Instructor Stories



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College Upper (15-16)

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Scott Linneman: Using Exploring Geoscience Methods with Secondary Education Students in Methods in Secondary Education for Science Teachers at Western Washington University
This one quarter, 5-credit course is for pre-service secondary science teachers. It includes the study of literature, curriculum, and teaching strategies in life, Earth, and physical sciences for grades 4-12. Students also participate in peer teaching and school observations. Prerequisites include admission to the secondary teaching program and a major or concentration in natural sciences; one course as an introduction to secondary education; and one course as an introduction to science education.

Subject: Education, Geoscience
Grade Level: College Upper (15-16)
Teaching Context: Courses for Future Teachers, InTeGrate and NGSS
InTeGrate Modules and Courses: Exploring Geoscience Methods

Karl Kreutz: Using Systems Thinking in Global Environmental Change at University of Maine
Karl Kreutz, University of Maine
My course focuses on the reservoir of atmospheric carbon dioxide – what controls it, how it has changed in the geologic past, how it is changing now and the role that humans have played in its evolution, the effects on Earth's energy balance, and potential future climate and environmental implications. Because these processes play out on a range of time and space scales, direct experimentation is difficult in an undergraduate setting. Systems thinking provides an ideal platform for understanding the flow of carbon between reservoirs, and for gaining an appreciation of how important the intersection of earth science and society is with respect to carbon, climate, and energy. Implementing this module made a dramatic difference in the class, improving student learning on everything from global models of the carbon cycle to the formation and flow of methane in our local peat bog.

Subject: Environmental Science
Grade Level: College Upper (15-16), College Lower (13-14):College Introductory, College Lower (13-14)
Teaching Context: Intro Courses
InTeGrate Modules and Courses: Systems Thinking

Louisa Bradtmiller: Modeling Earth Systems at Macalester College
Louisa Bradtmiller, Macalester College
Building skills and confidence through modeling This course attempts to teach students to think like a modeler in a single semester, without any pre-requisites in math or computer science. By using a visually-based software package and introducing a few new ideas and skills each week, students acquire the tools they need to test hypotheses with their own independently-constructed models by the end of the course. The course was unique for me because there was almost no lecturing; just a few minutes at the start of each week's 3-hour block. The fact that the students spent almost all of in-class time each week working on translating the readings into working models meant that they got to try, fail, ask questions, talk with each other, and try again, all with the instructor present.

Subject: Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Global change modeling, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Global change modeling
Grade Level: College Upper (15-16)
InTeGrate Modules and Courses: Modeling Earth Systems

Kirsten Menking: Using Modeling Earth Systems in Modeling the Earth at Vassar College
Kirsten Menking, Vassar College
I used the Modeling Earth Systems materials in my senior seminar at Vassar College in the spring of 2016. I have taught a numerical modeling course for many years now, but this was the first time that the course focused entirely on the climate system. Fourteen students, drawing from the programs in Earth Science, Biology, and Environmental Studies, took the course. During that time, students learned the fundamentals of modeling in the context of exercises about Earth's radiative equilibrium with the sun, the role of life in moderating climate, the impact of changes in Earth's orbital cycles on the growth and decay of ice sheets, how climate change affects thermohaline circulation (and vice versa), and how human greenhouse gas emissions are altering global temperatures, among other topics.

Subject: Environmental Science
Grade Level: College Upper (15-16)
InTeGrate Modules and Courses: Modeling Earth Systems

Dr. Dave Bice: Using Modeling Earth Systems in Modeling the Earth System at The Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
David Bice, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
This course attempts to teach students to think like a modeler and learn about Earth System dynamics through the construction and experimentation with computer models. At Penn State, this is a required class for a new major on Earth Science and Policy, and its prerequisites include calculus, chemistry, and introductory earth science. There were no traditional lectures in this class; students came to each class period having completed the background reading. The class periods were working sessions in which the students worked through exercises that guided them through constructing and then experimenting with models created in STELLA (a visually-based program for creating models).

Subject: Geoscience:Geology, Geology:Geophysics:Computer Modeling
Grade Level: College Upper (15-16)
InTeGrate Modules and Courses: Modeling Earth Systems

Tara Jo Holmberg: Using the A Growing Concern and Soils, Systems, and Society Modules in Introduction to Environmental Science at Northwestern Connecticut Community College
Tara Holmberg, Northwestern Connecticut Community College
This course was taught within a newly designed 21st century classroom. The 16 students were from a variety of majors, most taking it as their science elective and 3 as a major requirement. This particular class was one of the most engaged I have ever had. While the personality of the class was unique, upbeat, and engaged, the design of the classroom cannot be overlooked as a contributing factor in the success of this implementation.

Subject: Environmental Science
Grade Level: College Upper (15-16), College Lower (13-14), College Introductory
Teaching Context: Two Year Colleges, Intro Courses
InTeGrate Modules and Courses: Soils, Systems, and Society , A Growing Concern

Brittany Brand: Using Map Your Hazards! in Volcanoes and Society at Boise State University
The objective of this course is to explore volcanoes and volcanic eruptions, and examine their effect on the environment, life, and human societies. Local examples of recent volcanism and ancient examples of mega-eruptions are used to illustrate these principals. I use the "Volcano" aspect of the course to work on critical thinking and scientific reasoning skills. The "Society" portion of the class focuses on the societal relevance of studying volcanoes, including assessing volcanic hazards, exploring volcanic risk perception and mitigating volcanic risk through communication with the public.

Subject: Geoscience
Grade Level: College Upper (15-16)
InTeGrate Modules and Courses: Map your Hazards!

Dr. Kristen Cecala: Using An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water Resources in Biology 210 at Sewanee: the University of the South
Kristen Cecala, Sewanee: the University of the South
Ecology regularly integrates expertise developed in other disciplines to allow us to understand interactions in the natural world. Teaching concepts in ecosystem ecology that require rudimentary comprehension of chemistry for nutrient cycling and availability can be challenging for two reasons: 1) students have the misconception that scientific disciplines don't inform one another, and 2) nutrient cycling can seem abstract.

Subject: Biology, Ecology, Evolution
Grade Level: College Upper (15-16)
InTeGrate Modules and Courses: An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water Resources

Lisa Phillips: Using Mapping the Environment with Sensory Perception at Illinois State University
Multimodal composition is a 200-level undergraduate course taught in a Mac computer lab setting. The course fulfills elective general education requirements within the humanities division and is an elective course in the professional writing and publication track within the English department in sequence with Visual Rhetoric and Technical Writing, both 300-level courses.

Subject: Environmental Science, English
Grade Level: College Lower (13-14):College Introductory, College Upper (15-16), College Lower (13-14)
Teaching Context: Intro Courses
InTeGrate Modules and Courses: Mapping the Environment with Sensory Perception

Marshall Shepherd: Using Water Sustainability in Cities at the University of Georgia
The United Nations estimates that by the year 2025, 60% of the world's population will live in cities. Human activity in urban environments alters atmospheric composition; impacts components of the water cycle; and modifies the carbon cycle and ecosystems. A more integrated understanding of the complex interactions of the urban environment and the Earth system is needed. To understand the urban-climate system linkage, an interdisciplinary effort combining in situ and remote sensing, modeling, and human dimension assessment is ultimately required.

Subject: Geoscience:Hydrology, Environmental Science:Sustainability
Grade Level: Graduate/Professional, College Upper (15-16)
InTeGrate Modules and Courses: Water Sustainability in Cities