Overview

This workshop will bring together teams comprised of both education and STEM faculty members to initiate action strengthening Earth science teacher preparation. Teaching about the Earth in a societal context broadens the interest and relevance of the earth sciences to all students. Using this societal context, this workshop will develop and strengthen earth science teacher preparation programs with teams of HBCU faculty. Teams should have the capacity and interest to increase earth science content on topics such as atmosphere, agriculture, climate, environment, geography, hydrology, meteorology, or oceanography.

Tennessee State University is hosting the first in a series of HBCU InTeGrate Geoscience Workshops. The HBCU Geosciences Working Group in collaboration with InTeGrate is committed to strengthening geoscience curriculum and teaching, increasing the number of students entering the field, and broadly increasing earth science literacy. An immediate goal is to increase HBCU participation in the InTeGrate project funded by a STEP Center grant from the National Science Foundation that supports the teaching of geoscience in the context of societal issues both within geoscience courses and across the undergraduate curriculum.

All participants will submit a description of their current Earth science pre-service teacher training or detailed plans that could be implemented in the next year in advance of the workshop. Participants will also submit an essay focused on training pre-service earth science teachers in advance of the workshop. A synthesis of the discussion and the program descriptions will be published as a resource to support others in the design of earth science teacher preparation programs. The workshop will also build an HBCU earth science teacher preparation community.

This workshop is designed to bring together approximately 10 multi-disciplinary HBCU teams comprising at least two faculty members from different departments (ideally Education and STEM) who teach or advise earth science pre-service teachers to strengthen teacher preparation programs. The workshop is designed for cross-disciplinary teams that include faculty from both STEM and education departments.

Workshop Goals

The goals of this workshop are to:

Document programs and strategies for preparing teachers to teach Earth science at HBCUs;
Provide strategies and materials for teaching Earth science and improving Earth literacy among pre-service teachers;
Explore models for strengthening collaboration between STEM and education faculty in preparing teachers;
Develop plans to use and adapt InTeGrate materials and processes to strengthen the role of Earth science (e.g. agriculture, climate, geography, meteorology, oceanography, environmental) in teacher preparation at teams' institutions;
Foster and strengthen teams to maximize the capability for change at institutions;
Build a community of people involved in Earth science and teacher preparation at the HBCUs.

Dates: February 2–4, 2017

Participants should plan to arrive in Nashville, TN, in time for the dinner at 5 pm on Thursday, February 2nd. The workshop will be over at 2 pm on Saturday, February 4th and participants should plan return travel no earlier than 4 pm that day.

Expectations

By applying to the workshop, participants agree to do the following, if accepted:

Prior to January 25th:

Each team will submit a description of Earth science teacher preparation at their institution

Prior to February 2nd:

Prepare in advance for the workshop discussions via readings, writings, discussion, or other activities developed by the workshop leaders.
Participate fully in the entire workshop and attend all workshop sessions. Many participants will be invited to make presentations or serve as discussion or working group leaders at the workshop

Cost

There is no fee to attend this workshop, and the project grant (NSF DUE - 112533) covers participant travel, double occupancy lodging, meals, and supplies during the workshop. Funds are available for approximately 10 teams comprised of 2-4 Education and STEM faculty members. Participants are responsible for making their own travel arrangements and they will be reimbursed after completion of the workshop.

Application and Selection Criteria

Preference will be given to teams that include faculty from education and STEM departments particularly those from institutions with a teacher preparation program or a track record of producing teachers. The final list of participants will be developed with the goal of assembling a group of experienced faculty, representing a wide range of experiences and institution types. Teams should consist of at least two members with at least one member drawn from Education and one from STEM departments. While not all members need to attend the workshop we would like at least 2 team members from different departments to participate.

The application deadline is January 13, 2017. Late applications are currently being accepted. Applications will be reviewed as they are submitted to facilitate the work of teams on the pre-workshop submissions. Only one application is required per team.

Facilities

This workshop will be help at Tennessee State University located in Nashville, TN . All scheduled workshop events will be on the Tennessee State University campus in the Ferrell-Westbrook Complex rooms 117-119.