Description of the Research Project and Implications for Participation

UNAVCO, a non-profit university-governed consortium which facilitates geoscience research and education using Geodesy, is directing a program aimed at developing teaching materials that improve students' ability to use geodesy data (GPS, gravity, InSAR, lidar, etc.) and demonstrate quantitative skills to apply geodesy to critical societal challenges. To that end, the project is interested in understanding how faculty make adaptations to curricular materials as they integrate the teaching materials in their courses. We have received funding from the National Science Foundation's Education and Human Resources Directorate for this project (TUES-1245025, IUSE-1612248, and IUSE-1725347) for this project. We would like your participation in this study to:

  • Understand whether the program achieved its goals
  • Gather information on how we can improve future workshops
  • Collect data to underpin educational research on how geoscience instructors use online teaching resources

Information for this study is collected via a mixed-method approach that includes surveys, faculty reflections, and student data collection for tested curriculum over the duration of the program. These data will be incorporated into our research results in aggregate. Presentation of the material will be confined to project work groups, professional publications, and conferences. When individual quotes are used to illustrate important points, your name will not be identified. Additionally, identifiable self-authored instructor stories will be published to the public website, detailing information about how you implemented GETSI materials in your course, as part of the curriculum. There are no foreseeable risks resulting from your participation. Your participation in this research project is voluntary and you may leave at any time.

If you have questions about this project, please contact Evaluation Director, Dr. Ellen Iverson, SERC, Carleton College via email: eiverson@carleton.edu

You may also contact the chair of the Institutional Review Board for Research with Human Subjects at Carleton College, c/o Office of the Associate Dean of the College, Carleton College, One North College Street, Northfield MN 55057; telephone (507) 222-4301.