David Voorhees

Mathematics and Sciences Division. includes math, biology, chemistry, physics, geology, astronomy, geography, Earth Science / Geology, Earth Science

Waubonsee Community College

David Voorhees has been teaching geosciences full time at Waubonsee Community College since 2002, after several years of part-time teaching. He found his passion for teaching while working on his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois, where he studied the glacial stratigraphy of Illinois. He is passionate about bringing to his students an understanding of the earth and the geosciences, and is constantly experimenting with different pedagogies to engage his typical general education student. He is also very active in bringing the 2YC geoscience community together, and pooling the resources of 2YC geoscientists around the country to bring to his students, through work with Geo2YC, a Division of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers. He was the first President of Geo2YC. He has represented the 2YC geosciences community on the Education and Public Outreach Standing Committee of IRIS, on various NSF committees, including the Advisory Committee to the Geosciences Directorate. He was elected a Fellow of the AAAS in 2014 and was a co-recipient of the Full-Time Faculty of the Year for 2015 by the Illinois Community College Trustees Association.

Workshop Leader, Webinar Participant, Website Contributor

Website Content Contributions

Activities (3), Essays (4), Other Contributions (3)

Activities (3)

Aurora Mastodont Project - Matrix Analyses Project part of Undergraduate Research:2014 Workshop:Activities
This is a laboratory based assignment that is for Introductory level geoscience classes (Physical Geology, Historical Geology, Earth Science) that brings an authentic research experience to your students. In the ...

The Oil Game: Problem-based learning exercise in an Environmental Geology lecture-format class part of Geoscience in Two-year Colleges:Activities
This is an active engagement exercise as a capstone exercise in a unit on energy in an Environmental Geology class of non-science majors combining a 'field-based' simulation and 'office-based' geological modeling. It uses readily available supplies and easily constructed equipment that can take 1 or 2 class meetings.

Ungoogleable assignments for a Physical Geology class and lab part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2021:Program:Share-a-Thon
The COVID pandemic has changed how all of us are teaching and assessing our students. As in many institutions, most all classes at Waubonsee Community College were online, and in the case of the Physical Geology ...

Essays (4)

SAGE Musings: Flipping Your Class part of SAGE 2YC:SAGE Musings
A blog post by a SAGE 2YC change agent detailing an evidence-based pedagogical experiment flipping a general education geoscience classroom using active learning strategies like jigsaws, fieldwork, and in-class experiments to enhance student engagement and conceptual understanding.

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Supporting Student Success part of SAGE 2YC:Workshops:Supporting Student Success in Geoscience at Two-year Colleges:Essays
The reason I became a geology instructor is that I want to instill the passion I have for the earth in my students. I want to be able to give to my students some of the understanding of how the earth works, because they are to become the stewards of this planet long after I am gone. I feel that I am not able to bring this passion and understanding to many of my students, and I continually try to engage all of my students, just as the geosciences engage all of them in their everyday lives. Most all effective instructors have a 'bag of tricks' through which they engage their students that evolves, as it should, as we get different populations of students in our classrooms. As most of my General Education, Survey of Earth Science students are millennials, engaging them is one of my biggest challenges as a geoscience educator. I have developed several ways that I think, bring to my students the nature of science, scientific inquiry, and along the way, make the content relevant to their lives. They fall into two groups: place-basedintegration and mentoring.

The Geo2YC Division of NAGT part of Supporting Community College Faculty Across the Disciplines:Fall 2012 Workshop:Essays
This webpage is an essay from the Supporting Community College Faculty Across the Disciplines project, featuring David Voorhees’ perspective on the Geo2YC Division of NAGT and his NSF-funded S-STEM program, emphasizing support for two-year college geoscience educators through professional networks, mentorship, student research experiences, and a proposal for accessible research funding.

