Kathy Ellins

DIG Texas Blueprints as Input to a New Online Dual Enrollment Course part of Rendezvous 2015:Program:Abstracts
The NSF-sponsored DIG Texas Instructional Blueprint Project supports the development of five online course blueprints for use in high school Earth Science classes. Each blueprint is an original curated geoscience ...

Facilitating spaces of collaborative learning for geoconservation using a new board game, "Reef Survivor: Jamaica" part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2022:Program:Oral Sessions:Monday Oral Session A
"Reef Survivor: Jamaica" is an educational board game that incorporates elements of place-based education and Earth systems thinking to help players learn about reef ecology and resilience in the face of ...

The Petroleum Science and Technology Institute and Hildebrand Teacher Leadership Program part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2021:Program:Oral Sessions:Oral Session II
The Petroleum Science and Technology (PST) Institute in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin provides Texas high school STEM teachers with professional development through a ...

The Impact of Educational Games on Learning, Engagement, and Equity in Geosciences part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2021:Program:Poster Sessions:Wednesday:Poster Session II
Incorporating play in classrooms has been shown to improve student learning (Griggs et al., 2009); however, the advantages may not be equal across all learners. Some studies have suggested that gender, ...

Utilizing Backwards Design to create a Blended, Multicontext learning framework in a field-based Geoscience course part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2021:Program:Oral Sessions:Oral Session IV
GeoFORCE is an out-of-school-time high school program that strives to increase the number of minoritized students pursuing STEM and Geoscience by exposing students to Geoscience through week-long field-based ...

Learning outcomes of the educational board game Taphonomy: Dead and Fossilized, evaluated with high school learners in a summertime out-of-school program part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2020:Program:Oral Sessions:Oral Session I
Educational games are designed to help students retain educational material, gain a deeper understanding of concepts, and become innovative problem solvers. Like other active learning activities, games have been ...

Seeking Feedback on Proposed Geoscience Teacher Leaders Criteria part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2020:Program:Oral Sessions:Oral Session II
National recognition for excellence in K-12 Earth Sciences education is under development by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) Teacher Education Division (TED) and other organizations. ...

The Advantages of Unstructured Time: Insight from Academic Field Trips part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2019:Program:Poster Sessions:Friday
Academic field programs are an essential part of geoscience education. An often overlooked benefit of field trips is time not devoted to study. On a typical trip, students, faculty, and teaching assistants spend ...

Creating a Personal Pathway Map Toward a Geoscience Career part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2019:Program:Oral Sessions:Thursday A
The Geological Society of America (GSA) On To the Future (OTF) initiative helps build a diverse geoscience community by engaging groups traditionally underrepresented in the geosciences. During the OTF workshop at ...

Implementing the STAR Legacy Cycle to Promote Student-Centered Field Learning in the GeoFORCE/STEMFORCE 12th Grade Summer Academy part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2019:Program:Poster Sessions:Friday
GeoFORCE and STEMFORCE are two summer enrichment programs offered by the University of Texas' Jackson School of Geoscience. These two programs aim to increase the number of high school students from diverse ...

EarthConnections: The Oklahoma Tribal Nations Alliance's Progress Toward Education Pathways part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2018:Program:Oral Sessions:Monday B
EarthConnections is a collective impact alliance that is developing regionally focused, education pathways to guide students toward geoscience-related careers. Pathways include opportunities for students to learn ...

EarthConnections part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2017:Program:Oral Sessions:Monday B
To develop a diverse geoscience workforce, the EarthConnections collective impact alliance is developing regionally focused, Earth education pathways. These pathways support and guide students from engagement in ...

GeoFORCE/ STEMForce part of EarthConnections:Program Descriptions
GeoFORCE is a weeklong field learning summer program for high school students administered by Jackson School of Geosciences that aims to increase the number and diversity of future geoscientists so that they may address the most pressing challenges of the 21st century—energy, water, climate mitigation, and geohazards. The program is sponsored by a consortium of industry partners. Students remain in the program during their four years of high school and each summer go on field trips throughout the United States. Taught by university faculty, research scientists, area educators and mentored by professional geologists from the industry partners, the trips engage and empower the students by exposing them to places and experiences different from their home and school environment. At the conclusion of their fourth year in the program students have (a) an increased awareness of the importance of geoscience knowledge and the role that geoscientists play in addressing geoscience-related issues; and (b) view the geosciences as a viable career path.

OnRamps Geoscience part of EarthConnections:Program Descriptions
The University of Texas offers a Geoscience dual enrollment course through the OnRamps program. Using a hybrid delivery approach, students meet rigorous university-level college readiness standards and have the opportunity to earn UT Austin credit from a faculty member in the Jackson School of Geosciences and high school credit from their local teacher. OnRamps incorporates an organized data and action analytics approach to support students, teachers, and districts in their pursuit of educational excellence. The course uses reviewed, tested curriculum resources available from SERC, IRIS, and other trustworthy providers.

Translating GER Results into Practice in a Large Geoscience Department part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2016:Program:Morning Workshops:GER:Idea Papers
Kathy Ellins, University of Texas at Austin I have implemented the published results of geoscience education research into three different courses at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin). Of these, two ...

Curiosity to Question: A New Model for Disciplinarily Diverse and Inclusive Course-Based Research Experiences part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2021:Program:Afternoon Workshops
Curiosity to Question (CtQ) is an emerging model for course-based research experiences that are diverse by design. By recruiting for diverse identities and disciplines, and by emphasizing open inquiry, peer ...

Best Practices for Implementing Dual Enrollment Programs part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2020:Program:Afternoon Workshops
Dual enrollment college courses for high school students have great potential to expand geoscience education, to ease students into college rigor and improve college outcomes, and to attract students from ...