Workshop Program

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Sunday, July 7, 2013

1:00-7:00 Workshop registration: from 1:00-5:00 workshop registration will be at Williams Village North (also location of check-in for lodging); at 5:30 the workshop registration will move to the location of the workshop sessions (see schedule below)

Optional pre-workshop events on Sunday afternoon

 

2:15-3:00 Concurrent sessions on research, teaching, careers, and career path Stearns Central 177, 178, & 179

This session will give you the opportunity to learn more about faculty work (research, teaching, and service) as well as career paths and advice for those preparing for an academic career, and to talk with the presenter about her work and the choices she has made in her career thus far. Participants who arrive in time will attend one of the concurrent sessions.

  • Suzanne Anderson, Department of Geography and INSTARR Fellow, University of Colorado (Research interests: geomorphology, weathering, hydrology, glaciology). She currently heads the Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory, one of three NSF-funded environmental observatories dedicated to interdisciplinary study of the Critical Zone. Her professional service includes work as a journal editor, SoilTrEC Science Advisory Board member, and member of the Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System. - Stearns Central 178
  • Yvette Kuiper, Department of Geology & Geological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines (Research interests: structural geology, field geology, geochronology). Originally from the Netherlands, with her PhD and post-doc from Canadian universities, she brings an international scholar's perspective to her work in the US (first at Boston College and now at Colorado School of Mines). She has taught field camps and field courses. Her professional service includes work with the Geological Society of America (Northeastern Section and Structural Geology & Tectonics Division). - Stearns Central 177
  • Dena Smith, Department of Geological Sciences and Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology, CU Museum - Paleontology, University of Colorado (Research interests: paleontology, museum studies). She has worked with a diverse group of undergraduate researchers in a variety of programs, some dedicated to increasing the diversity of students entering the geosciences. Her professional service includes work with the Paleontological Society and the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans. - Stearns Central 179

3:10-4:10 Concurrent sessions, Stearns Central 177 & 178

This session explores effective strategies for climate communication and teaching. The characteristics of climate controversy in the public dialogue and in the classroom will be outlined. We will explore best practice strategies for communicating about climate topics and learn about resources for climate communication and teaching.

This session will explore ways to initiate research projects that address community challenges and engage non-scientists in scientific research. It will include an introduction to some of the tools and practices that can be used to approach diverse communities, identify research questions, design and manage collaborative projects, and share and apply results. A summary of exemplary participatory science efforts in Africa, Louisiana, and White Earth will provide concrete examples, and you'll have time in the session to explore how this might apply to your own research.

4:20-5:20 Families and careers: A panel discussion - Rachel O'Brien (moderator), Susan Buhr Sullivan, Matthew Kirby, Rajul Pandya, Dena Smith, and Joshua Villalobos, Stearns Central 178

This session offers a discussion of issues, opportunities, and choices associated with families and careers, including children, dual-career couples, and more, followed by questions from the participants.

Workshop begins

 

5:30-6:00 Reception and icebreaker activities - Heather Macdonald, David Budd, Rachel O'Brien, Stearns Central 178 (may move group to lawn between Stearns and Darley Commons)

6:00-7:00 Dinner, Darley Commons 212, 213, and patio

7:00-9:00 Introductions and opening session, Stearns Central 178

  • Welcome, introductions, workshop goals, and overview - Heather Macdonald, David Budd, Rachel O'Brien
     
  • Where do you want to go? A spectrum of academic careers: panel and discussion - Workshop leaders from different types of colleges and universities

Our academic career profiles page has links to profiles of many academic geoscientists, including some of the 2013 Preparing for an Academic Career workshop leaders. We also have a collection of profiles of geoscientists in geoscience education, outreach, and public affairs.

Faculty Positions: exploring the range of possibilities


Monday, July 8, 2013

7:00-8:10 Breakfast, Darley Commons Dining Hall (for those staying in dorms)

8:15-8:30 Overview of day; Preparing now for your future academic career in the geosciences (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 649kB Jul5 13) - Heather Macdonald and Rachel O'Brien, Stearns Central 178

Theme for the day: Who are you as a teacher?


