Early Career Geoscience Faculty Workshop Program
Note: the 2011 workshop is over. Find out more about the Early Career Geoscience Faculty workshops, or read on for more information about the 2011 workshop, including most of the workshop presentations.

Sunday, June 12, 2011
Check in to the hotel (the Williamsburg Hospitality House ) at any time (your room might not be ready until 3:00 pm). Registration for the workshop will be in the William and Mary Parlor of the Hospitality House from 3:00-5:00; workshop registration for later arrivals will be at the Sadler Center during the reception, dinner, or evening program.
5:30 Informal Reception with Cash Bar, Sadler Center, Tidewater A and B
6:00-7:00 Dinner, Sadler Center, Tidewater A and B
7:00-9:00 Welcome and Introductions, Workshop Goals, Discussion, Logistics, Sadler Center, Tidewater A and B
Monday, June 13
7:00-8:00 Breakfast, Sadler Center Dining Hall
8:15-9:40 Preview schedule, Course Design, Learning Styles, and Teaching Styles (PowerPoint 2.1MB Jun13 11), Sadler Center, Tidewater A - Heather Macdonald and Richard Yuretich
9:40-10:00 Break, Tidewater B

10:00-10:50 Interactive Lectures (PowerPoint 339kB Jun13 11), Tidewater A, Greg Hancock, College of William and Mary
11:00-11:50 Teaching Strategies: Concurrent Sessions: Participants will attend one session from the list below (Sadler Center).
- Classroom Activities that Help Build Quantitative Literacy Skills (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 70kB Jun10 11) - Randy Richardson - Tidewater A (session 2)
This session will focus on examples that build quantitative skills of students in introductory courses (including large ones). We will use a Mauna Loa CO2 example that helps students with tasks such as constructing best fit lines, calculating slope, and making predictions about future values. We will also look at examples that build other quantitative skills, such as testing the reasonableness of quantitative answers, and that help students overcome math phobia.
- Engaging Students in Large General Education Courses (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 1.2MB Jun8 11) - Randy Richardson and Michael Wysession - Tidewater A (session 1)
We will discuss the benefits and challenges of using interactive activities in a lecture class, as well as several other ways to engage students, such as case studies, demonstrations, and connecting the topics to students' lives. We will demonstrate some short activities that actively engage a diverse and potentially unmotivated student group and that can easily be incorporated into lecture classes. And we will spend some time brainstorming about ways to incorporate these strategies in your own classroom.

- Incorporating Cooperative and Collaborative Learning into Your Classes (PowerPoint 339kB Jun8 11) - Jon Lewis and Richard Yuretich - York Room (session 1)
There are a number of techniques that can help involve students in the learning process in a constructive fashion. These include think-pair-share, informal groups, jigsaws, and gallery walk. In this session we will model one of these methods and explore the potential for some of the others in a range of classroom settings.
- Integrating Research into Courses (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 39kB Jun8 11) - Cindy Shellito and Liz Ritchie - Colony Room (Session 1 and 2)
Integrating research into the courses we teach can help bridge the gap between our teaching and our research, and offer students a glimpse into what we do as scientists. In this session, we will explore strategies for integrating different components of research into courses. We will also explore how teaching can broaden the impact of our research.
- Keeping Seminar Courses Lively and Engaging - Richard Yuretich - Tidewater B (session 2)
Seminar courses should be exciting and interactive, yet they are too often just the opposite. This session will model some ways to keep all participants focused and involved in the discussions.To benefit from this session, you should come prepared by reading the paper that we will discuss: Algeo, T.J. and Twitchett, R.J., 2010, Early Triassic sediment fluxes due to elevated weathering rates and their biological consequences. Geology, v. 38, no. 11, p. 1023-1026.

