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Workshop on Bringing Geophysics to Introductory Science Courses: Using IGUaNA Modules in Your Classroom
We invite faculty to participate in an upcoming, fully-funded workshop, with both classroom and field components, focusing on using the IGUaNA curriculum modules in introductory-level courses. These materials feature urban environmental, engineering, and forensic questions that can be answered using near-surface geophysics.
In the field, participants will gain experience collecting near-surface geophysics data using ground penetrating radar, seismic refraction, and electrical resistivity instrumentation. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to practice teaching effective data acquisition to each other. In the classroom, participants will gain experience with the IGUaNA teaching materials under the guidance of the module authors and will discuss how to incorporate IGUaNA materials into introductory-level courses.
Dates: August 10-12, 2022
Location: University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY
Expected Number of Participants: ~20-25 faculty and instructors. Faculty and instructors from MSIs and 2YC are encouraged to apply.
Costs: This will be a fully-funded workshop, with travel (airfare), hotel accommodations, and per diem food expenses covered by the National Science Foundation's Seismological Facilities for the Advancement of Geoscience (SAGE) Award under Cooperative Support Agreement EAR-1851048.
Application deadline: Friday, May 20, 2022
To learn more about the workshop and to apply to participate, see the workshop website.
Questions? Please contact Dr. Danielle Sumy at IRIS: danielle.sumy@iris.edu
Apply for a Traveling Workshop: Customized programming to strengthen your department or courses
The NAGT Traveling Workshops Program (TWP) brings national leaders in geoscience education to your campus or regional event to help you and your colleagues with strategic planning. Designed for departments, institutions, or groups of institutions with shared interests, TWP offers workshops on strengthening geoscience departments, fostering collaboration in the development of cross-campus environmental and sustainability programs, developing strategies for supporting the success of all students, and more. Apply to bring facilitators to you for a Fall/Winter 2022 workshop by June 15, 2022.
Apply for a Traveling Workshop
GSA Education Committee Vacancies
The GSA Education Committee has three vacancies and is seeking nominations by June 15. This committee provides information and direction to the Society regarding programs and initiatives that support informal, pre-college (K-12), undergraduate, and graduate earth-science education, and would be a great fit for an NAGT member. The open positions are a 4-year college faculty, a member-at-large, and a graduate student representative. Go to the GSA nomination form to volunteer or nominate (must be a GSA member).
Apply now for 2022 Teaching Computation with MATLAB Virtual Workshops
Applications are now open for two upcoming 2022 Virtual Workshops: Teaching Computation Online With MATLAB and Teaching Computation Online With MATLAB - California .
Since 2015, hundreds of educators have attended the Teaching Computation with MATLAB workshops. At these 3-day, peer-led virtual workshops, educators work with their colleagues and MATLAB experts to develop and revamp their computationally-focused courses, whether live, remote or hybrid.
As part of either workshop, you'll develop curriculum, work with mentors, collaborate with educators teaching computation and discipline-related skills, and learn MATLAB teaching tools.
Learn more about the workshops and apply:
- Teaching Computation Online with MATLAB (virtual workshop)
October 16-18, 2022 - Teaching Computation Online with MATLAB - California (virtual workshop)*
November 6-8, 2022- Apply for November workshop by Wednesday, June 15
- *specifically designed for California-based educators
2022 Earth Educators' Rendezvous: Standard registration is open!
Registration and abstract submissions for poster and Share-a-Thon are open for the eighth annual Earth Educators' Rendezvous, taking place in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN, from July 11-15, 2022! NAGT members receive $100 off registration.
- Check out the program
- Late poster or Share-a-thon presentation submission deadline is May 17
- Order your Rendezvous T-Shirt by June 10
- Standard registration is open
- Sign up to receive updates on the 2022 EER
Upcoming Journal of Geoscience Education special issue on impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on geoscience education
The Journal of Geoscience Education is soliciting manuscripts for a Special Issue on the impact of COVID-19 on geoscience education.
The COVID-19 crisis is a major event likely to result in lasting changes to geoscience teaching, outreach, and administration. For geoscience education researchers who were collecting data or began collecting data when the crisis began, the crisis provided the opportunity to observe the impact of a major event on behavior in the educational environment. Much of what happened during the 2020-2022 phase of the crisis involved the abrupt movement of many education and outreach endeavors onto virtual platforms. Has this shift impacted student learning outcomes, including opening or closing learning gaps? In what ways have faculty and students changed their use of digital technologies, and which of these changes are likely to be permanent? Have departments/programs created structural changes that are likely to persist, and what impact will these changes have on the long-term health of the programs, especially in the context of equity and inclusion? We welcome submissions from educators and education researchers whose projects overlap with the COVID-19 crisis or who began new projects in response to the crisis. Submission deadline is August 5, 2022.
