC Open Research Cruise in the SCS (NORC2020-06), the 45-minute lecture and its series of related media coverage attracted nearly five million online viewers.
On June 17, the news “Online Lectures Launched onboard R/V TKK” was broadcast by CCTV. It also reported that students and teachers were able to virtually explore this world-class research ship and reaped the benefits of the platform.
