Workshop Program
Note: the 2009 workshop is over. Find out more about the "Preparing for an Academic Career in the Geosciences" workshops, or read on for more information about the 2009 workshop.
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Hide 2009 workshop participants during the opening session. Photo by Carol Ormand.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
10:00-6:00 Workshop Registration
Participants and leaders check in at Tonopah Hall (TON) for dorm assignment and meal card. See travel and logistics page for additional information. Workshop registration is also at Tonopah Hall (TON) from 10:00-4:30 and then from 5:00-6:00 in the Student Union (SU), Room 208BC, also the location of the workshop opening reception. Please check in for the workshop and get your name badge and workshop notebook when you arrive.
Optional Pre-Workshop Events on Thursday Afternoon
12:00-4:00 NAFT Forever Earth Field Trip - Lake Mead National Recreation Area
See the Lake Mead field trip photo galleryCost per person: $30. This fee will cover all transportation costs, field trip expenses, lunch, and cold beverages. Participants will enjoy the Forever Earth Floating Research Laboratory and Classroom, a 70-foot houseboat, while discovering the geologic story of the Lake Mead area. All field expenses are covered in the $30/person fee. Dress casually. Optional swimming activity - bring swim suit and towel. Please meet the group leaders for the Forever Earth field trip on the west side (the side facing The Las Vegas Strip) of the Tonapah Complex for a 12:00 pm departure. If you do not have time to check into your dorm, we can accommodate your luggage for the afternoon. We will be taking two vans for the 1-hour drive to Lake Mead National Recreation. Dress casually and wear tennis shoes or other closed-toed shoes. Sunscreen, hat, and sunglasses are strongly recommended.
2:30-3:30 Concurrent Sessions
- Working with K-12 Teachers (Acrobat (PDF) 2.8MB Jul15 09) - Pamela Burnley and Elizabeth Nagy-Shadman - Lilly Fong Geoscience Building (LFG) 101
This session will focus on what one needs to know to be able to work effectively with K-12 teachers and those training to be K-12 teachers, including modeling teaching strategies employed in K-12 settings and the role of state and national standards in determining curriculum. The session will also focus on career issues for college and university faculty involved in teacher preparation.
- Preparing Teachers to Teach Earth Science
- Ordeal by Check: an Introductory Activity about the Nature of Science
- Handouts from the session:
- Hands On Activities (Microsoft Word 2.4MB Jul16 09)
- Children's Book Assessment (Microsoft Word 32kB Jul16 09)]
- Growing Crystals Alternate Assessment (Microsoft Word 33kB Jul16 09)
- Growing Crystals Rubric (Microsoft Word 31kB Jul16 09)
- Rivers Lab Exercise (Microsoft Word 36kB Jul16 09)
- Earth Science Scrapbook (Microsoft Word 27kB Jul16 09)
- Earth Science Scrapbook Rubric (Microsoft Word 35kB Jul16 09)
- Teaching GIS/Geoinformatics - Scott Nowicki - Lilly Fong Geoscience Building (LFG) 202
Workshop leaders for the "Families and Careers" panel. Photo by Carol Ormand.
3:45-4:45 Concurrent Sessions
- Families and Careers: A Panel Discussion - Robyn Wright Dunbar, moderator - Lilly Fong Geoscience Building (LFG) 102
Discussion of issues, opportunities, and choices associated with families and careers, including children, dual-career couples, and more, followed by questions from the participants.
- The Global Warming Diet: Food Climate Connections (Acrobat (PDF) 20.3MB Jul21 09) - Eugene Cordero - Lilly Fong Geoscience Building (LFG) 105
The topic of global warming has become one of the defining scientific, political and social issues of our era. Interest in reducing emissions of heat trapping gases has spurred both environmentalists and entrepreneurs toward developing new strategies and products that will reduce the carbon footprint of humanity. While more efficient automobiles and renewable energy both sit center stage in the solutions category, agriculture and our industrial food system seemingly play a more minor role in the public eye. The talk, however, will focus on food, how it is grown, where it comes from, and how changing one's diet can reduce carbon emissions as effectively as buying a new fuel-efficient car. The material for this talk comes from the recently published book, Cool Cuisine: Taking the Bite out of Global Warming, a collaboration with Bay Area Chef, Laura Stec. Cool Cuisine examines the connections between food and energy use and offers tips and recipes for how to reduce our carbon footprint through food choices.