8:30-9:40 Getting ready for class: A fresh look at course design (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 878kB Jul5 13), Stearns Central 178

This presentation will describe three major steps in designing an effective learning environment: 1) developing specific, student-friendly learning goals; 2) designing tasks for feedback and assessment; and 3) incorporating targeted teaching and learning activities. Participants will leave with sample learning goals, examples of formative and summative assessment tasks linked to the learning goals, and sample activities that will engage students as active participants in class rather than passive observers.

9:40-10:00 Break, Stearns Central

10:00-10:50 Teaching breakout sessions, Stearns Central 177, 178, & 179

Today's geoscience courses are now open to an abundance of different teaching styles that encourage students to think in different ways about the world around them. This workshop will discuss interactive pedagogies that faculty are using to ensure student interaction and comprehension.

Participants will be introduced to the components of the affective domain – motivations and attitudes towards learning – and the concept of self-regulation (students monitoring of their learning process). Students tend to enter our classrooms claiming to be motivated to learn, but without the skills to succeed. We will consider some simple techniques that participants can use to guide students to be more thoughtful about their learning.

Data analysis is a powerful tool to help students practice the process of scientific work. In this session we'll explore the myriad of ways you can incorporate the use of data analysis in your introductory and upper-level courses to involve your students in active learning.

11:00-11:50 Teaching breakout sessions (repeat of two sessions from above)

Cultivating citizen scientists is one of our many jobs as professors. Place-based or service learning courses link student learning to a familiar context and local social issues. These types of courses require substantial planning, organization, and time, but the result may be increased student learning gains and an understanding of relevant issues underpinning to a local area.This session will discuss some strategies for developing and sustaining place-based or service learning courses.

12:00-1:20 Lunch and optional lunch-time discussions, Darley Commons Dining Hall

1:20-2:00 What type of classroom do you want and what does it take to achieve that goal - characteristics of traditional, transitional, and learner centered classrooms (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 206kB Jun26 13) - David Budd, Stearns Central 178

Greater student learning occurs in classrooms that encourage students to analyze challenging questions, work collaboratively with small groups of peers, respond to instructor questions that assess learning, and focus on concepts over facts. This session will examine what actually happens in classrooms of all sizes that achieve this goal, and in classrooms that do not. Participants will also be introduced to the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol, which they can use as a guide to help them assess their own teaching and develop a holistic approach to all aspects of constructivist teaching.

2:00-3:30 Designing an effective lesson (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 286kB Jul5 13) - Heather Macdonald and Rachel O'Brien, Stearns Central 178

3:30-3:50 Break, Stearns Central

3:50-5:00 Teaching statements concurrent sessions: Articulating your teaching goals and highlighting your accomplishments

This 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.

Participants who bring eight 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.

5:00-5:15 Wrap-up and daily road check, Stearns Central 178

5:30-6:30 Dinner, Darley Commons Dining Hall (Dining Hall stops serving dinner at 6:30PM)

7:00-8:00 Optional evening discussions, Stearns Central 177, 178, & 179

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

7:00-8:10 Breakfast, Darley Commons Dining Hall (for those staying in dorms)

Theme for the morning: Who are you as a researcher?

8:15-8:25 Overview of day and report on daily road check, Stearns Central 178

8:25-9:15 Making a strong first impression: The elevator talk (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 1.2MB Jul5 13) - Rachel O'Brien, Stearns Central 178

9:20-10:00 Moving your research forward to new settings: Breakout sessions (will be repeated at 10:20)

10:00-10:20 Break, Stearns Central

10:20-11:00 Moving your research forward to new settings: Breakout sessions (repeated from 9:20)

11:10-12:10 Research statements: Concurrent sessions

This 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).

Participants who bring eight copies of their research 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 and will discuss key aspects of research statements intended for a particular type of institution (e.g., liberal arts college, research university).

