Laura Guertin

Earth Science, Science, Earth Sciences, Earth Science

Penn State Brandywine

I am a Distinguished Professor of Earth science at Penn State Brandywine. My goals for all the courses I teach include increasing student Earth science, information, digital and geographic literacies. I accomplish this by providing students hands-on inquiry-based scientific investigations of their own design, integrating technological tools (from GPS to the Penn State Media Commons) and authentic data sets, and having students effectively communicate their new content knowledge. I want my students to understand the nature of science and scientific inquiry, and most importantly, to be scientifically-literate citizens!  My pedagogical research allows me to develop and integrate new and innovative methods to effectively engage and increase student learning to match my course goals and objectives. 

I have a passion for mentoring undergraduate students in their first two years on inquiry-based projects and independent research.  A number of students have worked with me and presented their findings at conferences and/or co-authored papers for peer-reviewed publications.  I have served as a past chair for the Geoscience Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research and served as an elected councilor for the Geoscience Division for 15 years. In addition, I have served as a councilor-at-large for the National Association of Geoscience Teachers and twice a past president of the Pennsylvania Earth Science Teachers Association.

I maintain a blog for my students to learn more about my life as a faculty member and to see what I do when I travel to conferences and in the field at Journeys of Dr. G, and I blog about geoscience education, education technology, and science communication for the American Geophysical Union (AGU) at GeoEd Trek. I also have been increasing my exploration of science and art by crocheting and quilting science stories.

For more information, visit Laura Guertin's faculty web page from Penn State Brandywine. 

Workshop Leader, Webinar Participant, Website Contributor

Website Content Contributions

Activities (51)

Student perspectives on climate discussions from the UN Conference of Parties (COP) via audio narrative part of Teach the Earth:Teaching Activities
This assignment provides students a storytelling structure that allows for their own voice and creativity to be applied. This is accomplished through the selection of an audience for a recorded voicemail and the ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.

Teaching Method Modules (2)

Peer Review part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Peer Review
Created by Laura Guertin, Pennsylvania State University Brandywine "For generations, the academic community has relied on peer review as a way of enhancing the knowledge base and encouraging serious ...

Just in Time Teaching (JiTT) part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Just in Time Teaching
Original module developed by by Laura Guertin, Carol Ormand, Gregor Novak, and Andy Gavrin. Revised and enhanced by Scott Simkins with assistance from Gregor Novak, Marcelo Clerici-Arias, and Rae Jean Goodman. ...

Conference Presentations (3)

Report on Unlearning Racism in Geoscience from the 2YC URGE Pod part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2021:Program:Poster Sessions:Wednesday:Poster Session III
The five-month long virtual Unlearning Racism in Geoscience (URGE) program was developed to empower groups, or pods, of geoscience faculty to implement anti-racist strategies and policies within their departments ...

Evaluating the impact of student storytelling in introductory-level geoscience courses part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2021:Program:Oral Sessions:Oral Session V
Knowing the important role introductory-level geoscience courses serve in recruiting majors and improving the science literacy of non-STEM majors, we hypothesized that a Student-Produced Audio Narrative (SPAN) ...

New Sustainability Programs and Their Impact at a Large Public State University part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2016:Program:Poster Sessions:Thursday
The Pennsylvania State University comprises 24 campuses across the state. Students who are admitted to any campus are automatically admitted to the University Park Campus once they meet the entrance requirements ...

Other Contributions (4)

Undergraduate Research in Geoscience at Penn State Brandywine part of SAGE 2YC:Engage 2YC Students in Research:Profiles
Information for this profile was provided by Laura Guertin, Associate Professor of Earth Sciences, Penn State Brandywine. Departmental/Institutional Context I teach at Penn State Brandywine in Media, PA, a ...

Communities

Workshop Leader

Workshop Participant (20 workshops)

Webinar Participant (21 webinars)

Core on Shore Webinar
November 2022 Presenter
Sharing Scientific Ocean Drilling with Students
May 2022 Presenter
What does "research" look like at the Introduction level, such as at 2YC's?
March 2022 Presenter