Killer whale conversations and conservation

Suitable for 14 to 19-year-olds (secondary and high schools, and college), this article and accompanying activity sheet can be used in the classroom or shared with students online.

This resource links to KS4 and KS5 mathematics and science.

It can also be used as a careers resource and links to Gatsby Benchmarks:
Gatsby Benchmark 2: Learning from career and labour market information
Gatsby Benchmark 4: Linking curriculum learning to careers

• This teaching resource explains the work of Dr Ruth Joy and Dr Kaitlin Palmer who are part of the HALLO project, researching how the specific sounds killer whales make to communicate can be used to track them as they move through the sea. By using deep learning AI techniques to identify which whales are making which sounds, they aim to alert nearby ships when certain endangered whale populations are nearby.
• The activity sheet provides ‘talking points’ (based on Bloom’s Taxonomy) to prompt students to reflect on Ruth and Kaitlin’s research, and tasks them to listen to orca calls and conduct a deep learning experiment.

This resource was first published on Futurum Careers, a free online resource and magazine aimed at encouraging 14-19-year-olds worldwide to pursue careers in science, tech, engineering, maths, medicine (STEM) and social sciences, humanities and the arts for people and the economy (SHAPE).

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