Getting the Most Out of Analogies in the Geoscience Classroom

Conveners: Nicole LaDue (Northern Illinois University), Allison Jaeger (Mississippi State University), and Lydia Sandefur (Northern Illinois University)

Monday, July 20 | 1:30-4:00pm

The goal of this workshop is to present up-to-date findings about how to most effectively use analogies to promote learning in the geoscience classroom. One of the most basic ways humans learn is by identifying alignments to existing knowledge. This is particularly important for the geosciences because the temporal and spatial scale of geologic events is often beyond human perception. Workshop participants will be able to: identify the source, target, and mappings of an analogy; describe effective strategies to use analogies in the geoscience classroom; and develop an activity for their own classroom to engage students in analogical reasoning.

Observing Change: Phenology as a tool for inspiring student curiosity

Conveners: Jessica Terrien Dunn and Nicole Johnston (Spelman College)

Monday, July 20 | 1:30-4:00pm

The workshop will highlight easy, low-cost, interdisciplinary field excursions on campuses which allow students to practice phenology and the scientific method within a biology or environmental science course or unit. We will share ideas for using natural resources, such as trees, that are available and accessible on most campuses and highlight how trees are influenced by urban features, including building proximity. We implemented this concept as a project for students enrolled in an Environmental Science Senior Capstone course and a Biology Ecology course at Spelman College. Students were able to learn basic phenological terms, review the scientific method, and collaborate and share data without having to plan extensive group meetings outside of class. Our course focused on phenology using microclimates on campus, although it would be possible for the same type of project to also utilize topics such as ecosystems services and animal behavior in more detail. Students worked independently and practiced making scientific observations and documentation throughout the semester. The project concluded with short team videos where each student used the data to answer a scientific question related to their team's microclimate. We will share how this project could be adapted for different levels and different types of campuses or other outdoor spaces.

From Confusion to Confidence: Teaching students to read geoscience

Conveners: Alvin Coleman and Cathy Burwell (Cape Fear Community College)

Monday, July 20 | 1:30-4:00pm

Students often struggle to engage with primary scientific literature, especially in introductory geology and other natural science courses. Vocabulary barriers, math anxiety, and limited prior experience with research methods can make journal articles feel inaccessible. Our interdisciplinary team of a librarian and several community college science instructors developed a practical instrument to guide students through the structure and purpose of scholarly articles. The tool prompts learners to work with abstracts, introductions, methods, results, and discussions in a scaffolded way that builds confidence and encourages critical thinking.  This session models the design principles of Cutting Edge workshops by emphasizing active participation, collaboration, and immediate applicability. Participants will experience portions of the instrument from a student perspective, work with other participants, consider strategies for adapting it to their own teaching contexts, and reflect on the role of librarian-instructor partnerships in supporting student success.    By the end of the session, participants will have a ready-to-use tool that can be customized for geology or other disciplines, along with insights into how interdisciplinary collaboration can enhance student comprehension of primary literature. This approach not only supports information literacy but also helps students enter the ongoing scientific conversation with greater confidence and without reliance on artificial intelligence.

Curriculum Design with Interdisciplinary Learning Goals for Environment and Sustainability

Conveners: Abigail Owen (Carnegie Mellon University) and Sarah Cadieux (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)

Monday, July 20 | 1:30-4:00pm

Maybe you already participate in an established curriculum for environment and sustainability, and you're curious about adding new areas of depth to your curriculum? Or perhaps you want to design a brand-new curriculum to reflect interdisciplinary strengths? This workshop will focus on how to accomplish interdisciplinary skills (STEM, Humanities, policy, etc.) within a curriculum, and how to write learning goals to reflect this 'heavy lift' for interdisciplinary competence. Using principles of 'backwards design' - starting with the end goals of the curriculum, and aligning the intermediate steps towards those goals - participants will develop practical frameworks for creating integrated learning experiences that address environmental challenges across subject areas.  Through collaborative work, you will:

• Identify connections between disciplines that support environmental literacy.
• Navigate common challenges in implementing interdisciplinary curriculum within existing school structures.
• Identify your institution's unique strengths in environment and sustainability education, and how to effectively leverage these.
• Help students understand your institutional context in a way that is helpful for students in their own articulation of their strengths, and areas which students might want to explore further, for example, through study abroad or internships.
• Reflect with peers on how institutional contexts vary widely, from universities with entire colleges dedicated to natural resources to those with limited faculty in environmental fields.

