Education Sessions and Activities at AGU Fall 2019 Meeting
NAGT is pleased to outline a variety of geoscience education sessions and activities planned for the Fall 2019 AGU Meeting held in San Francisco, CA, from December 9-13, 2019.
Jump down to: Workshops and Short Courses | Topical Sessions
Exhibit Hall
Stop by the NAGT booth (#314) for the most up-to-date information on upcoming workshops, educational resources, and teaching activities. Better yet, consider volunteering in the booth. Volunteering provides a great opportunity to talk/distribute materials about NAGT, meet other geoscience educators, and get to know some of the NAGT staff.
Workshops and Short Courses
AGU 2019: Inclusive and Effective College Science Classrooms: Engaging Students, Designing Lessons, and Integrating Diversity into Curriculum
December 8, 2019, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
San Francisco, CA
Teaching diverse populations of students requires instructors to construct learning environments that are inclusive and effective. Research in many disciplines suggests that how students personally experience learning environments strongly influences their engagement, motivation, sense of belonging, and conceptual learning. Workshop participants will share a common experience as the basis for discussing how different students may experience learning environments differently from one another. Participants will have the opportunity to self-assess their current awareness of 21 common equitable teaching strategies and identify those that could be immediately implemented in their classrooms and other settings. This workshop will also focus on teaching choices we make as instructors. Participants will explore their current approaches to planning and reflecting on their teaching, and will explore the 5E learning cycle model as an analytical tool for understanding teaching choices. They will self-assess and analyze current class sessions and identify changes that could be immediately implemented. Participants will also discuss integrating diversity into their curriculum through Scientist Spotlights, metacognitive homework assignments that have been shown to shift students' stereotypes of scientists and enhance science identity. Finally, participants will develop action plans and will leave with specific practical strategies to implement in their courses and programs.
AGU Heads and Chairs Workshop
Sunday, December 8, 2019
7:30am-6:00pm
This one-day workshop provides an opportunity for heads and chairs of Earth and Space Science departments to discuss issues and strategies for building a strong department, meet other heads and chairs, and learn more about current issues.
The registration deadline has passed.
Using Geophysics Data to Teach About Flooding, Landslides, and Climate Change in Undergraduate Majors' Courses
Sunday, December 8, 2019
8:00am-5:00pm
Looking for new data sets and methods to include into your majors-level courses?
The GEodesy Tools for Societal Issues (GETSI) project has developed undergraduate teaching resources which feature analysis of geodesy data (lidar, GPS, InSAR, gravity) to help address societal challenges. This workshop gives instructors hands-on time with several of these modules, which particular revolve around water and earth system science. Anticipated featured modules are Modeling Flood Hazards; Planning for Failure: Landslide Analysis for a Safer Society; and Understanding Our Changing Climate: Data Behind Melting Ice and Changing Sea Level. The short course will also overview best practices for teaching with real data, improving students' ability to apply math to geoscience problems, and increasing student capacity to propose societal solutions. During the final stage of the workshop participants will work on implementation plans for adopting the modules and learning strategies into their courses.
Participants who complete the entire short course will receive a stipend of $300 the following month. An additional $100 is available for instructors who use the materials in subsequent teaching and give feedback.
The short course is intended for undergraduate Earth science instructors. Late stage graduate students with significant teaching responsibilities will also be considered.
Application Deadline: November 15, 2019 (rolling admissions starting mid October)
Make Your Course More Effective and Societally Relevant
Monday, December 9, 2019
2:30pm-4:30pm
US$25.00
Earth sciences are relevant to many issues facing societies today, including ongoing climate change, costly natural hazards, and scarce natural resources. Educators have the opportunity to help future leaders solve these issues by infusing their courses with societally relevant concepts and topics, and by changing their pedagogy to attract students with diverse backgrounds, interests, and experiences, and to enable all students to succeed. Evidence shows incorporating societal issues, such as sustainability and environmental justice, enhances student learning and success throughout the curriculum and can serve as a potential entry point into the sciences.
In this workshop, you will strengthen your course materials through making them more applied toward societal challenges and more consistent with research on how people learn. The workshop is appropriate for instructors at all types of institutions, at all stages of their career, and from a variety of disciplines including STEM, the social sciences, the humanities, and interdisciplinary fields. Workshop content can be applied to courses taught at any level.
