NAGTNews - Vol 15 - No 3 - March 2016

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1. Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award - January 2016 Recipients

Congratulations to the January 2016 recipients of the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award!

Justin Brundin, Tarleton State University 
Emily Castellucci, University of Georgia
Shiana Cohen, Boston College

NAGT recognizes outstanding teaching assistants in geoscience education twice a year 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 our In The Trenches quarterly magazine.

Nominations for the Summer 2016 Awards are due by June 15, 2016.

2. NAGT Award Program Deadlines

Outstanding Earth Science Teacher Awards

Outstanding Earth Science Teacher (OEST) awards are given for "exceptional contributions to the stimulation of interest in the Earth sciences at the pre-college level." Any teacher or other K-12 educator who covers a significant amount of Earth science content with their students is eligible. Ten national finalists are selected, one from each NAGT regional section. Some sections also recognize state winners. Individuals may apply themselves or nominate a colleague for the award.

The selection of award winners is conducted at the Section level and each Section sets its own deadline for nomination. A listing of the deadlines and contact people for each Section is listed on the program website. The earliest Section deadline is March 31 (Pacific Northwest and Midcontinent) with other sections following until the middle of May. So check out your Section's deadline and get your nominations in via the website.

Neil Miner Award

This award is given every year to an individual for exception contributions to the stimulation of interest in the Earth sciences. The deadline for nominations is April 1, 2016.

James Shea Award

Each year, NAGT presents the Jim Shea Award to an individual for exceptional contributions in the form of writing or editing of Earth science materials (broadly construed) that are of interest to the general public and/or teachers of Earth science. The deadline for nominations is April 15, 2016.

Dorothy LaLonde Stout Professional Development Grants

In honor of Dottie Stout's outstanding work and lifelong dedication to Earth science education, NAGT awards grants supporting Earth science professional development in three categories: Community College Faculty, Community College Student, and K-12 Educator. Deadline for applications is April 15, 2016.

Robert Christman Award

The Robert Christman Distinguished Service Award was established to recognize individuals who have provided long, distinguished service to the Association at the national and/or section level. Nominations are accepted on an ongoing basis.

3. Traveling Workshop Program - Application Deadline: March 15

Want to strengthen your department or courses, but not sure where to start? Look no further - NAGT's Traveling Workshops Program brings national leaders in geoscience education to your campus or regional event. The Traveling Workshops Program consists of two different tracks—one for courses and one for departments. Colleges, universities, and other organizations can apply to host one or both kinds of workshop.

Building Stronger Geoscience Departments

These workshops bring two trained leaders to your institution to facilitate a working session with your department. The program focuses on lessons learned from other institutions, guides you through a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis for your department, and incorporates activities that address issues of specific interest to your department. After your application has been accepted, workshop leaders will work with you to design the exact parameters of the workshop you have in mind.

Applications

To apply to have a Traveling Workshop Program come to your department during spring of 2016, apply online by March 15.

Please forward this opportunity to any colleagues that you feel would benefit from this program.

Thank you for your consideration of these valuable workshops! We look forward to working with you and your departments.

4. Early Career Geoscience Faculty Workshop: Teaching, Research, and Managing Your Career

July 24-28, 2016 with optional visit to NSF on July 29
University of Maryland, College Park, MD

If you are in your first three years of a permanent academic position, please apply to join us for a multi-day workshop in a stimulating and resource-rich environment where you will participate in sessions on topics including effective teaching strategies, course design, establishing a research program in a new setting, working with research students, balancing professional and personal responsibilities, and time management.

Application Deadline: March 16, 2016

5. JGE February 2016 is now available

The February 2016 (v 64, n 1) of the Journal of Geoscience Education is now available. Members can access all the articles via the JGE website. The table of contents for the issue is below.

EDITORIAL

Un-packaging Manuscript Preparation and Review Guidelines for Curriculum and Instruction and Research Papers
Kristen St. John, Heather Petcovic, Alison Stokes, Leilani Arthurs, Caitlin Callahan, Anthony Feig, Alexander Gates, Kyle Gray, Karen Kortz, Karen McNeal, Elizabeth Nagy-Shadman, Rebecca Teed, and John Van Hoesen
Journal of Geoscience Education, Vol. 64, No. 1, February 2016: 1-4.

CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION

Building an Effective and Affordable K–12 Geoscience Outreach Program From the Ground Up: A Simple Model for Universities
Robyn Mieko Dahl and Mary L. Droser 
Journal of Geoscience Education, Vol. 64, No. 1, February 2016: 5-16.

The Oil Game: Generating Enthusiasm for Geosciences in Urban Youth in Newark, NJ
Alexander E. Gates and Michael J. Kalczynski
Journal of Geoscience Education, Vol. 64, No. 1, February 2016: 17-23.

Geoscience Education Research Project: Student Benefits and Effective Design of a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience
Karen M. Kortz and Katrien J. van der Hoeven Kraft
Journal of Geoscience Education, Vol. 64, No. 1, February 2016: 24-36.

Large Lecture Transformation: Adopting Evidence-Based Practices to Increase Student Engagement and Performance in an Introductory Science Course
Jae-eun Russell, Sam Van Horne, Adam S. Ward, E. Arthur Bettis III, Maija Sipola, Mariana Colombo, and Mary K. Rocheford
Journal of Geoscience Education, Vol. 64, No. 1, February 2016: 37-51.

Teaching Anthropogenic Climate Change Through Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Helping Students Think Critically About Science and Ethics in Dialogue
Claire Todd and Kevin J. O'Brien
Journal of Geoscience Education, Vol. 64, No. 1, February 2016: 52-59.

Advantages of Computer Simulation in Enhancing Students' Learning About Landform Evolution: A Case Study Using the Grand Canyon
Wei Luo, Jon Pelletier, Kirk Duffin, Carol Ormand, Wei-chen Hung, David J. Shernoff, Xiaoming Zhai, Ellen Iverson, Kyle Whalley, Courtney Gallaher, and Walter Furness
Journal of Geoscience Education, Vol. 64, No. 1, February 2016: 60-73.

RESEARCH

Conceptual Mobility and Entrenchment in Introductory Geoscience Courses: New Questions Regarding Physics' and Chemistry's Role in Learning Earth Science Concepts
Steven W. Anderson and Julie C. Libarkin
Journal of Geoscience Education, Vol. 64, No. 1, February 2016: 74-86.

Pathways to the Geosciences Summer High School Program: A Ten-Year Evaluation
Tina L. Carrick, Kate C. Miller, Eric A. Hagedorn, Bridget R. Smith-Konter, and Aaron A. Velasco
Journal of Geoscience Education, Vol. 64, No. 1, February 2016: 87-97.

6. 2016 NGSS Webinar Series

NAGT continues to collaborate with AGI on a series of webinars relating to issues surrounding the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Upcoming events include:

• Supporting Elementary Teachers with the NGSS
  Kim Cheek (Assistant Professor of Science Education, University of North Florida) and Heather Petcovic (Associate Professor of Geosciences, Western Michigan University)
  April 14, 2016
  1:00 PM Pacific | 2:00 PM Mountain | 3:00 PM Central | 4:00 PM Eastern
  Registration Deadline: Tuesday, April 12, 2016
• Building a State Coalition for NGSS-ESS
  Ed Geary, Western Washington University
  May 12, 2016
  1:00 PM Pacific | 2:00 PM Mountain | 3:00 PM Central | 4:00 PM Eastern 
  Registration Deadline: Tuesday, May 10, 2016

7. 2016 InTeGrate Professional Development Webinar Series

The InTeGrate spring 2016 webinar series is a free and public webinar series aimed at helping faculty teach about the Earth in the context of societal issues. The series is aimed at promoting broad adoption of teaching aligned with InTeGrate principles, using InTeGrate-developed materials such as courses and teaching modules as tools. The series also highlights examples from departments and programs that are implementing InTeGrate teaching modules across the country. Currently scheduled webinars are listed below, but keep an eye on the InTeGrate Workshops and Webinars page for additional information and registration materials as they become available.

