THE CLASSROOM CONNECTION PROGRAM: BRINGING DEEP SEA RESEARCH TO STUDENTS OF ALL LEARNING LEVELS.

SHIP-TO-CLASSROOM INTERACTIONS ARE INCREASINGLY COMMON ON SCIENTIFIC research cruises, as are other informal marine education outreach programs. However, very rarely (if at all) are the materials developed by these interactions and programs accessible to students with learning disabilities. These students often find the material "cool" and intriguing but are not able to do the activities or read the material posted for a number of reasons: their reading level is too low, their attention span is not long enough to read paragraphs of information, and/or they do not understand the concept being communicated. Building off of lessons learned in an earlier ship-toclassroom education program (Orcutt et al. 2011), we launched the Classroom Connection (CC) program to include students with all learning levels in education outreach efforts by creating accessible reading materials and modified hands-on, student-led activities. The CC program targeted elementary and middle school children with learning disabilities but it was open to students of alI ages and academic levels. Here, we present an overview of the CC program operated during two ocean research expeditions, highlighting steps taken to make material accessible to all classrooms. In particular, we address the importance of "accessible" lesson plans, measurable evaluation, and advance promotion of the program. It is our hope that the CC program becomes a widely used template for marine outreach and education as it is inclusive of all students regardless of their learning level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]