- Using Lecture Tutorials and ConcepTests to Engage Students (PowerPoint 2.4MB Jun8 11) - Karen Kortz - York Room (session 2)
We will discuss and practice using two research-supported techniques to engage students: Lecture Tutorials and ConcepTests (which can be implemented with or without clickers). Both techniques are easy to use in classes of any size.
12:00-1:00 Lunch, Sadler Center Dining Hall
12:15-1:00 - optional interest group discussions:
- International faculty - Liz
- Science literacy - Michael (see the Earth Science Literacy Initiative )
- Online courses - Richard
- Academic integrity - Randy
- Spatial thinking - Carol
1:30-2:20 Teaching Strategies: Concurrent Sessions Participants will attend a session from the list above. Sadler Center
2:20-2:40 Break, Tidewater B

2:40-4:10 Designing Class Activities and Assignments: Concurrent Sessions. Sharing and reviewing teaching activities and assignments and assessment strategies is a great way to grow and learn as an educator.
- Developing Assessment Strategies for Your Classes. During this session you will review various techniques for robust assessment of student learning and apply one or more of them to your own class activities or assignments - Richard Yuretich and Cindy Shellito - Tidewater A
- Reviewing One of Your Class Activities or Assignments. During this session you will share and receive feedback on one of your own class activities or assignments that you will submit prior to the workshop and will review activities or assignments submitted by others - Heather Macdonald and other leaders - Tidewater B
4:20-5:15 Taking Charge of Your Career (Acrobat (PDF) 72kB Jun14 09); Overview of Individual Consultations and Daily Roadcheck, Richard Yuretich; Randy Richardson - Tidewater A
5:30-6:30 Dinner, Sadler Center Dining Hall
7:00-8:00 Informal Session (optional) - Sharing Ideas about Specific Courses - Alumni House (open until 9:00 pm)
Tuesday, June 14

7:00-8:00 Breakfast, Sadler Center Dining Hall
8:15-8:30 Report from Daily Roadcheck; Your Research/Scholarly Career, Sadler Center, Tidewater A
8:30-9:40 Working Effectively with Research Students: Different Models,Tidewater A
9:40-10:00 Break, Tidewater B
10:00-10:50 Strategies for Research and Scholarship: Concurrent Sessions. Participants will attend one of the sessions listed below:
- Bringing Earth Sciences to K-12 and the Community via Outreach Opportunities (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 25kB Jun8 11) - Liz Ritchie and Randy Richardson - James Room (Session 2)
We will discuss the educational opportunities that exist outside the college setting, ways to reach out to those opportunities, and the benefits of doing so. These opportunities include working with K-12 teachers, lectures for the public, local science workshops, local/state/national park programs, television, newspapers, radio, museums, teaching workshops (local/state/national, etc.), and research programs (where you're not the PI).
- Research on Geoscience Learning (PowerPoint 7.5MB Jun8 11) - Karen Kortz and Carol Ormand - Tidewater A (Session 1)
Conducting research on the process of learning geoscience can be illuminating and rewarding, leading to improvements in geoscience teaching. Yet most of us are trained in geoscience research, rather than educational research practices. This session will explore how to begin a program of educational research, focusing on the similarities to and differences from geoscience research.
- Research with Undergraduates (PowerPoint 3.4MB Jun8 11) - Jon Lewis and Cindy Shellito - York Room (Sessions 1 and 2)
Conducting research with undergraduate students is quite different than doing so with graduate students, and the potential for success is substantial. In this session we: (1) present questions to consider asking yourself and your students; (2) summarize models for designing viable undergraduate projects; and (3) discuss specific strategies for successfully managing your undergraduate collaborations.