Using Data to Teach About Societally Important Questions
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
10:00 am Pacific | 11:00 am Mountain | 12:00 pm Central | 1:00 pm Eastern
Registration Deadline: Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Improving Climate Literacy Through your Undergraduate Course
Thursday, April 7, 2016
12:00 pm Pacific | 1:00 pm Mountain | 2:00 pm Central | 3:00 pm Eastern
Registration deadline: Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Teaching about Soils as a Critical Resource 
Thursday, April 21, 2016 
12:00 pm Pacific | 1:00 pm Mountain | 2:00 pm Central | 3:00 pm Eastern 
Registration Deadline: Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Working with Diverse Students on Societally Relevant Geoscience Issues 
Wednesday, May 11, 2016 
11:00 am Pacific | 12:00 pm Mountain | 1:00 pm Central | 2:00 pm Eastern 
Registration deadline: Monday, May 9, 2016

8. Next AGU/AGI Heads and Chairs Webinar - March 18

AGU/AGI Heads and Chairs Webinars: The next webinar on "The Benefits and Challenges of having Geoscience Education Research Faculty in your Department" is coming up soon. Please consider registering yourself or invite any of your faculty or colleagues who are interested in learning more about how a Geoscience Education Research (GER) faculty can transform teaching practices, build programs to increase recruitment and retention and support your department by using research-validated practices. Additionally, you can learn about the benefits of having a GER faculty in your own department and hear from a department head who has two successful GER faculty and labs, as well as the challenges of evaluating GER faculty for tenure and promotion. Join panelists Karen McNeal (associate professor, North Carolina State University) Walter Robinson (professor and department head, North Carolina State University) and Anthony Feig (associate professor, Central Michigan University) to learn and share your thoughts about this topic on Friday, 18 March 2016, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Click on this link to register.

Learn more about the webinar series.

If you missed any of the 2015 webinars, you can view all the previous recordings.

9. Earth Educators' Rendezvous 2016 --- Important Deadlines Approaching

Interested in joining the 2016 Rendezvous but funding is a challenge? This year's Rendezvous includes funding for travel. Apply by April 1. Don't forget that although the Contributed Program: Oral, Poster, and Teaching Demonstration Sessions application deadline has passed, we will accept late submissions for Posters and Teaching Demonstrations until May 15 (or until full). Join us in Madison!

10. Workshop: Service Learning in Undergraduate Geosciences

The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine is hosting a workshop in April on Service Learning in Undergraduate Geosciences: Information about the workshop and a pre-registration link to indicate your interest in participating is available at (link down).

One of the goals for the workshop is to better understand the types of service learning activities that are currently being implemented across the full spectrum of the geosciences (atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, solid earth, geography, environmental, etc.) We are using a broad definition of service learning as activities that engage students in addressing real community problems in ways that are connected course learning goals.

In order to broaden our understanding of service learning in our community, we invite you to submit descriptions of the ways that you use service learning in your teaching to the Cutting Edge Service Learning Activity Collection.

As part of the preparation for the workshop, a paper describing the breadth of service learning activities in the geosciences will be created in late March informed by this collection and other resources.

Please submit your descriptions here: http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/servicelearning/contrib_act.html
If you use service learning in different ways in different courses, please submit multiple descriptions.

Many thanks in advance for your contributions. Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments.

Sincerely,

Cathy Manduca,
Chair of the Organizing Committee for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Workshop on Service-Learning in Undergraduate Geosciences
Member of the Board on Science Education of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

and

Kerry Brenner,
Study Director, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Workshop on Service-Learning in Undergraduate Geosciences
Senior Program Officer, Board on Science Education of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

11. AGI Critical Issues Webinar: Ocean Acidification Impacts on Fisheries

The American Geosciences Institute's Critical Issues Program is pleased to offer a free webinar on Ocean Acidification Impacts on Fisheries on March 11, 2016, 11:00AM EST.

To register for this free event, please visit: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6628049978945025026

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. We will post a recording of the webinar on the Critical Issues website after the event. If you cannot make the webinar but want to be informed about the recording, please register and we will notify you as soon as the recording is available.

Critical Issues Webinar: Ocean Acidification Impacts on Fisheries

The increasing acidity of the ocean has many ecological and economic impacts that are intensified in colder bodies of water, such as those off the coast of New England, a region with a large fisheries sector. This webinar will address how geoscience helps us to understand ocean acidification, ocean acidification's impacts on marine life, and what states and municipalities can do to reduce the fishery-related economic impacts of ocean acidification.

