Building Stronger Geoscience and Environmental Science Departments and Programs

For Workshop Leaders »

Workshop Description

This theme of the Traveling Workshops Program brings the knowledge gained from the Building Strong Geoscience Departments project, InTeGrate, and other NAGT-sponsored efforts onto your campus to support conversation and planning by your department as a whole. These workshops offer a menu of interactive sessions fully supported with online resources. All sessions feature presentations, discussions, and action planning.

As a part of the process for hosting a workshop, you identify the length of the event (from one to two days) and choose from the topics we offer those that are of highest interest to your group. We recommend the workshop be used at a retreat or other departmental planning event, with the expectation that the full department will participate. Prior to the workshop, your department will provide us with information about your department and its programs. We will choose a team of two facilitators who will develop a program (see some example programs) from the topics you've identified and will come to your campus to lead the workshop.

These workshops offer several unique opportunities.

• They focus on the specific context of your department.
• They engage the entire department, rather than one or two individuals, in deep, structured discussion and action planning.
• They use a visioning and planning process to build a program and curriculum that supports success for all students.
• They use a Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats (SWOT) approach to focus development of action plans for achieving your objectives
• They provide an external framework and support for a department that is committed to making changes.
• The two-person team approach provides two outside perspectives.

See some example programs »

Topics and Sessions

All workshops include three Core Sessions that form the foundation of the agenda:

• Envisioning your Program
• Program Design
• Action Planning & Departmental Management

You can expand your workshop agenda by adding optional Elective Sessions. Each Elective Session adds roughly half a day to the length of your workshop.

• Increasing the Diversity of your Majors
• Preparing Students for Careers From Day One
• Embedding Sustainability in your Program
• Building a Thriving and Valued Department
• Pedagogies of Engagement
• Course Design
• Program Assessment