Aldine ISD High School Educator and Student’s STEM Adventure Takes Them to the Bahamas

The Chevron-JASON Learning initiative made the summer expedition to Cape Eleuthera Island possible.

Teacher Sean Doyle (third from right) and student Keilah South (far right) pose with fellow National JASON Argonauts and program coordinator Jude Kesl (far left).

Student Keilah South and educator Sean Doyle had an adventure of a lifetime. They along with a select group of JASON Learning Argonauts from Idaho and Virginia traveled to the Bahamas where they spent a week at the Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) and surrounding area.

Argos Make Real-world Connections to the STEM Topics Learned in the Classroom

The Argos took part in hands-on research with resident and visiting scientists. Researchers at the institute engaged students in diverse projects. These ranged from marine environments to sustainable systems.

During the 12-hour days, Argos experienced outdoor excursions. They also took part in interactive educational lessons out in the field where they immersed themselves in marine ecology, conservation, and ‘green’ energy.

The Argos explored Cape Eleuthera Island’s scenic bodies of water and observed the coral reef ecology. They learned about sustainability, aquaponics farming systems and other ecosystems.

The Argos took part in green sea turtle research as well as got to collect seagrass to study epiphytes at the CEI lab. The group also collected some of the hydrophones that had been put out in November to collect data on bull sharks. They had to find them, then duck dive down with screwdrivers, clippers and more to release the hydrophones from their anchors.

The team also visited other parts of the island. The Argos visited a cave created by water dissolving limestone, which now has bats, a beach, the Banyan tree and Ocean Hole.

Aldine ISD has had a team take part in the National Argonauts program since 2013 (click on the links at end of the story to view images).

Each year, JASON Learning selects students and teachers across the country. Selection is a competitive application process.

2018 USA Expeditions

[ul class=”list list-search”] [li]Joshua Tree National Park: Desert Ecology (Mar. 10-16, 2018)[/li] [li]Catalina Island: Marine Ecology (Sept. 21-27). [/li][/ul]

2018 International Expeditions

[ul class=”list list-search”] [li]Cape Eleuthera Island, Bahamas: Sea Turtles (June 25-July 2, 2018)[/li] [li]Andorran Pyrenees: Effect of Climate & Land Use Changes on the Biodiversity in Mountainous Habitat (Aug. 4-10, 2018) [/li][/ul][ul class=”list list-search”] [li]Peru: Amazon Rainforest (Oct. 13021, 2018)[/li][/ul]

An Educational Partnership With an Eye Toward the Future

The JASON Argonauts program is part of a collaborative public-private partnership underwritten by Chevron, which has made a financial commitment to STEM education. The acronym stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Chevron-JASON Learning partnership began when the energy corporation selected Aldine ISD in 2012 to take part in the award-winning program. JASON Learning engages and motivates students while they learn. The goal is to inspire and motivate students to pursue careers in STEM.

Argos Are Role Models & Mentors

The Argonauts program is a great opportunity for students and teachers. They become the eyes and ears for their peers back home, experiencing firsthand what it’s like to pursue a STEM career, sharing that knowledge when they return to their local communities, and making critical real-world connections to the STEM topics they’ve learned about in the JASON classroom curricula.

Keilah is a senior this year at Carver High School for Engineering, Applied Technology and the Arts. Doyle is an aquatic science teacher at MacArthur High School.

Do You Want to Apply?

Visit the JASON Learning Argonaut webpages (click here) for criteria to qualify. JASON Learning accepts Argonaut applications on a rolling basis throughout the year. Applications submitted by March 15th are guaranteed to be considered for summer and fall expeditions in that calendar year.

Thank you Chevron and JASON Learning for giving students this wonderful opportunity!

Diego Garza (front and center) in the field with other Argos and researchers in Manitoba, Canada.

JASON’s Student and Teacher Argonauts — named after the band of explorers in Greek mythology who accompanied Jason in his quest to find the Golden Fleece — travel to research locations around the world to work side-by-side with scientists and engineers, many of whom they’ve come to know through JASON’s curricula.

AISD unveiled the curriculum in 2012-2013, which was the result of more than a $250,000 grant from Chevron.

Read about the AISD 2013 JASON Argos (click).
Read about the AISD 2015 JASON Argos (click).
Read about the AISD 2016 JASON Argos (click).
Read about the AISD 2017 JASON Argos (click).
Read about the AISD 2018 JASON Argos (click).

See images from the 2018 expedition to Cape Eleuthera Island, Bahamas.