Initial Publication Date: March 21, 2019

Programming for 2YC Faculty

Customize your Program

Join us for the fifth annual Earth Educators' Rendezvous in Nashville, TN! Drawing across the fields of geoscience, environmental science, sustainability education, and more, meeting attendees will have the opportunity to customize their program to learn broadly, focus on a particular issue or challenge, or something in between. Events include interactive workshops, oral and poster sessions, plenary talks and teaching demonstrations (see the Rendezvous program).

Morning workshops and working groups will meet for two or three days. Workshops are interactive, with participants learning from experts and from one another. The extended lunch hour provides a break and an opportunity to network with colleagues. Poster sessions will begin during the lunch hour on two days and the posters will remain available through the close of the day's program, with authors present after afternoon sessions. During the afternoon you can pick from a mix of mini-workshops, round-table discussions and/or contributed talks or teaching demonstrations. Check out the sessions below that include 2YC faculty as part of their intended audience at the Rendezvous this summer!

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Featured Events

Monday-Wednesday Morning Workshops

Designing Effective Lessons for your First Geoscience Course, 8:30-11:30am.
Show Description

Research in STEM disciplines has revealed that empirically validated instructional practices that can contribute to improvements in student learning and a reduction in attrition. We will outline a series of consistent steps for redesigning lessons to incorporate "active learning" practices. The workshop is designed to accommodate instructors with a mix of experiences; from those with no history with active learning to instructors seeking to incorporate new strategies to their courses.Read more...
Teaching Introductory Geoscience with Data and Math in a Societal Context Using GETSI Modules, 8:30-11:30am.
Show Description

Integrating cutting edge data and quantitative skills into introductory courses can be challenging. The GEodesy Tools for Societal Issues (GETSI) project has developed a suite of undergraduate teaching modules to make this easier and more engaging. The workshop will feature three of the modules in greater depth, as well as overview additional resources, provide coaching on teaching with data and math more generally, and give participants time to work on implementation planning. Participants who complete the full workshop will receive a $200 stipend.Read more...

Thursday-Friday Morning Workshops

Adapting Active Learning Strategies in Your Courses, 8:30-11:30am.
Show Description

Research in STEM disciplines has revealed that empirically validated instructional practices that can contribute to improvements in student learning and a reduction in attrition. We will outline a series of consistent steps for redesigning lessons to incorporate "active learning" practices. The workshop is designed to accommodate instructors with a mix of experiences; from those with no history with active learning to instructors seeking to incorporate new strategies to their courses.Read more...
Creating and Integrating Meaningful Virtual and Augmented Reality Content for Geoscience Classes, 8:30-11:30am.
Show Description

Learn the tips and tricks needed to create an engaging, story-driven Immersive Virtual Field Experience (IVFE) that can be utilized by all students on nearly any device. Participants will briefly explore the characteristics of an engaging IVFE before spending the majority of the workshop collaboratively planning and creating an IVFE scene using local phenomenon and a variety of free or free-to-try software. Participants should be comfortable using a computer.Read more...
Marine Geology Using GEODE, 8:30-11:30am. By application only- apply by March 31.
Show Description

Marine sediments and the geology of the ocean basins are important content topics in all oceanography courses. However these can be "dry" topics to teach, and may be difficult for students to appreciate. This workshop will introduce three resources that use Google Earth and can be used to help instructors and students explore these topics in highly visual and constructive ways. These resources were developed as part of the NSF-funded GEODE project and include a curriculum unit (with instructor guide) on marine sediments, a virtual marine sediment core kit, and a virtual guided tour of the ocean basins. Participants will be introduced to the resources and will also have the opportunity during the workshop to co-develop short exercises to accompany these resources for in-class or lab use. The workshop will be held in a computer lab. Read more...
Broadening Participation of Underrepresented Minorities in Geoscience, 8:30-11:30am.
Show Description