- Cool Cuisine: Taking the Bite Out of Global Warming
- The Starting Point pages on Experience-Based Environmental Projects include an in-depth description of the Lifestyle Project, which challenges students to learn about environmental alternatives by modifying their own lifestyles.
- Teaching Climate Change
Workshop Begins
2009 workshop participants during the opening icebreaker activity. Photo by Carol Ormand.
5:00-6:00 Receptionand Icebreaker Activity, Student Union (SU) Room 208BC
6:00-7:00 Dinner, SU Room 208BC
7:00-9:00 Introductions and Opening Session, SU Room 208BC
- Welcome, Introductions, Workshop Goals and Overview
Heather Macdonald and Robyn Wright Dunbar - Where Do You Want to Go? - A Spectrum of Academic Careers: Panel and Discussion
Workshop leaders from different types of colleges and universitiesEach panelist will give a short overview of his or her current job. Following the presentations, all of the workshop leaders will field questions. The goal is for participants to learn more about the diversity of job opportunities available in academia.
Our career profiles page has links to profiles of many geoscientists, including many of of the 2009 Career Prep workshop leaders, in both non-traditional and traditional academic careers.
Friday, July 17, 2009
7:00-8:00 Breakfast - Hazel M. Wilson Dining Commons (DIN)
8:15-8:35 Overview of Day and Preparing Now For Your Future Academic Career in the Geosciences (Acrobat (PDF) 779kB Jul8 09), SU Ballroom Section C
Heather Macdonald
Theme for the day: Who are you as a teacher?
Robyn Wright Dunbar presenting what research tells us about learning science.
8:40-9:40 Research on Learning: Concurrent Sessions
- Teaching Science: What Research Tells Us About Science and Learning (PowerPoint 1.5MB Jul17 09) - SU Ballroom Section C
Robyn Wright DunbarThis session--designed for those who are not yet familiar with the application of research on learning to teaching or who want a review--offers a brief survey of some of the factors that seem to most impact learning (e.g., students' prior knowledge, misconceptions, active engagement, learning styles, content organizational schemes, metacognition, etc.). We anticipate most of you will find that this session contains significant new information.
- Researching Student Learning in the Geosciences (Acrobat (PDF) 346kB Jul7 09) - SU Room 207
David SteerThis session is designed for those who have a working familiarity with the application of research on learning to teaching and will include an introduction to the Geosciences Concept Inventory, GALT (a logical thinking test), and other instruments that can be used to collect data on student learning.
- Classroom Educational Research describes why and how to conduct educational research in your geoscience classroom.
- Bringing Research on Learning to the Geosciences summarizes recent work and includes a list of recommended reading.
9:40-10:00 Break
10:00-11:00 Teaching Breakout Sessions I
Workshop participants discuss their ideas for making their lectures interactive. Photo by Carol Ormand.
- Designing Effective Science Courses (PowerPoint 625kB Jul17 09) - SU Room 205
Robyn Wright DunbarApply what we know about science learning to design effective courses. This session hits the highlights of constructing a syllabus, setting instructional objectives, determining course format, and assessment.
- Designing Your Courses is an introduction to the process of intentional course design.
- Designing Effective and Innovative Courses is a comprehensive set of resources on course design, including a course design tutorial.
- Developing Interactive Lectures (Acrobat (PDF) 1.5MB Jul16 09) - SU Room 207
David Steer and Eugene CorderoLecturing is one of the most efficient ways for professors to deliver content to students, but even with the best lecturers, students sitting passively in a class may receive very little of the content delivered. We'll discuss numerous ways to make lectures an active experience for students, whether for a class of 20 or 200. Examples will include ideas for small group work, think-pair-share activities, demonstrations, and using personal response systems (clickers) effectively with conceptests.
