Spotlights and Stories: Improving representation and engagement of diverse individuals in introductory geoscience courses
Katy Sparrow, Georgia State University; Christy Visaggi, Georgia State University
"Spotlights and Stories" is a new initiative for introductory geoscience courses led by four faculty in the Department of Geosciences at Georgia State University (GSU). Through this easily adoptable ...

Exploring ENSO through the El Niño/La Niña Slide Chart and Current Data
David Curry, Council Rock School District; Elizabeth Mills, American Meteorological Society
The past year has featured an active, warm phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation, considered historically "strong". El Niño developed in early summer 2023, peaked in November, and persisted through ...

Carbon Cycle & 6th Mass Extinction Board Games
Rachel Phillips, University of South Carolina-Columbia
These are educational board games I created for the lab associated with my undergraduate course, "Processes of Global Environmental Change", which is an upper level elective at the University of South ...

Four Years of Discovery Improvements for SERC website visitors
Sean Fox, Carleton College; mahdi mohamed, Carleton College; Monica Bruckner, Carleton College; Ashley Carlson, Carleton College; Cailin Huyck Orr, Carleton College; Ellen Iverson, Carleton College; John McDaris, Carleton College; Kristin O'Connell, Carleton College
The Science Education Resource Center (SERC) hosts materials from more than 120 geoscience education projects. However, the project-focused nature of the SERC website means that information is siloed which presents ...

Teaching Atmospheric Dynamics with Python Modules
Walt Robinson, North Carolina State University
Students (undergraduate & graduate) often find dynamics the most challenging course in their atmospheric sciences curricula. Traditionally the material is presented from a mathematical physics perspective, and ...

The Wow Factor: Cutting Rocks to Engage Students
Kyle Fredrick, Pennsylvania Western University - California; Elisabeth Ervin-Blankenheim, Front Range Community College; Daniel Harris, Pennsylvania Western University - California
Many of our students, including non-majors already bring an interest in rocks, crystals, or gems to their introductory-level geoscience classes. But traditional geology labs tend to focus on rock and mineral ...

Environmental Ethics: Theory and practice
Jeffrey Spike, George Washington University; Elizabeth Spike, FCPS and Clean Air Partners
Students are not only interested but motivated by the ethical dimension of environmental science. Instructors should use that motivation in their courses rather than send a message that ethics is excluded from the ...

Exploring Earth's Dynamic Systems
catherine etter, Cape Cod Community College
The Earth's Dynamic Systems Lab aims to illustrate the interconnectedness of Earth's systems by depicting global and local climate change variables, biogeochemical cycles, and natural versus ...

Facilitating Effective Group Projects in Geoscience Courses
Sasha Seroy, University of Washington-Seattle Campus; Dana Thomas, City of Austin
This workshop will explore effective ways to facilitate group projects to promote the development of workforce skills for students. We will provide an overview of the benefits of group projects for geoscience ...

Guiding students to use evidence to support their scientific reasoning: Research Results
Kathy Browne, Rider University; Gabriela Smalley, Rider University; Andrea Drewes, Rider University; Sage Lichtenwalner, Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Scientific reasoning is complex and many of us have experienced our students struggling to excel in this skill. With NSF funding, we have been testing a strategy built into general education introductory ...