Listening to Earth's Secrets: What earthquakes reveal

Conveners: DeeDee Okamoto and Beth Pratt-Sitaula (EarthScope Consortium)

Monday, July 20 | 1:30-4:00pm

How can we, as educators, engage students in authentic scientific practices while teaching about earthquakes and the dynamic Earth? This interactive workshop introduces free, classroom-ready digital tools and curricular resources from EarthScope Consortium designed to help students think and act like geoscientists. Participants will explore an earthquake location app suite that guides learners through more modern methods of earthquake location modeled on how scientists analyze real seismic data.   Participants will also experience additional tools designed to give students agency over their own learning. As they work independently through each activity, they make decisions, test ideas, and refine their understanding ‚Äî without relying on step-by-step teacher guides or the teacher's answers. Instead, instructional support and prompts are embedded in the resources themselves, enabling faculty to focus on facilitating, and extending learning.    Faculty will experience these resources from a student perspective, then discuss strategies for adapting them to upper level high school, and college-level introductory courses in geoscience, environmental science, and related disciplines. The session will highlight pedagogical approaches that emphasize inquiry, data literacy, and collaborative problem-solving‚Äîskills that extend well beyond the geosciences. By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with ideas for implementing these ready-to-use digital activities, and practical ideas for empowering students to take ownership of their learning. Bring your laptop to ensure you get the most out of this workshop.    Featured apps and data portals are anticipated to be:  EQLocate  Layered Earth  Interactive Earthquake Browser  Interactive Poster

Cultivating Growth: Alternative grading strategies speed dating

Conveners: Amanda Colosimo and Benjamin Schermerhorn (Monroe Community College)

Monday, July 20 | 1:30-4:00pm

While many STEM educators have embraced active learning and inclusive pedagogies, one classroom element remains largely unchanged: grading. Traditional grading systems‚ developed over a century ago‚ can unintentionally reinforce inequities, discourage risk-taking, and disproportionately impact students from underrepresented and underserved backgrounds. This interactive mini-workshop invites geoscience educators to critically examine how grading practices shape student success and retention. Participants will engage in an "alternative grading speed dating" activity, rotating through nine evidence-based strategies designed to foster motivation, mastery, and equity. Strategies introduced include specifications (and standards-based) grading, exam retakes, ungraded homework, flexible deadlines, weighting later work more heavily, eliminating participation grades, adopting a 4.0 scale, transparency in teaching and learning (TiLT), and minimum grading.

Promoting Nature Connectedness through Sensor-Supported Field Investigations (SSFIs)

Convener: Marie-Léa Pouliquen (University of Rennes)

Wednesday, July 22 | 1:30-4:00pm

This interactive mini-workshop models Sensor-Supported Field Investigations (SSFIs) in which the primary outcome is nature connectedness (NC)‚ not environmental data. We use simple, phone-based sensors (e.g., Merlin Bird ID for sound cues, Pl@ntNet for plant prompts, basic phone readings for light/temperature) only as attentional scaffolds that help learners notice what is already there. Participants will (1) head outdoors to trial reflection-first field routines using Pl@ntNet (plant ID), Merlin Bird ID (bioacoustics), Aquality (water-quality/flow observations), and Fizziq (phone-based abiotic sensing) treating sensors as attention cues rather than data endpoints; (2) come back indoors for a short reflection cycle on nature connectedness : first, a 60-second INS-style pictorial check-in; next, one place-attachment prompt (e.g., "Which spot felt most 'yours' and why?"); then a 3-4 sentence note using the template "I noticed... This made me feel... It means... Next I might..." to turn a single observation into a feeling, a meaning, and a possible action. Finally, participants will (3) co-design an implementation plan for their own classes‚ choosing a local site, clarifying roles, selecting a minimal sensor set, scripting attention routines and reflection prompts, and planning safety and simple assessment‚ explicitly aimed at promoting nature connectedness. Throughout, we model facilitation moves that keep attention on the milieu rather than the screen (screen-down pauses, listen-first).  All materials are provided. No prior sensor experience required; bring a smartphone or tablet if possible.

Community Engaged Learning in the Geosciences: What, why, how, and for whom

Convener: Kelsey Bitting and Jessica Merricks (Elon University)

Wednesday, July 22 | 1:30-4:00pm

Community-engaged learning (CEL) pedagogies, including service learning and fair-trade learning, are based on reciprocal partnerships with organizations in the community devoted to the common good, and engage students in activities and projects that help the partner organization achieve its goals. Research suggests that CEL courses can enhance student motivation and self-efficacy to engage with environmental problems, encourage them to become more self-aware of their privilege and positionality, and prompt them to be more engaged citizens‚ all while enhancing their learning and retention of course content. Because they help students see the direct benefits STEM disciplines can offer to their communities, CEL pedagogies may have additional benefits for first-generation students, students of color, and women in STEM. In this workshop, we will describe the research on the benefits of CEL pedagogies, especially in STEM and geoscience fields and for underrepresented student populations. We will share examples from our own practice and research, drawing upon numerous published resources and using them to guide participants through thinking about how CEL might meet their instructional goals and fit within their departmental or institutional contexts, how they might implement it in their existing courses, and how they might assess its impact.

