Workshops

The morning workshop program is open for registration. Workshop size is limited based on room capacity, and space is reserved on a first come, first serve basis. All workshops will take place on Zoom, unless otherwise noted. Links will be provided prior to the workshop start.

Jump to: Monday-Wednesday | Thursday-Friday

Monday-Wednesday

Preparing for an Academic Career

Conveners: Gary Weissmann, University of New Mexico-Main Campus, Sue Ebanks, Savannah State University, Lisa Gilbert, Williams College, Lynsey LeMay, Thomas Nelson Community College, Catherine Riihimaki, Princeton University

WORKSHOP


Monday, July 12 - Wednesday, July 14 | 8:00-11:00am PT / 9:00am-12:00pm MT / 10:00am-1:00pm CT / 11:00am-2:00pm ET

This workshop is designed specifically for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and others who are interested in pursuing academic careers in the geosciences. Workshop leaders from a variety of institution types and career paths will provide guidance and information that will help participants to be stronger candidates for academic positions and to succeed in academic jobs. Each participant will develop or revise a plan for the next stage in their career and will cultivate ideas that they can immediately implement. In addition to ideas, our goal is build a community of support that will thrive beyond current challenges of COVID-19. This will be accomplished, in part, through breakout sessions and periods of informal Q & A with co-conveners, alumni of the workshop, and fellow participants. Participants will have the option to engage in post-Rendezvous small groups to revise application materials (schedule TBD). Additional professional development is available through workshops, roundtable discussions, panels, and plenary sessions that are part of the Earth Educators' Rendezvous.

Vision and Change in the Geosciences: Preparing for the Future of Geoscience Education

Conveners: Sharon Mosher, The University of Texas at Austin, Jeff Ryan, University of South Florida, Christopher Keane, American Geosciences Institute

WORKSHOP


Monday, July 12 - Wednesday, July 14 | 8:00-11:00am PT / 9:00am-12:00pm MT / 10:00am-1:00pm CT / 11:00am-2:00pm ET

The goal of the workshop is to help foster change in undergraduate and graduate geoscience programs to better prepare geoscience students for the future. This workshop will focus on the recently published Vision and Change document, resulting from a 6-year NSF-sponsored initiative, that outlines an academic and employer community vision for the future of undergraduate education and provides key strategies and recommendations for transformative change. We will integrate results from an additional study of skills and competencies needed by graduate students in Earth, Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences for student success in the workforce. This workshop will provide a forum for participants to discuss with colleagues from other institutions the changes needed in their own department and ways to successfully implement them.

From the Emerald Isle to the Red Planet: How to make your virtual field trip out of this world

Conveners: Shelley Whitmeyer, James Madison University, Steve Whitmeyer, James Madison University, Eric Pyle, James Madison University

WORKSHOP


Monday, July 12 - Wednesday, July 14 | 8:00-11:00am PT / 9:00am-12:00pm MT / 10:00am-1:00pm CT / 11:00am-2:00pm ET

Many high-impact, field-focused geoscience learning experiences have gone virtual to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. Transforming field experiences to a virtual format has challenged us to reevaluate the associated learning objectives, implement new technologies, and develop innovative approaches to meeting those objectives. This hands-on workshop will provide participants with opportunities to:

  • discuss learning goals suitable for virtual field experiences;
  • learn about a variety of technologies available for creating virtual field trips; and
  • begin designing and developing their own virtual trip.

The leaders will present and demonstrate the capabilities of web-based Google Earth, ArcGIS Pro, JMars, and Google Poly. Participants should bring their own laptops with downloads of requisite software.

Developing Strategies for Inclusive Teaching Practices

Conveners: Blair Schneider, University of Kansas Main Campus, Ángel A. Garcia Jr., James Madison University, Amy Weislogel, West Virginia University, Yadira Ibarra, San Francisco State University

WORKSHOP


Monday, July 12 - Wednesday, July 14 | 8:00-11:00am PT / 9:00am-12:00pm MT / 10:00am-1:00pm CT / 11:00am-2:00pm ET

During this 3-day workshop, participants will learn to solicit diverse viewpoints and amplify voices of all students, to decolonize instruction and identify the influence of race and perspective, and work collaboratively to diversify course syllabi and classroom instruction.

Preparing for Student Creation of Virtual Contexts for Exploring Geoscience Environments

Conveners: Aida Awad, AIU, Hemalatha Bhaskaran, James M Bennett High School, Mark Carpenter, American Geosciences Institute, Ed Robeck, American Geosciences Institute, Steven Semken, Arizona State University at the Tempe Campus

WORKSHOP


Monday, July 12 - Wednesday, July 14 | 8:00-11:00am PT / 9:00am-12:00pm MT / 10:00am-1:00pm CT / 11:00am-2:00pm ET

The importance of field experiences in geoscience education cannot be overstated. While a virtual field trip cannot substitute for the physical experience of being in a place, exploring sites of geoscientific and environmental interest through concise but rich virtual contexts (VCs) can support field trips in several ways—especially when the VCs are grounded in the principles of place-based education. A virtual context is a virtual space in which students are actively engaged in planning and making decisions about generating a product for a specific purpose. This workshop will familiarize participants with a framework and several practices developed to guide learners in the creation of VCs for environmental and geoscience explorations that interweave natural and cultural elements of the place under study for increased relevance and interest to students. We will integrate theories of place-based learning and of learning from media to build VCs, moving from the identification of curriculum-relevant themes through the identification of media, including data, storyboarding and construction. Strategies for using Google Earth Projects and ArcGIS StoryMaps as platforms will be discussed and implemented. Participants will create a VC as part of the workshop.