Host a future Rendezvous!
Are you or someone you know interested in getting more involved with the Rendezvous?
The National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) looks forward to hosting the 2022 Earth Educators' Rendezvous at the University of Minnesota this summer, and the wheels are already in motion to begin the selection process for future Rendezvous site hosts. NAGT would like to hear from those interested in hosting the conference at their home institution. Hosting the Rendezvous offers a unique opportunity to showcase your institution to more than 350 researchers and practitioners working in all aspects of Earth education including a mix of college faculty, graduate students, and K-12 teachers from all disciplines who are interested in improving their teaching about the Earth. Rendezvous has rapidly become a highly sought-after and celebrated event for geoscientists and Earth educators. Site proposals are open year-round!
Submit a proposal to host a Rendezvous
Congratulations to the 2022 Field Camp Scholars!
Each year, NAGT makes several $750 awards to undergraduate students to facilitate their study of field geoscience. These awards, previously given to students who attend a traditional summer field camp, are now available for students attending field-based courses at any time of year and in any format: face-to-face, virtual, or hybrid. The intent of the awards is to support students' participation in intensive field courses in any aspect of geoscience (including geophysics, soil science, hydrology, etc.) that focuses on students practicing skills of field observation, data collection, analysis and synthesis. Awardees are selected based on the importance of the field experience in meeting their educational and career goals, the quality of the field aspects of the course, and the importance of the financial award in allowing them to participate in the program. In addition, the committee endeavors to select awardees that expand the diversity of people studying geosciences in the field and a collaboration with the Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG) funds two additional awards specifically for women.
Nominations Open for Outstanding Teaching Assistant Awards
NAGT recognizes outstanding teaching assistants in geoscience education with up to 30 awards annually. Both undergraduate and graduate teaching assistants are eligible for the award. Award winners receive a one-year membership in NAGT, which includes an online subscription to the Journal of Geoscience Education and the In The Trenches quarterly online magazine. The next deadline to nominate students is June 15.
Please consider nominating your top teaching assistants. The process is not cumbersome, and means a great deal to the recipients. For any questions, please contact Katherine Ryker (kryker@seoe.sc.edu).
Nominees will be evaluated holistically using the following criteria, though excellence in all criteria is neither expected nor required. Undergraduate and graduate student nominations will be evaluated separately.
- Experience (For graduate students, two or more semesters will be valued favorably.)
- Knowledge and application of evidence-based pedagogies (e.g. active learning)
- Initiative to improve the course through an innovation or contribution
- Attentiveness and responsiveness to fostering inclusive learning environments
- Ability to develop trust and rapport with students
- Ability to effectively manage course administration and logistics (e.g. learning management software, communication and assessment)
- Conveys their own passion for geoscience and inspires it in others
- Supports fellow educators by promoting a positive culture around teaching and learning
Do you have good news related to your geoscience education work that you would like to share with the NAGT community? Submit to NAGT's Community Kudos!
The NAGT webinar series is free and we encourage you to invite your colleagues to attend. Check out the webinar schedule.
NAGT Webinar: Towards a more inclusive geosciences: Teaching strategies and policies to support all students
Phoebe Cohen, Chair and Associate Professor of Geosciences, Williams College
Lisa White, Assistant Director, University of California Museum of Paleontology
Date: Tuesday, May 17, 2022
Time: 12:00 pm PT | 1:00 pm MT | 2:00 pm CT | 3:00 pm ET
Registration deadline is Sunday, May 15, 2022.
Register
Earth Educators' Rendezvous
Join us for the eighth annual Earth Educators' Rendezvous. The Rendezvous brings together researchers and practitioners working in all aspects of undergraduate Earth education, including a mix of college faculty, graduate students, and K-12 teachers from all disciplines who are interested in improving their teaching about Earth.