- The Starting Point page on Interactive Lectures links information on pedagogy with teaching examples.
- The Starting Point page on ConcepTests has information about ConcepTests and their uses, as well as a large library of examples.
- The Starting Point website also has pages on Gallery (Wall) Walks and Teaching With Interactive Demos.
- Handout from the workshop session (Microsoft Word 26kB Jul16 09)
- Student Attitudes and Motivations: The Role of the Affective Domain in Teaching (Acrobat (PDF) 861kB Jul8 09) - SU Room 224
Heather Macdonald and Elizabeth Nagy-ShadmanThis session will explore the attitudes and motivations our students bring into the classroom, how they affect how students learn, and what we as instructors can do about it to enhance student learning.
11:10-12:10 Teaching Breakout Sessions II
Workshop participants recording their thoughts in the session on Designing Effective Science Courses.
- Designing Effective Science Courses (PowerPoint 625kB Jul17 09) - SU Room 205
Robyn Wright DunbarSee description above.
- Designing Your Courses is an introduction to the process of intentional course design.
- Designing Effective and Innovative Courses is a comprehensive set of resources on course design, including a course design tutorial.
- Effective Methods for Assessing Learning in Class (Microsoft Word 318kB Jul7 09) - SU Room 207
David SteerParticipants will learn how to use Bloom's taxonomy to structure course learning activities to best promote student success. The various levels will be discussed using examples. Participants will devise a set of activities in their content area of expertise that are appropriate for an introductory class.
The Early Career page on Assessing What Your Students Are Learning includes links to information on Bloom's Taxonomy and to several online assessment resources.
- Incorporating Local and Global Data into Courses (Acrobat (PDF) 719kB Jul8 09) - SU Room 224
Ellen Martin and Rachel O'BrienThis session will provide a variety of examples illustrating incorporation of locally collected and/or global data into courses, thereby allowing students opportunities to analyze and interpret real data. We will highlight case-studies that range in scope from short, in-class activities to multi-week course projects for both undergraduate and graduate courses. Participants will have time to examine a variety of data sources and begin identifying course activities that utilize data sets.
See the list of benefits and challenges of using data in classes brainstormed by session participants.
- The Cutting Edge page on Teaching with Data, Simulations and Models includes a searchable collection of classroom activities as well as data sets you might use to design your own.
- The Starting Point page on Using Investigative Cases describes investigative case-based learning and how to incorporate it into your courses.
- Web resources for geoscience data sets (Microsoft Word 39kB Jul17 09)
Workshop participants share their teaching activity ideas via posters. Photo by Carol Ormand.
12:10-1:00 Lunch and Optional Lunch-time Birds of a Feather Discussions (12:15-1:15) - Hazel M. Wilson Dining Commons (DIN)
Possible topics might include: International scientists in the U.S., dual-career academic couples, geoscience misconceptions, other topics suggested by participants or leaders.
1:40-3:15 Designing Effective Classroom/Laboratory Activities - SU Ballroom Section C
Heather Macdonald and other workshop leaders
For this activity, you will work in small groups to develop a classroom or lab activity that addresses a key concept or skill in your discipline. This session will be an opportunity to share ideas with other participants as you consider different ways to teach that concept or skill.
See the list of the characteristics of strong teaching activities workshop participants developed.
See the posters about teaching activity ideas.
- Daily Class Planning links to resources to help you develop your own classroom, lab, or field activities, or to find existing activities that meet your needs.
- How to Plan a Single Class Period provides guidance in planning a lesson, from setting learning goals for the day to assessing whether students have met those goals. This page includes specific geoscience examples and a worksheet you can use to plan a class period.
3:15-3:45 Break
3:45-5:00 Teaching Statements Concurrent Sessions: Articulating Your Teaching Goals and Highlighting Your Accomplishments
- Your Teaching Statement is a list of resources describing how to write your own personal teaching statement. At the top of the list is a worksheet to help you through the process.
