InTeGrate Announces 2014 Incorporating Geoscience throughout the Curriculum Implementation Programs

Interdisciplinary Teaching about Earth for a Sustainable Future (InTeGrate), a 5-year STEP Center grant from the National Science Foundation, seeks to increase Earth literacy of all undergraduate students, as well as the number of graduates who are prepared to bring an understanding of the Earth to bear on the resource and environmental issues faced by our society today and in the future.

To this end, InTeGrate is pleased to announce the 2014 Incorporating Geoscience throughout the Curriculum Implementation Program recipients:

Next Generation STEM Teacher Preparation in Washington State

A consortium of Washington State Colleges and Universities in partnership with Washington's Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), the Teachers of Teachers of Science, and Teachers of Teachers of Mathematics, and other key stakeholders, will improve science learning and Earth literacy for all Washington State students by creating an improved model for STEM teacher preparation in Washington State aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and utilizing InTeGrate course materials. This project intends to strengthen the role of geoscience in the preparation and professional development of K-12 teachers.

Engaged Sustainability: From Curriculum to Community at Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH

Wittenberg University will transform its educational model, moving from isolated general education requirements without linkages, toward a model that fosters interdisciplinary thinking and a proactive student presence in the community. The team at Wittenberg University will thread sustainability modules within existing courses, broadening participation in sustainability curricula through recruitment and training, and creating linkages in sustainability problem-solving within our community.

The Defining Challenge of Our Age – Climate Science across the Liberal Arts Curriculum, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN

Faculty at Gustavus Adolphus College will work together to integrate a set of climate science modules across the liberal arts curriculum, increasing the level of climate science literacy among faculty and students and setting the stage for meaningful interdisciplinary discussions of the role of climate change across the liberal arts curriculum.

Integration of Earth Science Content across Science Teacher Preparation Courses at Grand Valley State University, Allendale Charter Township, MI

The Grand Valley State University project plans to redesign three existing science methods courses for pre-service teaching students majoring or minoring in biology, chemistry, geology, and physics. The courses will incorporate Earth science content, especially climate change and energy, as overarching themes. The courses will develop shared pedagogical content skills, as well as those skills unique to each discipline, with the goal of integrated science methods courses across the curriculum.

Through the development of these implementation programs, InTeGrate strives to infuse Earth literacy across disciplines, engage younger students in the geosciences, and develop a new vision for how geoscience is positioned in higher education. For more information on InTeGrate, please see our website at http://serc.carleton.edu/integrate/index.html.