Project Assistant：KUO,CHIA-YU

　　This year, the Taiwan Marine Education Center launched the Marine Career Teacher Training Program, which made use of the physical sites and educational resources of multiple cities and counties. For example, the aquaculture industry of Changhua County and the marine scientific research and management industry of New Taipei City were selected as its themes for two-stage (i.e., “online knowledge and skill expansion” and “physical visits”) teacher training.

　　The aquaculture industry can provide the animal proteins required by humans, and it is the fastest-growing food industry in the world. Compared with the animal husbandry businesses, aquaculture businesses generally require less resources to operate and boast greater development potential. During the aquaculture industry–themed “online knowledge and skill expansion” component of the training program,” lecturers discussed the diverse dimensions of the aquaculture industry by exploring various aspects of aquafarming. They also shed light on the aquaculture potential and development trends of Taiwan by comparing it with other countries in terms of aquafarming methods and strengths. For the “physical visits” component of the training program, the participants in the program visited two sites in Changhua County, namely an aquaculture farm in Lukang Township and the Changhua Marine Food Research Base in Fangyuan Township. Through the knowledge and experiences shared by aquafarming professionals and lecturers, the program participants learned about Changhua’s freshwater aquaculture species (e.g., eels and giant river prawns) and seawater aquaculture species (e.g., true oysters and Asian hard clam).

　　The oceans are rich in various resources including marine-energy, mineral, and biological resources, all of which are essential for human survival. To effectively and sustainably develop and use ocean resources, we must perform marine science–related research to acquire diverse knowledge about marine environments. For the management industry–themed “online knowledge and skill expansion” component of the training program, lecturers explained how marine observations and surveys can be conducted to achieve the goal of “predictable oceans” and to identify promising marine research directions, guiding the program participants to reflect on the importance of marine research to Taiwan. Furthermore, this training focused on introducing teaching packages designed to teach elementary school students about corals, providing the program participants with relevant teaching materials for educating students about corals and increasing their marine protection awareness. For the “physical visit” component of the training, the participants visited the Ocean Service Station (Fulong Branch), Marine Resource Restoration Center, and Center for Aquatic Organisms and Conservation (located at National Taiwan Ocean University) in Gongliao District, New Taipei City, to learn about the teaching resources used in these venues. Additionally, various experts, scholars, lecturers, and program participants shared their experiences and their motivations for entering the fields of marine scientific research, marine life conservation, biological resource surveying, and marine biological research.

　　Through various training activities, the program participants developed an understanding of the marine industry and marine career–related teaching materials and venues, thereby increasing their willingness to introduce the marine industry to students, incentivizing them to design teaching activities for educating students about the marine industry, and increasing the number of teachers promoting marine education.