- Meizlish, D. and Kaplan, M. (2008). Valuing and Evaluating Teaching in Academic Hiring: A Multidisciplinary, Cross-Institutional Study. The Journal of Higher Education, v. 79, n. 5, pp. 489-512.
- O'Neal, C., Meilish, D., and Kaplan, M. (2007). Writing a Statement of Teaching Philosophy for the Academic Job Search. CRLT Occasional Papers, n. 23.
- Introduction to Teaching Statements - SU 207
Robyn Wright DunbarThis session is designed to "jump start" the writing process for those who have yet to draft a teaching statement. Participants will articulate their teaching goals and accomplishments and begin the process of folding these into a concise teaching statement.
Discussion during a break in the workshop program. Photo by Carol Ormand.
- Review of Teaching Statements - SU Ballroom Section C
Heather Macdonald and other workshop leadersParticipants who bring five copies of their teaching statements will work in small groups, each with a workshop leader, reviewing each other's statements and offering feedback. Leaders will also offer their comments.
5:00-5:20 Reflection time and Daily Road Check - SU Ballroom, Section C
5:20-6:30 Dinner - Hazel M. Wilson Dining Commons (DIN)
7:00 Optional Evening Discussions
- Early Career Time Management - SU Ballroom, Section C
Robyn Dunbar - Writing Your First Research Grant - SU 207
David Steer and Rachel O'Brien
- Time (Task) Management
- Getting Things Done: the Art of Stress-Free Productivity
- Funding Your Research
- Writing Your First Research Grant ( 34kB Jul21 09) session notes from a participant
Saturday, July 18, 2009
7:00-8:00 Breakfast - Hazel M. Wilson Dining Commons (DIN)
Theme for the morning: Who are you as a researcher?
Participants practice and discuss their "elevator talks." Photo by Carol Ormand.
8:15-8:35 Report on Daily Feedback and the Role of Research in Launching a Career (Acrobat (PDF) 43kB Jul16 09) - SU Ballroom Section C
Faculty as researchersThis session will start you thinking about where your research might lead in the future, how it might integrate with your teaching, and how it might differ depending upon the institution type.
8:35-9:40 Presenting Yourself to Others (Acrobat (PDF) 81kB Jul16 09) - SU Ballroom Section C
Heather Macdonald and FranciscaOboh-Ikuenobe
In the job search process you will have very brief, yet critical, opportunities to convey your work to others. Participants in this session will refine a personal "Elevator Talk," a paragraph that describes the nature and significance of your research and is aimed at an audience of other geoscientists. You will then practice talking about your work to others.
9:40-10:00 Break
10:00-11:00 Moving Your Research Forward to New Settings: Breakout Sessions
- Two-year colleges (Acrobat (PDF) 557kB Jul8 09) - SU Room 205 - Elizabeth Nagy-Shadman
- Moving Your Research to a Two-Year College describes some of the challenges of doing research at a two-year college and strategies for tackling those challenges.
- Scholarly activity for two-year college faculty lists resources for new faculty at two-year colleges, including a perspective on what (besides research) constitutes scholarly activity.
- Primarily undergraduate institutions (PUI) - SU Room 207 - Jon Lewis and Rachel O'Brien
- Moving Your Research to a PUI has advice from past workshop leaders.
- Graduate institutions - SU Ballroom Section C - Pamela Burnley, Eugene Cordero, Ellen Martin, Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe, David Steer
- Moving Your Research to New Settings addresses how to use your expertise in a new region, potential pitfalls, and funding and facilities.
Participants discuss potential challenges in moving their research to a Primarily Undergraduate Institution (PUI). Photo by Carol Ormand.
11:10-12:10 Research Statements: Concurrent Sessions
- Your Research Interests and Plans lists resources for developing your research statement, including this page on Developing your Research Statement.
- Introduction to Research Statements (Acrobat (PDF) 43kB Jul16 09) - Room 207
Heather MacdonaldThis session is designed to "jump start" the writing process for those who have yet to draft a research statement and will include discussion of key aspects of research statements intended for a particular type of institution (e.g., liberal arts college, research university).
