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Barbara Bekken
Geosciences
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ
Barbara Bekken has held a part-time faculty position in the Department of Geosciences at Virginia Tech since 1993. She has studied how student development affects learning through an experimental general education program that used the theme of sustainability to investigate how various disciplines inform interdisciplinary issues. Beginning in 2000, she created two new courses to address deficiencies in student understanding of the methods of the geosciences, student competencies in scientific writing and speaking, and student preparation for potential careers. She has also worked to revise laboratory curricula in introductory geoscience labs. Her current project is focused on revising the geoscience program curriculum.
Website Content Contributions
Activities (2)
Collaborative Research Project: Geoscience Undergraduate Curricula part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Teaching the Methods of Geoscience:Activities
Collaborative research project in which undergraduate geoscience curricula at Research 1 institutions are compared. This project uses the methods of science to explore a topic that beginning students can understand. This project uses rubrics for self, peer, and instructor assessment.
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The Cube Exercise and the Methods of Science part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Teaching the Methods of Geoscience:Activities
A new approach to using an exercise from the National Academy of Science publication "Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science" to support students in developing a deeper understanding of descriptive methods, experimental methods, and methodological assumptions.
Course (1)
Geoscience Fundamentals part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Teaching the Methods of Geoscience:Course
Geoscience Fundamentals is a workshop-style course that introduces sophomore-level geoscience majors to very basic philosophical, methodological, and historical foundations of the geosciences. As described in the ...
Essays (2)
Geoscience fundamentals: teaching the methods and philosophies of science through writing part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Teaching the Methods of Geoscience:Essays
A scholarly essay page detailing the development and pedagogy of a required undergraduate course, "Geoscience Fundamentals," that teaches scientific thinking, geoscience methodologies, and discipline-specific communication through writing, reflection, and problem-based learning to better prepare students for careers or graduate study in the geosciences.
A Tour of the Earth Sustainability Liberal Education Program: An experiment in integrative learning part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Programs that Bring Together Geoscience and Sustainability:Essays
This essay page details the Earth Sustainability Liberal Education Program at Virginia Tech, an interdisciplinary, STEM-intensive curriculum designed to advance students' epistemological development and integrative learning through thematic, four-semester courses focused on sustainability, assessing its impact, challenges in institutional support, and implications for career preparation.
Other Contribution (1)
The Earth Sustainability Liberal Education Program: An experiment in integrative learning part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Programs that Bring Together Geoscience and Sustainability:Programs
A program profile page detailing the Earth Sustainability Liberal Education Program at Virginia Tech, an interdisciplinary, four-semester general education initiative integrating geoscience and sustainability, designed to foster integrative learning, cognitive development, and address resource challenges through cohort-based coursework and study abroad recommendations.