Broadening participation of underrepresented minorities remains a persistent difficulty in geosciences. A great deal of work is currently being done to address this issue, and EER 2019, hosted for the first time at an HBU, provides an excellent opportunity to delve into this work. This workshop aims to bring together people who are involved or interested in in efforts to improve participation of URM in geosciences, including through NSF's Geopaths program, efforts by the HBCU working group, and other formal and informal efforts. Participants will share the work in which they are involved, to share models and ideas across the community. The group will discuss what is working well in their programs and efforts, including a description of the evidence of this success where possible, followed by a discussion of persistent challenges they face. We will end the workshop looking forward to outline what are the important next steps we as a community need to take to address the challenges and move forward with greater success. Read more...
Measuring and Increasing the Level of Inquiry in Science Laboratory Activities, 8:30-11:30am.
Show Description

Commercially available lab manuals for introductory science courses are often devoid of authentic inquiry opportunities for learners (Buck et al., 2008). Inquiry-based activities have been empirically-shown to improve student learning and affect in lab settings (e.g., Chaterjee et al., 2009; Ryker & McConnell, 2014, 2017), but many instructors may either not know about the benefits of bringing inquiry into the lab or not know where to begin the process of adopting it into their lab design/teaching. This workshop will a) inform participants about the methods for measuring the level of inquiry in lab activities; b) have participants share/measure their own examples of existing lab activities, and; c) help participants collaborate to design new inquiry-based lab activities for future use by demonstrating effective "before and after" models of redesigned activities. Read more...

Afternoon Programming

Monday Events

A Beginner's Guide to Creating Short Videos for Geoscience Courses, afternoon mini-workshop. 1:30-4:00pm.
Show Description

A few years ago, we began creating short instructional videos for an introductory geoscience course. While we had little prior experience in creating videos, previous research provided us with some principles for effective multimedia design. Our videos follow a standard format and feature conversational narration with a mix of concise text, images, demonstrations, and assessments (see https://www.youtube.com/c/geosciencevideos). Based on our experiences, we will offer some suggestions for instructors who are considering creating their own short videos. We will provide guidance on key steps in the process including identifying learning objectives, writing a script, building a storyboard, and using visuals to illustrate information. We will focus on the use of relatively basic tools for organizing information (PowerPoint), non-professional tools for capturing images (phones, cameras), and introduce participants to software for video editing and production that is relatively straightforward (Camtasia). Read more...
How to Create your Own Open Educational Resources: Examples from Analytical Methods in Geosciences (AMiGEO), afternoon mini-workshop, 1:30-4:00pm.
Show Description

This workshop is for anyone interested in learning how to develop and publish open educational resources. Analytical Methods in Geosciences (AMiGEO) is an NSF-funded project to develop undergraduate-level, online, interactive, inquiry-based instructional modules for analytical techniques in the geosciences including: thin sections, petrographic microscopes, SEM/EDS, and Raman/FTIR spectroscopy. Participants will explore and review these existing materials, and will brainstorm ideas for adding to this textbook or creating open resources for their own courses. Workshop leaders will provide tips and guidelines for some technical aspects of creating online content, including creating or modifying diagrams and videos and where to publish content.
Using Community Science to Advance Earth Science Learning, afternoon mini-workshop. 1:30-4:00pm.
Show Description

This workshop is for anyone interested in leveraging their Earth science teaching to produce meaningful local impact. We will introduce the practice of community science, in which projects are designed in partnership with community leaders and use Earth science to advance community priorities – and explore how community science can serve curricular goals from students from middle-school through college. Using case-studies and organizational partnerships, participants will learn strategies for connecting with local community groups. Through role-playing, participants will have an opportunity to practice scoping community science projects. Finally, we will deconstruct past community science projects so we know what kinds of student learning these projects are most likely to advance and what kind of additional learning supports might be needed to maximize that learning. Read more...
Earth Education Forum, 4:30-5:45pm.