12:10-1:20 Lunch and optional lunch-time discussions, Darley Commons Dining Hall

Theme for the afternoon: Choosing where you want to go and getting there

1:30-2:50 Mapping your career: Choices, balance, and action planning, Stearns Central 178

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 shorter-term goals? What are your next steps? What advice would help you most at this point? 

2:50-3:10 Break, Stearns Central

3:10-5:00 The academic job search: Applications, interviews, teaching demonstrations, job talks, and negotiating (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 115kB Jul9 13), Stearns Central 178 and Web page for notes and discussion (opens in a new window)

5:00-5:30 Closing remarks and workshop evaluation, Stearns Central 178

6:30 Dinner, Picnic, Darley Commons Lawn

8:00-9:30 Optional evening sessions, Stearns Central 177, 178 & 179

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

7:00-8:20 Breakfast, Darley Commons Dining Hall (for those staying in dorms)

Optional workshop sessions on Wednesday morning

Concurrent Sessions, Stearns Central 177, 178, & 179

8:30-9:30 Concurrent Optional Sessions I

Community colleges educate over 40% of all college students in the US and the number is growing. This session will explore some of the innovative changes that are currently happening at two-year colleges (2YC) and how they are becoming the first choice for many entering higher education. The session will also discuss the hiring methods, pay structure, and tenure processes of 2YCs.

Being a professor is a balancing act between teaching service, and research. How you manage your time will dictate, to a large extent, your ability to achieve your research goals. Acquiring this balance is easier said than done. In this session, we will explore some time management techniques aimed at achieving research success.

Over forty years ago, Benjamin Bloom and co-workers created a classification scheme for educational objectives that continues to provide a useful structure for matching learning goals with appropriate assessment experiences. We will introduce the taxonomy and use it to classify a range of learning exercises. Participants will leave with a hierarchy of question types and some examples of assignments that address a full range of cognitive skills.

9:45-10:45 Concurrent Optional Sessions II

Flash forward - you have been offered a job - congratulations! But now the challenges really begin. One of these challenges is setting up your lab. It sounds easy...and fun! Alas, setting up your lab requires critical planning to insure your success and eventual tenure. This session will discuss strategies for setting up your first lab as well as how to get your lab up-and-running.

Introductory college science classes, often taken as part of general education requirements, are an important contributor in the scientific literacy of US adults. Because of this, it is important that these classes convey not only the content of a particular science, but also the fundamental ideas and processes of science so that adults are equipped to incorporate science into their personal and civic decision making - in other words, it is important that students walk away understanding the nature of science. Further, understanding the nature of science can help students in these classes address common misconceptions that exacerbate the controversy over evolution and climate change. The goal of this session is to explore some of these misconceptions and to try out some activities designed to help students confront these misconceptions. Through our discussions and activities, you'll leave with some fun and effective ideas about how you might incorporate the nature of science into the introductory science courses you teach.

11:00-12:00 Concurrent Optional Sessions III

As a faculty member, you'll probably be expected to demonstrate the broader impacts of your work. Depending on the institution, this could be a large and important part of what you do or something that is required, but not well-rewarded. In this workshop, we'll introduce and discuss a number of successful broader impacts efforts at various scales, talk about the common elements of effective programs, and describe benefits of outreach to participants and scientists. Examples will include working with museums, teacher workshops, social media, citizen science, service learning, and public science events. Through this discussion, we'll develop a range of broader impacts ideas you can draw from and some guidelines for you to consider when designing your own approach. We'll also talk about the way programs can be aligned with your institution's goals and provide the optimum benefit to all participants - including you.

At some point in your professional training, you may have experienced the gift of working with an effective mentor. This session will explore how to cultivate a network of mentors in your academic life and to identify what's involved in serving as a successful mentor to others.

Geoscience can be explored through the lenses of history, literature, politics, visual and performance art, etc.. This discussion will focus on ideas for emphasizing the interdisciplinary nature of geoscience within the field itself, across the sciences, and out into the other disciplines on campus.

If you participated in one of the optional Wednesday sessions, we'd appreciate getting your feedback. Please fill out theWednesday Session evaluation formto provide us with your thoughts. Thanks!




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