An engaging, interdisciplinary program for K-12 teachers and students

  The JASON Project is a multidisciplinary, standards-aligned program designed to either be integrated into the science curriculum, or used to augment existing curricula for grades 4-9. It is easily adapted to lower and higher grade levels. The project was created by the JASON Foundation, and is “dedicated to inspiring in students a lifelong passion to pursue learning in science, math, and technology through exploration and discovery.”

Students from across the United States participate in a yearlong unit studying the marine biology, culture, and ecology of a particular coastal region. The inquiry-based unit focuses on nature’s dynamic systems, how those systems affect life, and the technologies used to study those systems. The unit culminates in a series of distance learning broadcasts via satellite with some asynchronous interaction with the team of scientists and student Argonauts, who accompany the scientists on their two-week study mission.

Past expeditions have taken students to the Iceland, the Peruvian rainforest, the Galapagos Island, and more over its 13-year history. In January and February of 2003, students examined the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, in JASON XIV: From Shore to Sea. The team of scientists, students, and their teachers studied topics including the physical geography, history of maritime culture, ecosystems, and culture of the Channel Islands region.

JASON XV: Rainforests at the Crossroads will begin in fall 2003. The research team will look at the tropical rainforest ecosystems, management and monitoring of natural resources, geology, and the human history of the Isthmus of Panama. Preparation workshops and training are being conducted by the Indiana Web Academy, and begin in July 2003.

Five of the JASON XIV broadcasts are available as streaming Windows Media, as well as indexed, searchable resources via the IHETS Virage streaming video server.