Tuesday Events

Data Labs: Using Ocean Observatory Initiative (OOI) Data to Engage Students in Oceanography afternoon two-day workshop. Tue-Wed (day 1 of 2), 1:30-4:00pm. By application only- apply by March 31.
Show Description

Join us for this two-day National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored workshop focused on the integration of Ocean Observing Initiative (OOI) data into undergraduate teaching of introductory oceanography themes and concepts. Harness the constant flow of data streaming in from ocean research arrays to engage students in addressing real world problems and working with data. Participants will explore ways to effectively teach with data, share effective practices, and brainstorm ideas for how to integrate OOI data into introductory oceanography and Earth and environmental science courses. Professors from Community Colleges, Primary Undergraduate Institutions (PUI), and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) who teach introductory courses (100 and 200 level) are especially encouraged to attend.Read more...
Share-a-thon and Teaching Demonstrations, 1:30-4:10pm
Roundtable discussions, 3:00-4:15pm:

Plenary Presentation, 4:30-5:45pm: We're All In This Together: Community science for learning and action Raj Pandya, Director, Thriving Earth Exchange.

Wednesday Events

Data Labs: Using Ocean Observatory Initiative (OOI) Data to Engage Students in Oceanography afternoon two-day workshop. Tue-Wed (day 2 of 2), 1:30-4:00pm. By application only- apply by March 31.
Show Description

Join us for this two-day National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored workshop focused on the integration of Ocean Observing Initiative (OOI) data into undergraduate teaching of introductory oceanography themes and concepts. Harness the constant flow of data streaming in from ocean research arrays to engage students in addressing real world problems and working with data. Participants will explore ways to effectively teach with data, share effective practices, and brainstorm ideas for how to integrate OOI data into introductory oceanography and Earth and environmental science courses. Professors from Community Colleges, Primary Undergraduate Institutions (PUI), and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) who teach introductory courses (100 and 200 level) are especially encouraged to attend.Read more...
Telling a New Climate Story — Giving Students a Positive Voice in the Age of Science Denialism afternoon mini-workshop, 1:30-4pm.
Show Description

Forest fires, floods, hurricanes, and famine are challenging problems. It doesn't help that the "grown-ups" running our country can't seem to agree on anything. For young people who can't even vote yet, it seems like there is so little that they can control, much less impact and the effects on their mental well-being are significant. In this mini-workshop we will explore how students can use storytelling to communicate their understanding of climate change data and evidence while charting a path toward a future very different from our past. Read more...
Poster Session - 4:30-5:45pm.
Geo2YC Happy Hour (evening event)

Thursday Events

Addressing Bias in Teaching, afternoon mini-workshop, 1:30-4pm.
Show Description

Unconscious biases can impact the way we teach – from our interactions in the classroom to how we grade assignments or exams. And it isn't just our own personal biases that affect our teaching – each of our students brings in their own biases that can present challenges in our courses. Participants in this workshop will be introduced to unconscious biases and their impacts, strategies to overcome them, identify their own personal biases that they may hold, and develop a plan to minimize and avoid incorporating negative biases into their teaching for future courses. Read more...
Successes and Challenges of Using Social Media in Teaching and Learning, afternoon mini-workshop, 1:30-4pm.
Show Description

Our students are increasingly connected and engaged with various social media platforms, e.g., Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat. How can we leverage this to build motivation and facilitate learning of earth science concepts? This workshop will explore considerations and approaches for integrating social media into teaching and learning environments. Participants will be introduced to different styles of social media, share resources and examples, and develop strategies for incorporating social media into their own classrooms. Read more...
Spicing Up Your Assessments: Moving beyond exams, afternoon mini-workshop, 1:30-4pm.
Show Description

Are you completely satisfied with your formative and summative assessments? If so, this workshop is not for you. This workshop will focus on how to develop and implement performance-based assessments in your classes, drawing on empirical support for each strategy (e.g. sort tasks). Performance-based assessments are useful to both K-12 educators looking to assess NGSS crosscutting concepts and college instructors seeking to build conceptual understanding in lower and upper division courses! Participants will have opportunities to share their assessment strategies and goals, and will leave with a plan to implement performance-based assessment in one of their courses. Read more...
Panel Discussion, 4:30-5:45pm: Grand Challenges in Earth Learning: Perspectives from Historically Black Colleges and Universities