- Review of Research Statements - SU Ballroom Section C
Robyn Wright Dunbar and other workshop leadersParticipants who submitted research statements in advance will review each other's research statements and will discuss key aspects of research statements intended for a particular type of institution (e.g., liberal arts college, research university).
12:10-1:00 Lunch and Optional Lunch-time Birds of a Feather Discussions (12:15-1:15) - Hazel M. Wilson Dining Commons (DIN)
Possible topics might include the community college interview, children and careers, question and answer (Q&A) potpourri, and other topics suggested by participants or leaders
Theme for the afternoon: Choosing Where You Want to Go and Getting There
View from the UNLV Student Union. Photo by Carol Ormand.
1:30-2:50 Mapping Your Career: Choices, Balance, and Action Planning - SU Ballroom Section C
Heather Macdonald and all workshop leaders
Given where you are in your career and what you have learned at this workshop, reflect on your long term goals or "dream job." What are your next steps? What advice would help you most at this point?
2:50-3:10 Break
3:10-4:30 The Academic Job Search (Acrobat (PDF) 47kB Jul16 09): Applications, Interviews, Teaching Demonstrations, and Job Talks - SU Ballroom Section C
Heather Macdonald and all workshop leaders
How to tailor your application for each advertised position, what to expect during your interview, and how to prepare an effective "job talk" (research presentation and/or teaching demonstration). Brief presentations will be followed by a question and answer period and some mock interview questioning.
- The Job Search is a collection of resources for people looking for jobs in academia. It includes information on beginning your search, assembling your application materials, interviewing, negotiating, and dealing with additional considerations (such as being part of a dual career couple).
- The job talk, (PowerPoint 30kB Aug2 06) from Ann Bykerk-Kauffman, summarizes a few key points about how to give an effective presentation during an on-campus interview.
- The Academic Job Search Handbook, by Mary Heiberger and Julie Vick, is a gem of a book with a wealth of advice.
4:30-5:00 Negotiating Before You Accept an Academic Position: Setting Yourself Up for Success
Peg Rees, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
This session will provide some insights on what you might want to consider asking about and asking for prior to accepting an academic job offer. Negotiating is a combination of skills and an awareness of what might be available. We will explore the potential of going to work with a greater potential for success because you negotiated. The workshop leader has years of experience watching and participating in the process as a faculty member, a department chair, and as an upper-level academic administrator. She'll share knowledge, skills, and tricks of the trade.
- Negotiating for What You Need to be Successful is a collection of resources about negotiating an academic contract -- what to negotiate for, and how to negotiate effectively (and pleasantly).
- 36 Negotiable Items in an Academic Position is an impressive list of things you might not think of when negotiating.
- The NSF ADVANCE portal includes a set of resources on negotiation.
- How and When to Negotiate a Strong Startup Package includes a couple of example offer letters for faculty positions.
5:00-5:30 Reflection, Next Steps, and Workshop Evaluation
Participants contra dancing. Photo by Katie Leonard.
6:30 Reception followed by dinner at 7:00 - SU Ballroom Section B and C. Dinner will be followed by an optional contra dance for those who are interested.
- Dave Mogk, a mineralogist and contra dance caller, has written a set of web pages on Teaching Symmetry Using Kinesthetic Learning -- An Exercise Using "Old-Time" Dances. In these web pages, Dave explains (with numerous video clips) how he uses traditional American contra and square dances to teach several concepts related to mineral symmetry.
- Map of contra dance locations in the U.S. (Can't find anything for your city/town? Email Carol to see if she knows of dancing in your area that's not on the map.)
Sunday, July 19, 2009
7:00-8:30 Breakfast - Hazel M. Wilson Dining Commons (DIN)
Optional Workshop Sessions
8:30-9:30 Concurrent Workshops: Session 1
- Designing a Lecture for an Introductory Course (Acrobat (PDF) 173kB Jul16 09) - SU 205
David SteerNot sure what to expect when you teach your first introductory lecture? This session will help you learn how to start things off on a positive note. You will learn some do's and don'ts regarding that first day of class. You will also learn how to incorporate best teaching practices into a single class period that will benefit your students and save you time in the long run. By the end of the session you have planned for one class session in an introductory course you might teach in the future.