Teaching Climate Data Through Art and Science

Conveners: Veronica McCann (Kalamazoo Valley Community College) and Beth A. Johnson (University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh)

Wednesday, July 22 | 1:30-4:00pm

This workshop is designed to help students develop critical data analysis skills by examining climate science. Understanding the Earth's climate and the factors influencing global climate is a foundational concept in an introductory geology course. This workshop emphasizes the interpretation of real-world data and the exploration of systems-level solutions to climate challenges.

To make climate data more relatable, students will examine creative ways to present climate data to students in an accurate, but non-threatening format. This hands-on approach fosters a personal connection to the data and encourages curiosity. Following this, students participate in group discussions to share observations, clarify misconceptions, and deepen their understanding of climate controls and data collection methods.   Discussion and learning about global climate can leave students asking what can be done to address climate concerns.  The use of the En-ROADS climate simulator allows students to engage with science data. This interactive tool encourages exploration of how changes in energy sources, transportation, agriculture, deforestation, and policy decisions affect global climate outcomes. Through guided exploration, students analyze the impact of these variables on temperature, sea level, health, and other climate indicators.  This action can help students develop a broader understanding of global climate and the costs and benefits of different climate policies.

Teaching Critical Minerals and Designing Lessons for Student-Centered Instruction

Convener: Rachel Teasdale (California State University-Chico), Hannah Aird (California State University-Chico), Katherine Ryker (University of South Carolina-Columbia), Doug Czajka (Utah Valley University), and Karen Viskupic (Boise State University)

Wednesday, July 22 | 1:30-4:00pm

This workshop will integrate new (to many) content and instructional practices. We will share a newly designed lesson on critical minerals (CM; Aird et al., to be uploaded to TTE in fall 2025) that has been developed using student-centered instructional practices (as measured by RTOP and COPUS using direct observations at four institutions). The workshop will focus on two important themes: 1) Content: there is currently only 1 Teach the Earth (TTE) lesson on CM, but this important topic has societal relevance and the potential to employ a large number of geoscientists. 2) Pedagogical: student-centered instructional practices support student engagement and learning. Participants will preview the lesson, critique the activity and discuss in small groups the relevance of the content and instructional practices for students in their courses. In small groups, participants will use a general lesson plan template to modify our CM lesson for their contexts (e.g. intro labs, mineralogy/early majors course, economic geology/advanced majors, online lecture course). By the end of the workshop, participants will have created a modified CM lesson plan that incorporates student-centered instruction. Lesson plans will be uploaded to our TTE CM lesson as a "Community Contribution Tool" (CCT), allowing for community-wide usage. After the workshop, participants can use their lesson plans to finalize activities for their own courses and modify their CCT submission accordingly.

Data, Place, and Pedagogy: Engaging students with urban earth systems

Convener: Angela Hood (Cary Institute)

Thursday, July 23 | 1:30-4:00pm

The Critical Zone (CZ) -Earth's "living skin"- is the space where bedrock, soil, water, air, and life interact to shape Earth's surface and sustain life. These interactions are especially complex in urban and suburban environments, where most of the U.S. population lives. The Urban Critical Zone (UCZ) Project, part of the NSF-funded CZ Network, investigates how urban processes across major metropolitan corridors - spanning different climates, development densities, and ages - influence soil, streams, and ecosystems. Bringing CZ science into the classroom helps urban and suburban students connect Earth processes to their lived experiences while strengthening scientific literacy and practices.  In this workshop, participants will don their "Student Hats" to engage in a UCZ Data Jam. They will analyze curated UCZ datasets to discover potential patterns and trends, interpret results by linking them to urban processes occurring within the research area, and construct evidence-based claims describing how those processes influence the CZ. Findings will be communicated in both scientific formats and creative representations. Throughout the workshop, participants experience pedagogy that is phenomenon-driven, place-based, and student-centered, while celebrating collaboration and student sense-making.

Participants will also explore ready-to-use UCZ resources, including Data Jam support materials and classroom-tested Data Lessons. Participants will have time to share classroom experiences, brainstorm adaptations for diverse teaching contexts, and begin an individual implementation plan tailored to their local environment.

Participants will leave this workshop with strategies, adaptable resources, and a vision for integrating authentic and creative data investigations in their practice to support their students' capacity to "think like scientists!"