Writing Retreat

Convener: Peggy McNeal, Towson University

RETREAT


Monday, July 12 - Wednesday, July 14 | 8:00-11:00am PT / 9:00am-12:00pm MT / 10:00am-1:00pm CT / 11:00am-2:00pm ET

The design of this retreat uses Lave and Wenger's (1991) community of practice theory to create a structured retreat for sustained writing. Participants will engage in dedicated writing time with the purpose of progressing with writing projects in a supportive and collegial environment. The writing retreat will provide participants with a distraction free setting to write and the opportunity to speak to and seek feedback from other writers. Participants should arrive with a writing project in mind and a strong desire to significantly move the project forward within the time allotted by the retreat.

Thursday-Friday

Student Mental Health and Well-Being

Conveners: Carmen McCallum, Eastern Michigan University, Venice Sule, Oakland University

WORKSHOP


Thursday, July 15 - Friday, July 16 | 8:00-11:00am PT / 9:00am-12:00pm MT / 10:00am-1:00pm CT / 11:00am-2:00pm ET

This interactive workshop is designed to equip participants to better understand and support students around mental health concerns. Participants will practice their active living skills as well as learn how to recognize, support and refer students with mental health needs. By supporting student mental health and well-being, faculty and researchers can facilitate higher student retention and persistence to graduation as well as impact students' overall ability to successfully pursue their academic, personal and career goals.

Engaging your students with visual representations: Why, What, and How

Conveners: Nicole LaDue, Northern Illinois University, Tim Shipley, Temple University

WORKSHOP


Thursday, July 15 - Friday, July 16 | 8:00-11:00am PT / 9:00am-12:00pm MT / 10:00am-1:00pm CT / 11:00am-2:00pm ET

Visual-spatial reasoning is important for understanding many of the structures and processes in the geosciences. To make learning more efficient, instructors must engage students using strategies that facilitate their spatial reasoning. This workshop will present evidence from the science of learning about spatial reasoning and using visuals, demonstrate tools for engaging students with visuals in an in-person and online learning environment, suggest strategies for structuring student engagement with visual spatial concepts, and engage participants in developing an activity to promote visual spatial reasoning in their classroom. Activities produced by participants of this workshop will be included in a Pedagogy in Action page for the GeoClick project (NSF #1835950).

Storytelling for Change in the Geosciences

Conveners: Adam Papendieck, The University of Texas at Austin, Julia Clarke, The University of Texas at Austin, Kathy Ellins, The University of Texas at Austin

WORKSHOP


Thursday, July 15 - Friday, July 16 | 8:00-11:00am PT / 9:00am-12:00pm MT / 10:00am-1:00pm CT / 11:00am-2:00pm ET

This workshop is based on the HHMI-funded Geoscience Ambassadors program at UT Austin. The aim of the workshop is to share ways of embedding personal storytelling in courses and programs to develop a high context and inclusive environment for science. Participants will leave with an understanding of how storytelling can be used to promote change in the field, as well as some practical tools and plans they can use for action.

Geoscience Education Research: Statistics in Geosciences

Conveners: Charles Czajka, Utah Valley State College, Joshua Premo, Utah Valley State College

WORKSHOP


Thursday, July 15 - Friday, July 16 | 8:00-11:00am PT / 9:00am-12:00pm MT / 10:00am-1:00pm CT / 11:00am-2:00pm ET

The goal of this workshop is to develop participants' conceptual understanding of basic quantitative theory/educational statistics and apply this understanding to the meaning and potential impact of quantitative work in the Geosciences. No background in statistics is assumed in the workshop and all individuals seeking to develop foundational quantitative skills are welcome! Participants will leave the workshop with an understanding of the benefits and limitations of quantitative approaches, how to apply basic statistical tests to their research, and tips for assessing the quality of quantitative analyses.

Teaching and Learning About Feedback Loops

Conveners:  Kim Kastens, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Tim Shipley, Temple University, Alexandra Davatzes, Temple University, Kelcey Wallens-Logan, Barnard College 

WORKSHOP


Thursday, July 15 - Friday, July 16 | 8:00-11:00am PT / 9:00am-12:00pm MT / 10:00am-1:00pm CT / 11:00am-2:00pm ET

Feedback loops (FLs) are a powerful concept for Earth educators in the 21st century, because reinforcing (aka "positive") loops underlie many environmental problems, while balancing (aka "negative") loops underlie many plausible solutions. The workshop will explore cognitive and practical obstacles to teaching and learning about FLs and practice three different teaching strategies for building students' facility with FLs: kinesthetic learning, mutual alignment analogy, and use of static and dynamic visualizations. Each teaching strategy will have its underlying rationale explained, then be demonstrated, tried out by the workshop participants, and reflected upon in small group discussions. Working in breakout groups clustered by topic or audience, participants will draft a student activity using one of the three strategies.

Designing and Facilitating High Quality Online Earth Science Courses

Convener: Jennifer Lewis, Madison Area Technical College

WORKSHOP


Thursday, July 15 - Friday, July 16 | 8:00-11:00am PT / 9:00am-12:00pm MT / 10:00am-1:00pm CT / 11:00am-2:00pm ET

Whether you are new to online or are looking to take your course to the next level, this 2-day workshop focuses on designing high quality, highly engaging online earth science courses. Participants will learn about the essential online classroom design components and will use activities in the workshop to design, update and create their own online earth science courses, syllabi, learning activities and assessments. Topics covered include student engagement, instructor presence, accessibility, online laboratories and much more. In each workshop activity, participants will gain resources and information, work with other participants and workshop facilitators and will create products (i.e. learning activities) ready for their online courses.


      Next Page »