Themes and Formats

We offer a variety of workshop topics that host institutions, organizations, and groups can choose from. These are split into three broad categories based on duration, amount and intensity of expected work, and environment (in-person or virtual). Note that some workshops can be run in multiple formats.

• Two-day in-person workshops
• Multi-session virtual workshops
• Single-session virtual workshops

Within each of these workshops there are several themes that can guide the development of a workshop that is most productive for your department, program, or group. The decision about the specific activities that best fit your needs will be made through discussion between the local host(s) and the workshop facilitators, and can include mixxing and matching sessions from different formats.

Don't see something that fits your needs? Contact us to discuss other workshop options.

Learn more about workshop development and implementation.

Themes for two-day in-person workshops

Format: For a two-day, in-person workshop, participants are engaged in workshop activities for two full days, approximately 9:00-5:00, including lunch on both days and a casual dinner (optional) on day 1. Participants will have some work to complete prior to meeting the first day, and are expected to fully engage in-person for the entire workshop. Workshops can take place on weekdays or weekends; groups often choose to schedule their workshops for one weekday and one weekend day (Friday-Saturday) to minimize disruptions to teaching and to avoid taking an entire weekend.

Building stronger geoscience and environmental science departments and programs

Workshops within this theme focus on navigating change and thriving in response. Leaders facilitate discussion and planning by your department as a whole. This type of workshop is most appropriate for:

• Departments seeking to revitalize and strengthen their undergraduate and/or graduate programs to better attract and support students;
• Departments seeking to restructure their programs after personnel changes (e.g., faculty retirements and/or new faculty arrivals; department mergers);
• Departments who want to strengthen and coordinate teaching in courses across their curriculum;
• Departments looking to implement more inclusive strategies to support all students;
• Departments responding to recommendations from a program review.

Each workshop consists of several interactive sessions that engage participants in building a shared vision, reflecting on the current departmental and institutional landscape, and developing strategies for moving forward as a thriving department. The sessions are customized for the group and specific topics in conversations between the leaders and local hosts.

Strengthening your interdisciplinary environmental and sustainability program

Workshop within this theme focus on existing or proposed environmental and sustainability programs that span multiple departments. Leaders engage and facilitate discussion across disciplines and campuses. This type of workshop is most appropriate for:

• Groups of faculty and staff from different departments and disciplines that seek to develop a new, interdisciplinary program that focuses on environmental science and/or sustainability;
• Groups of faculty and staff who are part of an interdisciplinary environmental or sustainability program and are seeking to strengthen their program and build stronger connections across campus (e.g., to campus sustainability offices and initiatives, to climate change action plans, etc.);
• Interdisciplinary programs that want to strengthen and coordinate teaching in courses across their curriculum and/or incorporate community-based learning;
• Interdisciplinary programs responding to recommendations from a program review.

Each workshop consists of a set of interactive and customized sessions that support in-depth conversation about how the components drawn from academic disciplines and co-curricular programming become a coherent whole. At the conclusion of the workshop you will have built a robust action plan to guide your program's ongoing efforts.

Supporting the success of all students

Workshops within this theme focus on developing an inclusive and welcoming culture that supports all students in success. The workshop has five components that emphasize understanding your current students and community, supporting the whole student, supporting all students, transitioning students into your program from multiple contexts, and launching them onto the next phase of their life (e.g. education, career). Leaders work with you to offer activities and resources for assessing where you are now as well as planning and implementing actions that can be taken on a range of timescales (from immediate to long range).

Making your courses more effective

Workshops within this theme focus on evidence-based teaching strategies, coordinating courses across the curriculum, and incorporating relevance for students. Leaders engage participants in interactive sessions that will help them think about their course from the student learning perspective in order to (re)design and strengthen course materials and connections between courses. The workshop can be designed for courses taught at any level and for instructors in a variety of disciplines, including the geosciences, science teaching, the social sciences, and interdisciplinary fields.

Also available as a multi-session virtual workshop.

Becoming an Inclusive Geoscience Leader (for graduate students)

This workshop focuses on supporting graduate students in building a more inclusive community in their current institution and developing key leadership skills for being an inclusive professional geoscientist. Participants engage in activities to help with implicit bias, speaking up as a bystander, and community and individual planning for action in the shorter and longer terms. Through this workshop, participants will develop greater understanding and skills in creating an inclusive and equitable culture.

Multi-session virtual workshops

Format: For a multi-session virtual workshop, participants are engaged in workshop activities for two or three substantial sessions (2-3 hours) on Zoom over a few weeks. Participants will have some work to complete prior to the first meeting and in between sessions as well. 

Inclusive mentoring

The overall goal of this workshop is to bring together a community of peers to build mentorship skills based on principles that support all students. By the end of the workshop, participants will recognize how mentor and mentee identity influence the mentoring relationship; develop strategies for establishing expectations and communicating with mentees; and work together to address mentoring challenges.

Making your courses more effective

Workshops within this theme focus on evidence-based teaching strategies, coordinating courses across the curriculum, and incorporating relevance for students. Leaders engage participants in interactive sessions that will help them think about their course from the student learning perspective in order to (re)design and strengthen course materials and connections between courses. The workshop can be designed for courses taught at any level and for instructors in a variety of disciplines, including the geosciences, science teaching, the social sciences, and interdisciplinary fields.

Also available as a two-day in-person workshop.

Making your large-enrollment introductory course more equitable and effective

Large-enrollment introductory courses often involve several instructors and graduate and/or undergraduate teaching assistants; these groups may be working to coordinate offerings across multiple campuses, course modalities, and institutions. This workshop brings together all of the people involved in offering a course to work together to coordinate making changes that support equitable outcomes and ongoing collaboration and improvement.

Supporting and developing strong teaching assistants

This workshop includes separate sessions for faculty/staff and graduate students in addition to a combined session. We will help graduate students build their knowledge and skills in teaching and learning, explore strategies for fostering inclusive and supportive learning environments, and recognize and communicate the important skills they develop as a TA. Faculty/staff will engage in interactive sessions to articulate the roles of teaching assistants in their setting and strategies to better support them. A joint session will foster communication and collaboration.

Single-session virtual workshops

Format: Participants in a single-session virtual workshop will be asked to complete a small amount of work in advance of the session, and spend 2-3 hours (with a break) in the workshop. 

Connecting courses and curricula to geoscience workforce skills

In this workshop, we will help you make more explicit connections between the skills you are building in your undergraduate geoscience programs and the skills that geoscience employers seek. You will explore what we know about what employers want and strategies to integrate workforce skills into your courses and programs.

Marketing your geoscience program

This workshop is often included as a component of a two-day in-person workshop, and it can also stand alone. In this workshop, we will develop a plan and articulate specific strategies to attract students to your program from within and beyond your institution. Preparation for the workshop will involve gathering data about your institution and your community.

Interested in something else?  

If the themes described above don't quite meet your needs, get in touch. Our new themes have emerged from community needs, and we are happy to work with you to explore opportunities. For new opportunities, please contact NAGT Executive Director, Anne Egger (exdir@nagt.org).