Date: July 11-15, 2022, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Late abstract submission deadline for poster and Share-a-Thon sessions: May 17, 2022
Register
IGUaNA Workshop: Bringing Geophysics to Introductory Science Courses: Using IGUaNA Modules in Your Classroom
Andrew Parsekian, University of Wyoming, lead author of Measuring Depth to Bedrock using Seismic Refraction
Sarah Kruse, University of South Florida, lead author of Pipes, Tree Roots, or Unmarked Graves? Using GPR for Forensic Geophysics
Lee Slater, Rutgers University - Newark, lead author of Evaluating the Health of an Urban Wetland using Electrical Resistivity
John Taber, IRIS
Danielle Sumy, IRIS
Dates: August 10-12, 2022
Location: University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY
Registration deadline is Friday, May 20, 2022.
NAGT Webinar: Promotion, tenure, and the value of diversity, equity and inclusion work
Joshua Villalobos, El Paso Community College
Aaron Velasco, University of Texas- El Paso
Aradhna Tripati, University of California- Los Angeles
Tessa Hill, UC-Davis (Moderator)
Date: Thursday May 26, 2022
Time: 1:00 pm PT | 2:00 pm MT | 3:00 pm CT | 4:00 pm ET
Registration deadline is Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
MATLAB Workshop: Teaching Computation Online with MATLAB
Don Baker, McGill University
Dan Burleson, University of Houston (Review Editor)
Kristi Closser, California State University-Fresno
Lisa Kempler, MathWorks
Kelly Roos, Bradley University
Date: October 16-18, 2022
Application deadline is June 15, 2022.
MATLAB Workshop: Teaching Computation Online with MATLAB - California
MathWorks California Team
Lisa Kempler, MathWorks Sponsor
Date: November 6-8, 2022
*specifically designed for California-based educators
Application deadline is June 15, 2022.
Student Opportunity: Seismology Skill Building Workshop
The seismology skill-building workshop by IRIS Consortium is a FREE, ~70 hour, fully online course for undergraduate and graduate students, regardless of major (e.g., computer science, geophysics, geology, math, physics) who want to build scientific computing and computational thinking skills while working with seismic data.
The goals of this workshop are to increase students':
- interest in taking additional course work in seismology and scientific computing,
- self-efficacy in using seismic data, and
- competitiveness in the graduate school or summer REU application process.
Date: June 6 - August 27, 2022
Registration deadline: May 22, 2022
How does it work?
To participate students need access to a PC/Mac with reasonable internet access. Every other week a new learning module will be assigned. Each module develops a particular set of scientific computing and computational thinking skills relevant for seismological research(e.g. Linux, GMT, SAC, webservices, seismic network processing, Python, ObsPy, and Jupyter notebooks). Modules discussed via webinars held every Monday. Participants work through each module at their own pace and are able to ask questions, provide feedback, and share their successes and challenges with other participants through a moderated learning platform.
What do you get?
All registrants will receive a detailed performance report detailing their participation and success in the workshop.
Summer 2022 Geoscience Field Camp Offerings
In an effort to help students and faculty find options for Summer 2022 field camp offerings, NAGT is compiling a list of field camps of all formats. This list includes programs--whether they be online, in-person, or hybrid--that have space for additional students. Please share the field camp list with students who may be interested in participating in these programs.
New England Section
Save the Rare Jurassic Armored Mud Balls
Dinosaur age armored mud balls are geological rarities formed as hard mud pieces fell into a stream, rolled along, and had pebbles stick to their rim (the "armor"). With a lot of luck, these delicate features turned to stone, and 200 million years later were discovered in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts. They are so rare that no other place in the world has specimens like these. They need to be recognized and celebrated. Greenfield Community College Professor (Emeritus) and NAGT member Richard Little is spearheading the effort to have them designated an official State "Sedimentary Structure" to join the over 50 other Massachusetts symbols such as the Morgan Horse, Boston Creme Donut, Dinosaur Fossils, Babingtonite, and many others. Prof. Little comments: "We must celebrate and appreciate these intriguing, rare, educational, and photogenic specimens! If not, they will likely be forgotten and lost to history and science."
Find out more about armored mud balls and the effort to save them at the Armored Mud Ball website. This effort is supported by many environmental and historical organizations plus geologists from almost all colleges in Massachusetts.
GEO2YC Division
Nominate an Outstanding Adjunct 2YC Faculty today!
The Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award (OAFA) is an opportunity to showcase the efforts of you or one of your adjunct colleagues who is doing great work in geoscience education. Nominations are accepted on a rolling basis. See the information page for more details about the award.
Teacher Education (TED) Division
Post to the TED Division Facebook Page
Members are invited to post time-critical information on the TED Division Facebook page.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences, Bates College
Assistant Professor of Instruction, University of Texas, Arlington