Speakers:

• Bärbel Hönisch, Associate Professor, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory/Columbia University
• Hauke Kite-Powell, Research Specialist, Marine Policy Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• Jon Hare, Oceanographer, NOAA Fisheries Narragansett

We would like to recognize our webinar co-sponsors: Consortium for Ocean Leadership, NOAA Ocean Acidification Program, and Northeast Coastal Acidification Network.

If you have any questions, please contact Cassaundra Rose at crose@agiweb.org.

12. Call for Nominations - GeoCUR Undergraduate Research Mentor Award

The Geosciences Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research (GeoCUR) is now accepting nominations for its annual award that highlights the importance of mentoring undergraduate research activities. The award annually recognizes an individual who serves as a role model for productive and transformative student-faculty mentoring relationships and for maintaining a sustained and innovative approach to the enterprise of undergraduate research.

Application information, as well as audio interviews with past recipients, can be found online at: http://geocur.org/awards/faculty-mentors/

Application deadline is June 1. Inquiries and/or nominations may be sent to Laura Guertin (guertin@psu.edu) and Erin Kraal (kraal@kutztown.edu).

13. NSF REU Site in Community GIS and Citizen Science at University of Central Florida

This summer at the University of Central Florida, we are pleased to host the first year of our National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site "Preparing the Next Generation of Scholars through Community GIS and Citizen Science." Our program offers fully funded summer research experiences for at least eight undergraduate students in Belize for five weeks and Orlando for two weeks. The program is open to all U.S. students and runs June 20-August 5, 2016. We are interdisciplinary in nature emphasizing community geography, community GIS, and citizen science through mixed methods, including sketch mapping, mobile mapping applications, focus groups, in-depth interviews, GIS, and spatial analysis. Please distribute to interested students and your networks.

Research opportunities: Students will work in one of two research directions with community partners and mentors from University of Central Florida, University of Belize, Georgia State University, and The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems Program:

• Research Direction 1: Mapping disparities in flooding & disaster management
• Research Direction 2: Mapping marine debris & mitigating impacts on coastal communities

Compensation: Each REU student will receive a competitive funding package, including a $3500 research stipend, $1400 meal allowance, free shared housing in Belize and Orlando, up to $750 in travel support to/from the REU Site, up to $750 for post-REU conference travel, and 2 research methods books.

Application process: The priority application deadline is Friday, March 25th @ 5 PM EST. Complete program information and application instructions can be found at https://reu.cse.usf.edu/.

Student reflections from the field: "Challenging, emotional, fun, collaborative, thought-provoking, interesting, real-life, and eye-opening." These are some of the words used by students to describe our previous research programs. We expect similar experiences in our new REU! Check out a series of short videos from our students at: www.citizensciencegis.org/ucf-reu-site/student-reflections/ (link unavailable).

Questions can be directed to:

• Dr. Timothy Hawthorne: Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor of Geographic Information Systems at University of Central Florida
  • timothy.hawthorne@ucf.edu
  • phone: 407.823.1030
• Dr. Christy Visaggi: Co-Principal Investigator, Lecturer of Geosciences at Georgia State University
  • cvisaggi@gsu.edu
  • phone: 404.413.5755

Check us out on the web and share on social media!

• https://www.citizensciencegis.org/nsf-reuret-site
• https://www.facebook.com/citizensciencegis
• https://twitter.com/citizen_gis
• https://vimeo.com/citizensciencegis

14. New and Updated Astronomy Education Resources

1) The "All-American" Eclipse of the Sun in 2017: Free Booklet

On August 21, 2017, there will be a total eclipse of the Sun visible from the U.S. (and only the US!) The path of what is being called the "All American" total eclipse is only about 60 miles wide and goes from a beach in Oregon to a beach in South Carolina, crossing the country diagonally. The partial eclipse will be visible to 500 million people in the other parts of the US and North America.

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) is making available a popular-level introduction to help explain the eclipse, and how to view it, to students and the public. The free 8-page booklet is available in PDF format at: http://www.nsta.org/publications/press/extras/files/solarscience/SolarScienceInsert.pdf

The eclipse information comes from a new book for educators, entitled Solar Science, which includes 45 hands-on learning experiences (and lots of background information) about the Sun, the Moon, the sky, the calendar, the seasons, and eclipses.

2) Science Fiction with Good Astronomy

An updated subject guide to science fiction stories and novels which are based on reasonably good science (and can thus be recommended in introductory astronomy courses) is available at:

http://www.astrosociety.org/scifi

While most of the stories are available only in print, a number are now published electronically free of charge, and links to those are included.