- The First Day of Class
- Teaching Introductory Courses
- How to Plan a Single Class Period
- Workshop session handout (Microsoft Word 31kB Jul16 09)
- Informal Science Education: Pedagogy and Careers - SU 207
Allison Brody, Public Lands Institute, UNLVInformal Science Education (ISE) can be effective, engaging, and rewarding for both the facilitator and the participants. In this session, we will offer both a pedagogical framework for creating effective ISE experiences as well as strategies for pursuing a career in ISE.
- Preparing a Syllabus - SU 209
Ellen Martin and Jon LewisA course syllabus provides general information about the material to be covered, grading policies and expectations in a course. It also serves as a contract between the student and instructor. In this session we will review the common information provided on a syllabus and discuss policy statements that can provide safeguards for the instructor.
- Session handouts: agenda (Microsoft Word 38kB Jul19 09) and example syllabus excerpt (Microsoft Word 61kB Jul19 09)
- Creating the Course Syllabus from the Cutting Edge Course Design Tutorial
- Tips for An Effective Syllabus from the Penn State Learning Design Community
- Creating a Syllabus from Tools for Teaching, UC Berkeley
- Creating Your Syllabus from the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, University of Michigan
- Syllabus Checklist from the Teaching Center, Washington University, St. Louis
- Tapping into your Leadership Skills - SU 218
Francisca Oboh-IkuenobeThis session will explore leadership and communication skills that are important in your success in teaching, research and service, motivating students and colleagues to ensure goals are successfully completed, and utilizing your time effectively.
9:30-9:45 Break
9:45-10:45 Concurrent Workshops: Session 2
- Strategic Early Career Planning (Acrobat (PDF) 830kB Jul21 09) - SU 207
Rachel O'BrienThis session focuses on short term (three-five year) planning once you have landed an academic job. The emphasis is on how to effectively capture the "big picture" of your job responsibilities and to use this perspective to strategically plan and prioritize different facets of your work in the pre-tenure years.
- Charting Your Progress Toward Tenure
- An example of Rachel's semester on a page (Microsoft Word 53kB Mar21 06) planning calendar
- Taking an Active, Strategic Approach to Tenure
- Teaching Climate Change Science Using Social Change Strategies (Acrobat (PDF) 35.3MB Jul21 09) - SU 218
Eugene CorderoThe session explores different classroom activities designed to encourage a personal connection with greenhouse gas emissions and climate science by asking students to make temporary changes in their lives or by influencing the lives of others (i.e., a social change experience). Variations in this theme and the role of competition versus cooperation will be presented.
- CO2 inventory project (Acrobat (PDF) 114kB Jul19 09) and social change project (Acrobat (PDF) 90kB Jul19 09) handouts from the workshop session.
- Cordero, E., Todd, A.M., and Abellera, D. (2008). Climate Change Education and the Ecological Footprint, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, June 2008, pp. 865-872.
- The Starting Point pages on Experience-Based Environmental Projects include an in-depth description of the Lifestyle Project, which challenges students to learn about environmental alternatives by modifying their own lifestyles.
- Tenure Considerations at Predominantly Undergraduate Institutions and Research Universities - SU 209
Rod Metcalf and Heather Macdonald
10:45-11:00 Break
11:00-12:00 Concurrent Workshops Session 3
- The Teaching Portfolio: Who Wants to See It and What Goes In It? (PowerPoint 1.2MB Aug2 08) - SU 205
Robyn DunbarDocumenting Your Teaching includes information on building a teaching portfolio. - Tenure Considerations at Predominantly Undergraduate Institutions and Research Universities - SU 209
Rod Metcalf and Heather Macdonald
If you attended any of the optional sessions on Sunday morning, please fill out the Sunday session evaluation form. Thanks!
