Project Assistant：CHEN,KE-LEI

        To urge local governments to demonstrate their marine education efforts and achievements and encourage mutual communication, exchange, and learning among different administrative areas, the K-12 Education Administration, Ministry of Education, appointed the Taiwan Marine Education Center to conduct the 109 Academic Year Evaluation of the Marine Education Promotion of Municipalities and Counties (Cities).

        The evaluation was based on three items, namely an online platform, written results, and demonstration of their promotion and teaching achievements. The online platform and written test items were rated by five and four reviewers, respectively. The evaluation was completed between August 2 and 12, 2021. The demonstration of teaching achievements was to be conducted in person but was hosted online instead as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak this year. However, municipalities and counties remained enthusiastic. During the 2021 National Marine Education Achievement Demonstration and In-Service Teacher Education Online Meeting on August 19, the participating municipalities and counties displayed their achievement using slideshows. Five reviewers were invited for interview to rate these presentations.

　　On August 30, the final evaluation meeting was convened online. After the ratings of the reviewers were standardized, five Distinction Awards, five Excellence Awards, and two Honorable Mention Awards were issued. The administrative units that won the Distinction Awards were Tainan City, New Taipei City, Penghu County, Keelung City, and Kaohsiung City, and those that won Excellence Awards were Yilan County, Pingtung County, Hsinchu City, Taipei City, and Yunlin County. Honorable Mention Awards were granted to Taoyuan City and Lienchiang County.

　　The reviewers mentioned that although some events were cancelled or modified because of the pandemic during this academic year, the effectiveness of marine education promotion implemented by the administration units was still observable. In the following years, the effect of the pandemic may continue. Schools are thus encouraged to improve their response measures under the pandemic, enabling teachers to conduct their teaching with more convenient tools and capabilities. Owing to a sufficient workforce and effective operation, some schools in many of the administration areas have begun to implement marine education integrated into regional concepts and different topics. Schools have set their own learning focus and created learning plans with their own distinct characteristics; however, they also cooperate and share resources and teaching materials with each other, enhancing and supporting exceptional promotion strategies.