Over the course of the workshop, we will engage in a series of activities that will help you think about your course from the student learning perspective. You will learn about pedagogical techniques by engaging in them, not just by hearing about them. You will leave the workshop having begun to (re)design your course and with an action plan and resources for continuing the process.
Fostering Diverse Inclusive and Equitable Communities in Geoscience Field Experiences
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
8:00am-11:00am
US$25.00
Field activities are often essential experiences in the geosciences and offer students the opportunity to work closely together. In doing so, field-based investigations have the potential to foster deep student learning. Successful learning communities value respect and support the multiple perspectives and experiences of its members to enhance the learning experiences of all students. In this workshop, we will consider research, questions, and examples of field experiences to explore ways to enhance inclusive learning and avoid pitfalls that decrease diversity and an environment where students feel like they belong (in the field). Participants will consider the goal of field experiences and perspectives that can be used in their own courses to build more inclusive learning in field experiences as well as ways to apply inclusivity to other courses and across programs. Participants will leave with an action plan for increasing the inclusivity of at least one of the field experiences they offer. This workshop is a collaboration between NAGT and AGU. (See AGU workshop listing.)
Topical Sessions
ED045 - Science to Action: Learning Ecosystems as a Pathway to Resilient Communities and a Diverse Geoscience Workforce
Cathryn Allen Manduca, Carleton College, Northfield, MN, United States, Cheryl L B Manning, Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program, Washington, DC, United States; Evergreen High School, Evergreen, CO, United States, Margie Turrin, LDEO of Columbia University, Palisades, NY, United States and Rajul Pandya, American Geophysical Union, Thriving Earth Exchange, Washington, DC, United States
From school to play to work, education takes place in a wide variety of venues. By viewing education as taking place in an ecosystem that includes all of these venues, we can strengthen and connect learning. As noted by the Federal Committee on STEM Education in their 2018 report, the broad and inclusive engagement that develops through partnerships within a healthy STEM ecosystem builds stronger, more informed communities and a more diverse workforce with the skills needed by local employers. A learning ecosystem approach is particularly relevant in the geosciences as we seek to develop resilient communities that can respond to a changing environment. This session will discuss the learning ecosystem model and provide examples of ecosystems that include geoscience components.
PA007 - Bringing Science Down to Earth: Using Creative Storytelling and Multi-Channel Outreach to Advance Awareness and Use of Earth Science in Communities Worldwide
Lawrence Friedl1, McRae Lenahan2 and Aries Keck2, (1)NASA Headquarters, Earth Science Division, Washington, DC, United States(2)U.Group, NASA Earth Science/Applied Sciences, Washington, DC, United States
Creative storytelling helps showcase the many ways that Earth science provides societal benefits and improves decision making in myriad sectors and communities. Multimedia-rich stories, interactive websites, social media and media outreach deliver tailored stories that make Earth observations and data relatable to new audiences, and to potentially inspire new users.
This session explores creative approaches that make clear the value and relevance of Earth observations to specific geographic locations or communities of interest through a range of channels, engaging communications techniques, and content. This session invites papers that address storytelling and content development that tailors or translates Earth science concepts, systems, and projects to communities or particular audiences.
PA043 - Profiles in Science: Using Relatable Stories and Personal Narratives to Spark Scientific Intrigue
Aries Keck1, Lawrence Friedl2 and McRae Lenahan1, (1)U.Group, NASA Earth Science/Applied Sciences, Washington, DC, United States(2)NASA Headquarters, Earth Science Division, Washington, DC, United States
From a young age, stories are how we understand new concepts and navigate the world around us. In particular, personal narratives help connect audiences to the story of science and its impact on the economy, society, and our health. Stories that blend the human experience with technical explanations told across written, oral, and visual platforms spark interest and emotion among global audiences. They are relatable and memorable.
This session provides both a range of approaches for crafting personal narratives in scientific pursuits and a forum for attendees to present or appreciate such blended stories. The session invites papers that present tools, models, and techniques on this practice as well as instances of personal profiles with lessons for composing and delivering them.