Our approach

Ripple Effect works with partners to define water literacy as an educational framework for coastal environments, and to enact that vision through curriculum and teacher training.

We rely on three strategies to guide this work.

  • Through hands-on workshops, Ripple Effect builds teacher content knowledge of underlying scientific and social concepts behind water literacy issues.
  • We provide teachers with research-based, scientifically accurate curricula about real places impacted by climate-related water challenges.
  • Culturally relevant curricula mean students can connect issues to their own experiences and build new perspectives on how these issues play out globally.
  • Teacher training includes field-based experiences in the ecosystems, as well as inquiry into the same phenomena developed for students.
  • Socio-ecological Curriculum

    Our inquiry-based curriculum integrates the scientific and social system of water in a particular region and investigates those systems through a multitude of personal and professional perspectives.

     

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  • Partnerships with Research Organizations

    We develop strategic partnerships with science, education and humanities-based research organizations with expertise and resources that inform the vision, content, or classroom practice of water literacy education.

     

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  • Data-Driven Teaching Tools

    We create, and continually improve, water literacy curriculum and teacher-training products using data from scholarly research, real classrooms, and biological field stations.

     

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How we develop curriculum

We partner with K-12 teachers, water experts, and storytellers to bring real-world water issues to life through inquiry-based, teacher-approved science curriculum.

  • Teachers

    Co-develop and field-test new curricular units with Ripple Effect and provide in-classroom models for inquiry-based pedagogy, to help new teachers visualize the curriculum in-action.

  • Scientists & Practitioners

    Ensure that the science and engineering concepts behind current water issues are properly framed and grounded in the most current research and practice.

  • Storytellers

    Designers, filmmakers, journalists, and community members help produce story-driven anchoring phenomena that reflect the lived experiences of real communities in coastal environments.