Both teams found the “ artifact ” and held it in their viewing screen long enough to be checked by a teacher . One team achieved this feat after 27 minutes of searching , the other after 27 minutes and 30 seconds .
The opportunity is unheard of ; ROV teams and competitions exist elsewhere , but they are not part of the curriculum and are not offered to every student . ROV competitions do not happen in a kelp forest ; competitions are held in swimming pools and are divorced from the real challenges facing ocean researchers . MMS teachers who developed this program include Dr . Nicole Tervalon , Ph . D ., who holds a physical oceanography degree from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Massachusetts Institute of Technology , two mechanical engineers and two experienced marine biology teachers .
The traditional canon of science that students study in a college preparatory school includes biology , chemistry and physics . This gives students a solid foundation in the fundamentals , but it can be less than inspiring . For one thing , it ’ s very rare to find an opportunity for creativity and creative flow within the traditional delivery of those fundamentals . Students in MMS ’ s ROV program can experience the thrill of real creative problem solving . In this and other activities during the week on Catalina , students also experience science in the way that professional researchers experience it . Science has the chance to leap off the textbook page and into students ’ hands .
Lisa Catterall teaches TEA ( technology , engineering and art ) and science at Mount Madonna School and is a senior associate of the Centers for Research on Creativity . She lectures and trains teachers and administrators on innovation in education in Beijing , China . Lisa has five children and lives in Santa Cruz County .
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