Katherine Ryker

Geography and Geology, School of the Earth, Ocean and Environment

University of South Carolina-Columbia

I am an Assistant Professor of Geoscience Education at the University of South Carolina, and have served the NAGT Geoscience Education Research division as Secretary (2014-2017), Vice President, President and Past President (2017-2020). 

 

My primary research interests revolve around 1) interventions in introductory geoscience classes (especially labs) to improve cognitive and affective learning goals, and 2) teaching professional development (faculty, graduate teaching assistants and pre- and in-service teachers). This includes exploring connections between reformed teaching practices, student learning, teaching beliefs, and the implementation of inquiry-based geoscience labs. Other specific topics I am interested in include the use of augmented and virtual reality in geoscience programs and how teachers develop their beliefs and identities over time.

I am always open to establishing new collaborations! Please let me know if you're interested in tackling a question together.

Webinar Leader, Workshop Leader, Website Contributor, Reviewer

Website Content Contributions

Activities (7)

GeoClick: Sedimentary Environments part of Pedagogy in Action:Library:Spatial Reasoning with GeoClick Questions:Examples
Students apply their understanding of sedimentary rocks and sediment characteristics to identify where rocks may be forming using a simplified cross-section of a landscape from mountain to sea.

Conference Presentations (33)

The effect of Spatial Anxiety on training spatial reasoning part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2024:Program:Poster Sessions:Friday Poster Session
Spatial reasoning skills are an important component of student development in geoscience. While ability levels vary between individuals, these skills are trainable. Recently, Spatial Anxiety has been recognized as ...

Other Contributions (20)

GER at EER: What Should Future Programming Look Like? part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2024:Program:Round Table Discussions
The Earth Educators' Rendezvous (EER) offers many important opportunities for geoscience educators to gather - including participating in and offering one another professional development in geoscience ...

Communities

Workshop Leader (6 workshops)

Workshop Participant (55 workshops)

Coaching your TAs to use effective teaching strategies in introductory Earth science courses
April 2022
Strengthening Engagement between Disciplinary Societies and Community Colleges
January 2022
Earth Educators' Rendezvous 2021
July 2021

Webinar Leader

Webinar Participant (12 webinars)