During a project week, the eighth-grade pupils at the Friedrich-Albert-Lange-Schule, a sports-focused secondary school in Solingen, specifically requested the topic of "sharks". And sharks they received, because: "We do sharks!"
Over two days, ElasmOcean speakers visited the class, initially providing a crash course in marine ecology and – closer to the Rhineland – the North and Baltic Seas. It is important to us (despite our dedication to our charge, the shark) to convey that the sea on Germany's doorstep also faces severe problems caused by Homo sapiens, and that direct action can be taken here as well.
Naturally, the shark was then introduced as an apex predator and keystone species in the ocean, alongside discussions on evolution, global fisheries, and conservation concepts. The second day focused on human fear of sharks, fish anatomy, and shark behaviour.
Finally, this acquired knowledge was applied to analyse real-world shark incidents. AI-generated media and fake news regarding shark incidents were independently addressed by the pupils: How do you identify an AI-generated newspaper report? What is incorrect about it? Notably, because the media contains almost exclusively sensationalist headlines about shark incidents, AI reports trained on this data also turned out highly unusual – yet easily recognisable. The original report by a scientist well-known to us versus fake news. The pupils were highly engaged.
Conclusion of the pupils: They had never realised that everything is so closely interconnected, that our daily actions have such consequences, that fish, turtles, and dolphins suffer terribly in nets – and that every single individual can make a difference!