- Setting the Scope for M.S. Research Projects (Microsoft Word 49kB Jun8 11) - Richard Yuretich and Liz Ritchie - James Room (Session 1)
Working with M.S. students - taking the needs of your research program and the needs, experience, and abilities of your students into account and considering what is doable in a reasonable time frame.
- Setting Up Your Lab and Obtaining Equipment - James Farquhar and Deborah Bronk (VIMS, College of William and Mary - Tidewater A (Session 2)
This session will discuss strategies to get your lab producing high quality measurements for your research program and will include obtaining or accessing necessary equipment as a topic. Additional specific topics will follow participant interests.
- Starting New Research Projects and Collaborations - James Farquhar, Michael Wysession, and Richard Yuretich, Tidewater B (Sessions 1 and 2)
You have finished your dissertation or post-doctoral projects and you want to use the resources at your current institution to grow in new directions. This session will focus on issues involved with starting and funding new research projects that are in your own field or are broadening the scope of your research. We will discuss the complex nature of strategies for succeeding and establishing new projects (including interdisciplinary projects), and how matters like paying close attention to what we can actually accomplish and recognizing requirements and limits on reinventing ourselves and our research methods can be used to advantage.
11:00-11:50 Strategies for Research and Scholarship: Concurrent Sessions. Participants will attend a session from the list above.

12:00-1:00 Lunch, Sadler Center Dining Hall
12:15-1:00 - optional interest group discussions:
- Lecture tutorials
- Cooperative exams
- Planning your summer
- Social media in academia
1:20-2:00 Connections, Extensions, Opportunities: Concurrent Sessions, Alumni House. Participants will attend a session selected from a list of sessions (examples are listed below):
- Finding and Assessing Service/Governance Opportunities: What's Right for You (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 97kB Jun8 11) - Jon Lewis - Chandler (Session 2)
Early in your career, service is perhaps less talked about than the other pillars of academia, teaching and research. It might be argued that this facet of your career is flexible and more readily fine tuned to suit your interests. In this session we will consider strategies for finding service opportunities and for determining how they will be assessed as your career moves forward.
- Getting Published: Strategies for Moving Forward (Microsoft Word 58kB Jun8 11) - Liz Ritchie, Michael Wysession and Richard Yuretich -Leadership Hall (Sessions 1 and 2)
We often hear talk of the pressure to publish. That characterization of this vital aspect of our career does not acknowledge that we are drawn to our work by curiosity about the world and find great satisfaction from completing a research project and seeing the work published. Nevertheless, a laundry list of obstacles, which include a myriad of other 'urgent' obligations, limited time to devote to writing, feelings that our work is inadequate or incomplete, and negative reviewer responses, can add frustration to writing and contribute to the pressure mentioned above. In this session, we will discuss several practical strategies for preparing manuscripts and seeing them through review and into print.

- How Misconceptions Affect Learning (Microsoft Word 393kB Jun8 11) - Karen Kortz - 2nd floor Conference Room (Session 1)
Misconceptions are difficult to change, often preventing students from understanding accurate geologic explanations. We will explore common misconceptions in fundamental geologic topics and describe ways to uncover misconceptions in your students. We will discuss learning barriers that cause misconceptions as well as ways to reduce them.
- Keeping to the Core Demands and Dealing with Our Own Human Nature - James Farquhar and Cindy Shellito - Chandler (Session 1); 2nd Floor Conference Room (Session 2)
Whether one admits it or not, one's own human nature and the human nature of one's colleagues can become a worst enemy or a best ally. This session will be an open discussion of how issues such as jealousy, opportunity, following through and completing tasks, and follow up afterward can shape our careers and determine how we feel about ourselves and live our lives inside and outside the academic setting, seeking to address questions about how much is enough and when is it too much.
- Navigating Departmental and Institutional Politics (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 17kB Jun8 11) - Randy Richardson - 3rd Floor Conference Room (Session 1)
Many colleges and departments, with diverse personalities, complex group dynamics, effective leadership distinct from positional leadership, generation gaps, and communication gaps, seem to be difficult places to navigate. This session will focus on developing your awareness of, and skill set for, citizenship and navigating politics in academic settings. We'll also discuss how to say "No" safely.

