Short course: Increasing the data, math, and societal relevance in introductory Earth science courses

Saturday, April 30, 2022

9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Mt San Antonio College campus, Walnut, CA (east of LA)

Registration closed Friday April 8.

Instructors

Becca Walker (Mt San Antonio College)
Rachel Teasdale (California State University Chico)
Karen Kortz (Community College of Rhode Island)
Beth Pratt-Sitaula (UNAVCO)

Overview

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P550 GPS station in Frazier Park, CA. Position data collected from GPS stations like this one are analyzed within this unit. From UNAVCO

Provenance: Source: https://www.unavco.org/instrumentation/networks/status/pbo/overview/P550
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

Interested in integrating data-rich teaching into your introductory courses?
Want to learn more ways to motivate learning through societally-relevant science?

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 short course will feature three of the modules, particularly relevant to California instructors; 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 $250 stipend** (participants coming from >50 miles may request $400 stipend).

Featured modules

The featured modules are

• Measuring the Earth with GPS (emphasis Earthquakes, GPS, and Plate Movement unit)
• Eyes on the Hydrosphere: Tracking Water Resources
• Monitoring Volcanoes & Communicating Risk
• Other teaching resources on topics from climate change to landslide and earthquake hazards will be introduced as well.

Audience

This short course is for any instructor of introductory earth science courses at college or university level, who wants to increase their capacity to have students working with cutting edge data, math skills, and situating science in a context of societal issues. Community college instructors, including adjunct faculty, are particularly encouraged to participate. Also appropriate for secondary K-12 teachers, who are interested in learning about these methods and adapting materials originally designed for early college level. Later stage graduate students with some teaching or assistant teaching experience and plans to teach more in the future would also gain from participation.
The course is particularly focused on California instructors, and uses California examples whenever possible.

Goals

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Intended for students to draw on and identify the reservoirs and transport paths. Instructor may elect to at least show the color version even if students use the black-white to draw on.

Provenance: GETSI project; drafted by Dan Zietlow
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

Participants will:

• Be able to access online teaching resources presented in the short course
• Be able to teach more effectively about geodetic data and methods, including using math skills
• Be able to integrate societal challenges and interdisciplinary solutions into earth science courses
• Make implementation plans for adopting elements of the modules and/or teaching strategies into their courses

Format & Materials

The short course will be held in the Mt San Antonio College campus. Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided
Participants should bring a laptop to work on in order to access the online materials.

Sponsors

• GEodesy Tools for Societal Issues (GETSI) project (NSF -funded)
• National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT)

COVID19 Policies and Planning

We are focused on ensuring a safe and productive short course. GETSI has developed the following protocols related to COVID19 safety based on local and national guidelines. If conditions, advice, or requirements change, we will inform Participants as quickly as possible. We cannot reduce risk to zero. GETSI is asking attendees to protect the community and each other.

1. All Participants must beup-to-date* on COVID vaccinations or have a medical exemption in order to attend the short course. Participants will need to show proof of vaccination or medical exemption (paper or electronic) during the check-in process, before entering the short course venue.
2. Mt San Antonio College, the venue host, requires all visitors to complete a short online visitor screening form on the morning of arrival. We will remind you of this requirement at the time.
3. All Participants will be required to wear masks while in indoor settings, unless they are giving a presentation or actively eating or drinking.
4. No Participant shall come to the short course if they are having COVID-like symptoms.

Questions

Contact Beth Pratt-Sitaula (prattsitaula_AT_unavco.org)

*Up-to-date as defined by the US Center for Disease Control (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html). At the time of writing (February 2, 2022) this means a person has received their primary series of COVID-19 vaccines (2 Moderna or Pfizer; 1 J&J) and any recommended boosters. We will endeavor to inform participants rapidly in the event there is a change to this guidance.

**Stipends are for active or imminent instructors as described above in the "Audience" section. Must be US citizen or permanent resident or at a US institution to receive a stipend. Stipends will be sent out in the month after the short course.