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Teresa Greely and Makenzie Kerr
Faculty Coordinator Education & Outreach
Biological Oceanographer & Science Educator
Ph.D.,University of South Florida, 2008
Office Phone: 727.553.3921
Email: greely@usf.edu
CV: View PDF
Areas of Interests
Dr. Greely provides expertise in the areas of biological oceanography, ecological
physiology, marine fishes, and ocean science education. She has broad research interests
which encompass teaching and training about the ocean sciences in three areas: graduate
and undergraduate education, teacher education, and ocean literacy amongst youth.
She currently coordinates four education programs: The Oceanography Camp Especially for Girls (OCG), the In-service Teacher Oceanography Workshops (In-TOW), the National Ocean Science Bowl’s regional Spoonbill Bowl competition, and the Teaching and Communication Ocean Sciences Graduate Certificate Program.
In addition to teaching natural sciences and science education courses, Dr. Greely,
also developed a series of graduate courses focused on teaching and communicating
ocean sciences. Programs and courses are designed to teach science parallel to the
way science is practiced in a research setting: courses are inquiry based, experiential,
and learner guided.
Dr. Greely’s current research encompasses Ocean Literacy and reasoning about ocean
issues by determining the influence of content, experience, and morality. The objective
is to determine what youth around the world know about the ocean, what their attitudes
are about ocean stewardship, and what they think about ocean issues.
Ecology and physiology of oceanic and estuarine fishes, age and growth, graduate and
undergraduate teaching, teacher education, ocean literacy, and communicating science.
Makenzie Kerr | USF College of Marine Science
Lab Manager & Outreach Coordinator
M.Sc., University of South Florida College of Marine Science, 2019
Office Phone: 727-553-3357
Email: burrowsm@usf.edu
CV: View CV
View Website
Research: DNA Barcoding, Fish Eggs, Molecular Biology
Specialties: Science Communication, Outreach, Education
Makenzie Kerr is a Program Manager at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science. She has a dual role managing Education and Outreach (E&O) programs for the college and Dr. Mya Breitbart's genomics lab. Makenzie received her bachelor's in biology from USF St. Petersburg and master's in biological oceanography from USF College of Marine Science. Her favorite part of her job is being able to experience all sides of marine science. She participates in everything from field work to lab work, and everything in between.
Education and Outreach Program Coordinator Role:
Makenzie coordinates the college's education and outreach (E&O) programs with Dr. Teresa Greely. Offerings include coastal field experiences, teacher trainings, the Oceanography
Camp especially for Girls, NOSB Spoonbill Bowl, Science Fest, and more.
Lab Manager Role:
Makenzie doesn’t have her own research projects, but can often be found ordering supplies,
making web edits, and fixing equipment in the lab. She spearheads the lab outreach
efforts, creating new activities related to current research projects.
OCEAN LITERACY RESEARCH
Ocean literacy is an international issue necessary to sustain environmental, economic
and human health. Ocean issues with conceptual ties to science and society have captured
the attention, imagination and concern of international audiences: Global climate
change, over fishing, pollution, freshwater shortages, energy and commerce. We look
increasingly to the ocean for our everyday needs and sustainability.
However, a broad disconnect exists between what scientists know and the public understands
about the ocean. Thus, there is a critical global need to advance ocean literacy.
This book provides new metrics for ocean literacy and introduces ocean socioscientific
issues (OSSI) and stewardship as essential components.
Three questions are analyzed: What teens understand about the ocean, how they feel
about ocean stewardship, and how understanding and feelings are organized when reasoning
about ocean socioscientific issues. The analysis should help shed light on current
US ocean literacy constructs to go beyond cognitive understanding and include engaging
learners in how to apply what they know through actions as citizens, stewards and
consumers.
Reference:
Greely, Teresa, “Ocean literacy and reasoning about ocean issues: The influence of content, experience
and morality” (2008). Theses and Dissertations. Paper 271.
Greely, T. M. and Lodge, A. “Measuring Ocean Literacy: What teens understand about the ocean using the Survey of
Ocean Literacy and Egament (SOLE)” American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #ED32A-08.
Greely, Teresa (2010) “Ocean Literacy and Reasoning about Ocean Issues” Lambert Academic
Publishing ISBN 978-3-8383-4638-0, paperback, 240 Pages
Greely T., Lodge A., Betzer P., Pyrtle A., and Ivey S. “Broadening the Impacts of
Graduate Education and Training: Contributions to Ocean Literacy & Communications
Across Disciplines“
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