3) A Meeting on Teaching Astro 101 This Summer

On behalf of Sharon Schleigh, the chair of the Program Committee, I am forwarding the following announcement:

"Please mark your calendar for an Astronomy Teaching Summit being held in beautiful San Francisco, at City College of San Francisco's North Beach Chinatown Campus, on August 1-3, 2016. The meeting will bring together dedicated astronomy and planetary sciences educators to share innovative teaching techniques and successful instructional strategies that increase students' engagement, achievement, and motivation.

Designed primarily for college professors teaching the introductory astronomy survey course—ASTRO 101—the summit will include formal presentations, interactive workshops, and roundtable discussions all designed around astronomy teaching innovations. To receive information updates and the upcoming call for session proposals, add your name and email address on the form at:

http://www.caperteam.com/astro101summit

4) Astronomy through Drama, Poetry, and the Humanities

A brief article about approaching astronomy through fiction, drama, poetry, etc. from the Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal is available freely at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282356348_Interdisciplinary_Approaches_to_Astronomy_Cosmic_Fiction_Drama_and_Poetry

The article has many references to resources for further exploration, including to various collections of astronomical plays, and of verse influenced by astronomy.

5) Additional Talks in the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures

Videos of recent public lectures by Carolyn Porco (on the latest Cassini mission results about the Saturn system), Tori Hoehler (on ways to search for life outside the solar system), and Robert Kirshner (on the observations that led to the idea of an accelerating universe) have been added to the YouTube library of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures at:

http://www.youtube.com/SVAstronomyLectures

15. Summer Institute on Quantitative Biology Education

2016 National Academies Special Topics Summer Institute on Quantitative Biology

Lowering the Activation Energy: Making Quantitative Biology More Accessible

June 19-24, 2016
North Carolina State University, Raleigh

Biology requires a rapidly expanding set of quantitative skills including data analysis, statistics, modeling, computational reasoning, and visualization. If you are interested in developing your biology students' quantitative skills, this is the summer workshop for you!

In partnership with the National Academies Summer Institutes, the Quantitative Biology Summer Institute (QB SI) is presented by BioQUEST, Science Case Net and QUBES. This will be a working meeting during which participants will learn about and use evidence-based teaching strategies such as backward design, active learning, and assessment, as well as methods such as cases and modeling. Hands on sessions at the institute will focus on resources and methods to address the special challenges associated with teaching quantitative biology. The workshop is developed by BioQUEST, which celebrates 30 years of leadership in biology education reform in 2016, and Science Case Network, which brings expertise on using case based pedagogies. The QUBES project will support ongoing collaborations among participants.

We invite applications from individuals and teams at two and four year institutions. Participants from all STEM fields are welcome. As indicated on the application, participants are expected to work collaboratively after the meeting and implement a module or method in their classes during the 2016-2017 academic year. More information and the application for the Quantitative Biology Summer Institute are available at: https://qubeshub.org/groups/summer2016

Review of applications will begin March 28 and applicants will be notified regarding their status of their application by April 4.

Please contact the organizers with any questions:

Kristin Jenkins, BioQUEST (kristin.jenkins@bioquest.org), Pat Marsteller, Science Case Net (pmars@emory.edu), Sam Donovan, QUBES (sdonovan@pitt.edu)

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Professor of Practice - University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Posted: Mar 2 2016

Assistant Professor of Practice, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (non-tenure track, Atmospheric Sciences)

Teaching Assistant Professor-Geosciences - NC State University

Posted: Feb 24 2016

The Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences (MEAS) at North Carolina State University (NC State) seeks to hire a teaching assistant professor to contribute substantively to our undergraduate programs. Primary responsibilities will include teaching a newly revised orientation course for incoming freshmen in the College of Sciences (COS) during fall semester; developing, organizing and teaching introductory geoscience courses to majors and non-majors during the spring semester; and revising and coordinating multi-section laboratories for introductory courses in MEAS, including supervision of teaching assistants. Additional duties will include advising undergraduate students and representing COS and MEAS at University Open House and other recruiting and outreach events. The starting date for this position is June 1, 2016.

Need help getting the word out about your position opening, event, or field trip? Advertise with NAGT!