Engagement in Geoscience Education Advocacy: How and Why

Conveners: Michael Phillips (Illinois Valley Community College), Tara Lepore (Western Michigan University), and Guang Zeng (Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi)

Thursday, July 23 | 1:30-4:00pm

In this mini-workshop, current leaders in NAGT Advocacy will provide an overview of the many opportunities and avenues for geoscience education advocacy. Participants will discuss the need for geoscientists with strong communication skills to engage in political advocacy at the local, state, and federal levels. An overview of supportive materials and structures will be shared, including NAGT, AGU, and GSA materials and opportunities. Participants will then develop a personal action plan and share and discuss their plan with other participants.

Identity as a tool: Empowering students to bring their whole selves to the field

Conveners: Bradlee Wahid Cotton and Stephanie Shepherd (Auburn University Main Campus)

Thursday, July 23 | 1:30-4:00pm

Fieldwork is an essential skill for geoscientists, but every individual will experience the field differently due to the specific field conditions, their previous field experiences, and their personal intersecting identities. This workshop will present skills and techniques to empower students and leaders to tackle fieldwork, recognizing that their unique identities and world perceptions are tools as important as a rock hammer or notebook. We will present a set of strategies developed from interdisciplinary, mixed methods research drawing on place-based learning, critical geographies, qualitative GIS, and social research methods. During the workshop, we will discuss results from implementing these strategies while collecting stream geomorphology data with undergraduate and graduate students in urban and rural Alabama. Workshop participants will practice using pre-field trip surveys, personal reflection mapping, and guided journaling during a mini "field" experience. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the tools and to adapt the tools for their own upcoming trips to the field with students.

Experiential Learning with STELLA Instruments

Conveners: Michael Taylor (NASA Goddard) and Christine Hirst Bernhardt (University of Maryland-College Park)

Thursday, July 23 | 1:30-4:00pm

This 2.5-hour workshop engages participants in authentic scientific inquiry using STELLA instruments while modeling the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) methodology. Participants begin with hands-on exploration at three stations measuring vegetation health, air quality, and solar radiation without prior instruction. Through collaborative observation and hypothesis development, they experience student-centered learning firsthand before adapting investigations for their own classrooms.  The workshop emphasizes extensive hands-on time (75 minutes total) with STELLA spectrometers, air quality sensors, and solar radiation instruments. Participants work in interdisciplinary groups, developing multiple explanations for observed patterns before designing experiments to test their hypotheses. This mirrors authentic scientific practice while building community among educators from diverse institutions.    Rather than traditional lecture format, facilitators guide discovery through strategic questioning and scaffolded collaboration. Participants leave with immediately usable investigation protocols, assessment rubrics, and adaptation worksheets customized for their teaching contexts. Implementation planning ensures concrete next steps for classroom application.    The workshop models research-based pedagogy while building a network of educators committed to student-centered Earth science instruction. All materials include appropriate disclaimers about STELLA's educational purpose and current validation status. Follow-up support includes virtual meetings, shared resource libraries, and conference presentation opportunities, creating sustainable community around ISLE implementation with STELLA instruments for enhanced Earth science education.

Exploring Geoscience Solutions to Energy and Climate

Conveners: Amy Weislogel and Amy Hessl (West Virginia University)

Thursday, July 23 | 1:30-4:00pm

The Exploring Geoscience Solutions (EGeoS) learning modules assist high school to early college students in building STEM knowledge and skills aligned with diverse and emerging careers in climate and energy sectors. Using inquiry-driven learning cycle instructional design, EGeoS provides hands-on, locally relevant investigations that affirms students' connection to place and their self-efficacy through an empowerment framework. The inaugural module collection was developed as part of the NSF-supported Appalachian Geoscience Learning Ecosystem (AGLE) and was co-created by West Virginia University geoscience faculty and West Virginia high school STEM "Educator Influencers" through workshops, state science teachers conference sessions and survey feedback. The AGLE EGeoS collection is designed around 6 EGeoS modules: 1. Can We Control Earth's Temperature?  2. Is There White Gold (Lithium) in Appalachia?  3. Can Trees Solve Climate Change?  4. Are Rare Earth Elements in Coal Waste?  5. Is There Geothermal Energy in Appalachia?  6. Can Atmospheric Carbon Go Back Underground?     Module learning objectives are aligned with WV College- and Career- Readiness Standards for Science (which are built on NGSS) in Earth & Space Science as well as Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Physical Science which are integral to climate and energy fields. In addition, modules incorporate ties to ongoing energy and climate research, regionally accessible career profiles and pathways for continuing education to access these careers. Participants will explore the EGeoS modules and receive support in developing an action plan to apply this model to their own geographic/cultural regions or to expand the AGLE network in other Appalachian areas.