- Responding Effectively to Student Writing (Microsoft Word 29kB Jun8 11) - Sharon Zuber, Director of the Writing Center, College of William and Mary - Pollard Room (sessions 1 and 2)
Evaluating writing takes time and students often think the process is totally subjective. We will discuss specific ways to give students useful feedback without being overwhelmed with work by sequencing assignments to build on student skills and using a rubric that sets students up for success and minimizes the time it takes to grade. Participants will be given handouts for teaching and evaluating writing.
2:10-2:50 Connections, Extensions, Opportunities: Concurrent Sessions. Participants will attend a session selected from the list above.
3:00-3:40 Preparing for the Tenure Process; Daily Roadcheck - Leadership Hall, Pollard Room, Chandler Room
3:40-4:00 Break, Leadership Hall Lobby
4:00-5:30 Individual consultations, Alumni House (also in the evening at the Keck Lab, by mutual agreement)
5:30-6:30 Canoe Lake Matoaka, walk through the College Woods, tour the Keck Environmental Lab
6:30 Picnic Dinner at the Keck Environmental Lab
Wednesday, June 15
7:00-8:00 Breakfast, Sadler Center Dining Hall
8:15-8:30 Preview of Day, Alumni House, Leadership Hall

8:30-10:00 Developing a Strategic Plan for Research/Scholarly Activity, Leadership Hall
10:00-10:20 Break, Leadership Hall Lobby
10:20-11:30 Writing Proposals and Getting Funded (PowerPoint 172kB Jun15 11); Professional Introductions; Discussion of NSF Visit - Michael Wysession; Richard Yuretich
11:30-12:45 Lunch, Alumni House
11:45-12:45 Optional Interest Group Discussions
- Kids (Related resources: Balancing career and family)
- Large classes
- Raising awareness about your program
- Interactive learning in calculation-based courses
- Classroom response systems (clickers)
1:00-3:00 Moving Your Research/Scholarly Activity Forward: Funding and Other Issues (concurrent sessions) NOTE EARLIER AFTERNOON START TIME
- Improving Research Proposals Through Review of Your Proposal Summaries, Leadership Hall
- Improving Research Proposals Through Critique of Successful Proposals, Brainstorming a Proposal Idea, and Getting Feedback on Your Ideas, Pollard Room
3:00-3:20 Break, Leadership Hall Lobby

3:20-3:30 Poster Instructions, Daily Roadcheck, Leadership Hall
Here are a few examples of posters from the 2010 Early Career workshop
3:30-5:30 Work on Poster, Individual Consultations
6:00 (or time you choose) Dinner in town (self-organized)
7:00-9:30 Work on Poster, Individual Consultations, Alumni House (open until 10:00 pm)
Thursday, June 16
7:00-8:00 Breakfast, Sadler Center Dining Hall
All morning: Coffee in the McGlothlin-Street Hall Room 20 Lobby
8:15-11:00 Poster Session, McGlothlin-Street Hall Room 20
11:00-11:30 Poster Follow-up and Reflection
11:30-1:15 Lunch in town (self-organized)
1:15-2:15 Life Balance and Time Management (Acrobat (PDF) 304kB Jun10 11) - making choices based on priorities, scheduling, and more. Liz Ritchie and Cindy Shellito, Alumni House - Leadership Hall
2:15-2:30 Break, Leadership Hall Lobby
2:30-4:00 Strategic Action Planning, Leadership Hall

4:00-4:45 Next Steps, Recommendations, Concluding Remarks, and Workshop Evaluation
7:00 Dinner, Nawab Indian Restaurant, 204 Monticello
Friday, June 17
Optional Visit to the National Science Foundation
6:45 am Bus departs from Hospitality House
10:15-10:50 Welcome and Introduction to NSF
11:00-12:00 Small Group Meetings with Program Directors
12:00-1:30 Lunch
1:00-4:30 Individual Meetings with Program Directors and Concurrent Small Group Sessions
4:30-5:00 Debriefing Session
5:15-6:45 Dinner
6:45 pm Bus departs from restaurant for Williamsburg