ESA WK18: Teaching Science in Society: Building Relevance and Interest for Undergraduates By Adding InTeGrate Resources to Your Class

A workshop for faculty members to expand teaching about sustainability

Sunday, August 7, 2016: 12:00 PM-5:00 PM
As part of the Ecological Society of America Annual meeting
316 Convention Center, Ft Lauderdale, Florida
Registration is $30 and opens April 15, 2016 at the ESA meeting website

Participant List

Workshop Program

Overview:

Ecology, environmental, and earth science courses have the opportunity to engage undergraduate students in science through addressing societal challenges including climate change, water availability issues, resource depletion, food security, and other grand challenges. Through the NSF funded InTeGrate STEM Talent Expansion Program Center, interdisciplinary teams have developed a series of teaching modules that directly address environmental grand challenges through the use of engaging activities that use authentic data and pose questions that incorporate human, environmental and geological considerations. Modular units can be adopted wholesale or in parts, and each features resources to develop students' abilities to address interdisciplinary problems, improve scientific thinking skills, make use of authentic data, and incorporate systems thinking. Materials have been developed and tested by faculty at a variety of types of institutions (2-year, 4-year and research institutions) and come with built-in assessments, and resources for instructors and students. InTeGrate materials align with high-impact practices that promote science literacy among undergraduate students. Topics include climate change, sustainable land use, environmental justice and freshwater resources. In this workshop, we will explore the InTeGrate materials, and work with participants to adapt the materials for their courses, the context of their institutional and local geographic setting, and for the needs of their students.

See this session in the ESA meeting program

Workshop Objectives:

  • Become familiar with the InTeGrate materials and the guiding principles used to develop them
  • Practice adapting materials for specific settings and courses
  • Develop individual action plans and next steps for improving classroom teaching
  • Create a community of individuals interested in continuing a conversation about teaching using these approaches

Format:

The workshop will include presentations, small-group work time, and active discussions. Participants will leave with an individual action plan for their own next steps. Our time will be adapted to meet the needs and interests of the participants. Workshop participants will be asked to bring a laptop and complete a pre-workshop survey.

Convenors:

  • Cailin Huyck Orr is the Assistant Director of the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College and a member of the leadership team for the InTeGrate STEP Center. Her background is in limnology and biogeochemistry.
  • Meghann Jarchow is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of South Dakota and the Sustainability Coordinator. She has developed two InTeGrate modules and co-leads a program to include InTeGrate materials across 14 disciplines at USD. Her research focus is on sustainable agriculture and managed prairie systems.

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