Identifying geoscience 'majors' at Waubonsee part of SAGE 2YC:Workshops:Preparing Students in Two-year Colleges for Careers:Essays
I have been teaching Earth Science, Geology, Astronomy and Geography full time at Waubonsee Community College for 10 years. As most of my teaching is the General Education Survey of Earth Science class, a 3-‐credit lecture course covering physical geology, oceanography, meteorology and astronomy, I don't have many, or know of many, geoscience majors in my classes, although I have identified several over the years using various techniques, four of which are described below.

Other Contributions (3)

David H. Voorhees part of Supporting Community College Faculty Across the Disciplines:Fall 2012 Workshop:Participant Profiles
This participant profile page from the SERC website features David H. Voorhees, an Earth Science professor at Waubonsee Community College, detailing his background in geoscience education, leadership in the NAGT Geo2YC Division, involvement in pedagogical initiatives, and participation in the 2012 Supporting Community College Faculty workshop.

Session I: Technology, Pedagogy, and DEI part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2021:Program:Share-a-Thon
Share-a-thon Session I will be held from 11:15-11:45am PT / 12:15-12:45pm MT / 1:15-1:45pm CT / 2:15-2:45pm ET on Monday. All Rendezvous participants are invited to attend. Presenters will be encouraged to post a ...

Dolomite part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Rock and Mineral Exchange:Postings
A transactional page within the Rock and Mineral Exchange section of the NAGT website details available dolomite specimens from the Silurian Sugar Run formation in the Illinois Basin, offered by David Voorhees of Waubonsee Community College for educational use.

Communities

Member of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers
North Central Section, Geo2YC: The Two-Year College Division

Earth Educators Rendezvous 2021
July 2021 Earth Educators Rendezvous 2018
July 2018 Earth Educators Rendezvous 2016
July 2016 Integrate/GETSI 2023 Survey
NAGT All
SAGE 2YC Illinois 2YC Community
Teach the Earth
Flood Hazards Interest Group
Humans' Dependence on Earth's Mineral Resources Interest Group
NAGT Webinar Series Interest
Earth Educators' Rendezvous Interest Group
Geo2YC Community
SAGE 2YC Winter 2018 Science Identity
Teaching Geoscience Online

Workshop Leader (5 workshops)

SAGE 2YC 2019 IL Workshop
November 2019 SAGE 2YC IL 2017 Workshop
November 2017 SAGE 2YC 2016 IL Regional Workshop
November 2016

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Workshop Participant (23 workshops)

Google Earth for Onsite and Distance Education (GEODE)
July 2018 Teaching Online
July 2018 SAGE 2YC June 2017 CA Workshop
June 2017

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SAGE 2YC June 2016 CA and Administrators Workshop
June 2016 SAGE 2YC March 2016 CA Workshop
March 2016 Cutting Edge 2014 Undergrad Research
August 2014 Supporting Student Success in Geoscience at Two-year Colleges
July 2013 Preparing Students in Two-year Colleges
July 2012 The Role of Two-Year Colleges in Geoscience Education Workshop 2010
June 2010 Ways to change your teaching activities to help our diverse student body to thrive Jul 18, 2016
Earth Educators Rendezvous 2018 mini-workshop: Paleobiology Database Educational Resources
Earth Educators Rendezvous 2018 mini-workshop: Developing and Implementing Program Assessment
EER 2021 Developing Strategies for Inclusive Teaching Practices
EER 2021 Engaging your students with visual representations: Why, What, and How
EER 2021 Friday
EER 2021 Monday
EER 2021 Thursday
EER 2021 Tuesday
EER 2021 Wednesday
Inquiry in the Lab - Rendezvous 16
Rendezvous 2016 mini-workshop: Flipping your Classroom: What to leave out, what to add in
SAGE 2YC Writing Workshop Participants
TWP-D Lincoln Land 2015

Webinar Participant (8 webinars)

Exploring models for engaging community college students in field research
January 2023 An NGSS Approach to Exploring our Solar System
October 2022 Sharing Scientific Ocean Drilling with Students
May 2022

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