This five-day intensive course is aimed at students and graduates in Marine Sciences interested in marine education as a professional field and as a strategic tool to promote ocean knowledge and conservation. Its objective is to offer a solid conceptual and practical introduction that allows participants to understand this area and its importance within marine sciences, begin working in it with clear methodological foundations, and envision possible professional development pathways.

The course integrates theoretical frameworks and practical application to foster critical thinking in the design, implementation, and evaluation of marine education initiatives. Through participatory activities, the foundations of Ocean Literacy, the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be addressed, analyzing how these international agendas position education as a key axis for socio-environmental transformation.

Special emphasis will be placed on learning and understanding the pedagogical methodologies that support educational activities, including experiential learning, inquiry-based approaches, consideration of the educational context, and the use of evidence for decision-making. Participants will critically analyze how these elements influence the coherence, scope, and impact of educational proposals.

The program combines practical sessions of participatory activities with the analysis of methodologies, programs, and marine education tools developed in Spain and in international contexts. It will also include an introduction to research in the field of ocean literacy, as well as a critical review of science communication resources and educational materials in different formats.

As a central component of the training process, participating students will design an educational activity in groups based on the shared methodologies, which will be subjected to structured peer feedback. Subsequently, one of the activities will be selected for implementation with a pilot group of students at the end of the course. Both exercises will allow participants to integrate the content covered and reflect on the coherence between objectives, methodology, and evaluation.

Overall, the course seeks to promote training in and application of educational methodologies related to Ocean Literacy, as well as to foster motivation among students in this interdisciplinary field, equipping them both to design educational activities and to analyze them in order to generate educational and social impact.

• Critically evaluate marine education activities and programs developed in Spain and in other international contexts.
• Recognize the methodological and pedagogical assumptions underlying different educational tools.
• Analyze the limitations and potential of different strategies for evaluating educational impact.

• Design a marine education activity consistent with an explicit theoretical framework.
• Propose basic indicators to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention.

Professional Development

• Become familiar with networks, institutional programs, and professional opportunities in the field of marine education.