Strategies for incorporating InTeGrate materials in a large lecture physical geology course: Implications for early adopters.
Tuesday
2:15pm
REC Center Medium Ice Overlook Room
Oral Presentation Part of
Transforming Courses, Curricula, and Programs
Authors
Michael Pelch, Washington State University-Vancouver
David McConnell, North Carolina State University
The InTeGrate project is an interdisciplinary effort to promote geoscience literacy through the context of societal issues. The project seeks to accomplish this in introductory geoscience and environmental science courses by promoting the use of units and activities developed in a series of topics-based modules. Each module features a prominent socio-scientific or socio-political issue related to the geosciences. Modules consist of six units designed for 50-minutes class periods. Units are built upon measurable learning objectives that ask students to work with real geoscience data and develop their understanding of content.
We incorporated thirteen units from four separate InTeGrate modules into a Physical Geology course at North Carolina State University (NCSU). The course is composed predominantly traditionally-aged non-geoscience majors in their first year of college. Initial integration of the modules was intuitive because the pre-existing course was already designed around eight modules focused on major geoscience topics. The InTeGrate materials used in this study were conceptually similar to the materials they replaced; the difference was in the work required of students and the central emphasis on how content related to society. Our experience suggests that instructors should consider the time and effort needed to implement new materials into their course. Some may find it best to begin with selected activities or units while others may find it appropriate to add whole modules. Instructors should account for the additional preparation required for their initial round of adaptations. Having a detailed plan to adapt InTeGrate resources so that the instructor can manage related formative and summative assessment activities is crucial for successful implementation. Adopting InTeGrate introductory modules has been a positive and exciting experience. The opportunity to watch students work with real-world data and create their own knowledge can be a transformative experience for many geoscience instructors.
We incorporated thirteen units from four separate InTeGrate modules into a Physical Geology course at North Carolina State University (NCSU). The course is composed predominantly traditionally-aged non-geoscience majors in their first year of college. Initial integration of the modules was intuitive because the pre-existing course was already designed around eight modules focused on major geoscience topics. The InTeGrate materials used in this study were conceptually similar to the materials they replaced; the difference was in the work required of students and the central emphasis on how content related to society. Our experience suggests that instructors should consider the time and effort needed to implement new materials into their course. Some may find it best to begin with selected activities or units while others may find it appropriate to add whole modules. Instructors should account for the additional preparation required for their initial round of adaptations. Having a detailed plan to adapt InTeGrate resources so that the instructor can manage related formative and summative assessment activities is crucial for successful implementation. Adopting InTeGrate introductory modules has been a positive and exciting experience. The opportunity to watch students work with real-world data and create their own knowledge can be a transformative experience for many geoscience instructors.