Initial Publication Date: July 29, 2019

Support for Implementation
Incorporating Geoscience throughout the Curriculum

As a part of increasing opportunities to learn about the Earth, InTeGrate supported a series of program models to incorporate geoscience into programs designed to reach a diverse array of students, including those from groups underrepresented in the geosciences and students whose dominant interest or field of study lies outside the geosciences. These models included 16 teams of educators that developed new examples of ways to bring geoscience to a diverse range of disciplines, institutions, and networks. They consisted of institutions, or clusters of institutions, that developed and evaluated programs showcasing innovative ways of 1) increasing the diversity of students developing Earth literacy and/or 2) teaching students to bring the geosciences to bear in addressing societal issues.

Energy Systems Visualization

The work of these model programs included goals such as:

  • to increase the enrollment and graduation of students from groups underrepresented in the geosciences;
  • to strengthen learning about the Earth at institutions with limited or no geoscience faculty;
  • to bring strong, interdisciplinary components into traditional geoscience programs to prepare students for careers addressing challenges of sustainability;
  • to broaden access to science by introducing geoscience across the liberal arts curriculum;
  • to that incorporate approaches to Earth literacy to the preparation of Earth science teachers;

View Program Descriptions and Lessons Learned »

Grant-Funded Program Models

Through a series of open solicitations in 2014 and 2015, teams from institutions or clusters of institutions were invited to apply for $50,000 grants from InTeGrate to develop new models for implementing InTeGrate design principles. Solicitation guidelines encouraged applicants to:

  • make use of InTeGrate developed materials,
  • model innovative ways to increase the number of students developing geoscience literacy, and
  • contribute to the preparation of a workforce equipped to bring geosciences to bear in solving societal issues.

A steering committee of community members, established in association with the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, reviewed the proposals and selected projects for funding based on the likely success of the program, potential to demonstrate a new and transferable approach, and ability to support a diversity of institutional settings and a diversity of students. Each of the selected projects involved leadership teams of at least five faculty members and administrators and took a different approach to meeting the overarching program goals.

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