About GETSI Teaching Materials

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GEophysics Tools for Societal Issues brings together two collections of geophysics-related online resources -- GEodesy Tools for Societal Issues (original GETSI) and Introducing Geophysics for Urban and Near-surface Applications (IGUaNA). Both projects offer educational resources that integrate geophysical data and methods into undergraduate curricula, emphasizing their relevance to societal issues, so it made sense to combine them into a single larger collection.

Modules are designed to maximize student engagement and learning through analysis of real data and clear connections to critical societal challenges. The materials are created through a rigorous development and testing process, spearheaded by the InTeGrate Project, to ensure that they meet high standards for student-centered learning outcome achievement, instructional strategies, resource content, and assessment effectiveness.

Module components: Each module contains three to six "units" and takes about two weeks of class time when done in its entirety. For instructors with less time available, guidance is provided on how a subset of units can be selected. Modules include "Instructor Stories" that showcase how the materials can be used in different educational settings (example Instructor Stories). The Community Contribution Tool is available for each unit to facilitate exchange of modifications and improvements by materials adopters.

Guiding Principles

That all modules must satisfy are:

  • Address one or more geoscience-related grand challenges facing society (e.g., mitigating natural hazards, climate change, and water resource or environmental management);
  • Make use of authentic and credible geophysical data to learn central concepts in the context of geoscience methods of inquiry;
  • Improve student understanding of the nature and methods of geoscience and developing geoscientific habits of mind;
  • Develop student ability to address interdisciplinary problems and apply geoscience learning to social issues;
  • Increase student capacity to apply quantitative skills, data analysis, and interpretation to geoscience learning.

Module Development Rubrics

GETSI (Acrobat (PDF) PRIVATE FILE 96kB Dec18 18) and IGUaNA (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 31kB Jan20 22) module development rubrics, based on the InTeGrate rubric, guided the curriculum developers as they made the modules. The rubrics incorporate evidence-based practices in curriculum development and science education in support of the projects' goals.

Module materials are evaluated with respect to these criteria:

  1. Guiding principles are addressed explicitly and/or pervasively.
  2. Learning goals and outcomes are clear, measurable, and appropriate for undergraduates, and there must be guidance for how students will meet the goals. 
  3. Assessments measure the learning goals, are criterion referenced, and are aligned with the module activities and resources. The sequence and pace of the assessments must match the content. Where appropriate, assessments progress from fundamental cognitive tasks to higher order thinking. 
  4. Resources and materials are aligned with the learning goals, and provide sufficient depth for students to achieve those goals. If specific technology is required, that is stated explicitly. All learning materials, software and learning resources are properly cited and conform to copyright law. 
  5. Instructional strategies are aligned with the learning goals; activities scaffold learning. Learning strategies and activities promote student engagement, develop student metacognition and self-efficacy, and provide opportunities for students to practice communicating geoscience. 

Module Development, Testing, and Review Process

GETSI modules were developed through a rigorous process that included multiple stages of development and review. They were pilot tested in a variety of undergraduate courses before final revisions and publication. Read more about the process details on the Module Development Timeline page.


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