Site Guide: Career Development
Resources for New Geoscience Faculty and for Course Design
Early Career - Geoscience - If you're just beginning (or about to begin) a career as a geoscience faculty member, you're probably wondering how to balance teaching, research, and other demands on your time, so that you can succeed without having to sacrifice your sanity. In fact, finding that balance may be the most important skill for you to master, to be successful in academia. Fortunately, you do not need to reinvent the wheel. This page is a gateway to
resources you can use
to maximize your efficiency with a
minimum of stress.
Resources for Teaching, on the SERC Website - This page compiles resources on teaching that may be of particular interest to early career faculty, including
guidance on designing or updating courses,
opportunities for introducing active learning pedagogies (with examples), preparing for the first day of class, advice for teaching in an urban environment and teaching in the field, and more.
National Institute for Faculty Equity - Drawing on resources from the Minority Faculty Development workshops, the Cross-Disciplinary Initiative for Minority Women Faculty conference, and selected web resources, these pages offer
professional development materials for for underrepresented early to mid-career faculty in engineering and STEM disciplines and include topics such as
teaching for learning,
becoming tenured faculty,
innovation, patents, and entrepreneurship,
work-life balance, and much more.
Career Development - We have annual events, including workshops and webinars as well as an associated set of
web resources for early career faculty, graduate students, and post docs interested in pursuing an academic career.
Effective Strategies for Undergraduate Geoscience Teaching - From On the Cutting Edge, this
series of webinars offers resources for and insights into effective teaching and that incorporate active learning and are designed to
provide educators with concrete examples of activities and teaching strategies they can use in the classroom. Topics include: jigsaws, designing labs that promote inquiry, concept sketches, and ConcepTests. Recordings of each webinar and related links are included on each event web page.
Pedagogy in Action -This site provides an introduction to a range of effective
teaching methods that go beyond lecture. The site describes the methods, points to the research about its effectiveness, provides hints and tips for using it well and ends with a collection of classroom activities that exemplify the teaching methods. There are also subsets of this site focused on
geoscience-specific teaching methods and activities.
Course Design Tutorial - This
tutorial was developed as a web-only version of the popular On the Cutting Edge workshop on
effective and innovative course design. While the workshop was originally designed for geoscience faculty, the tutorial provides examples from many disciplines, including those outside the sciences, and offers an
easy-to-apply strategy for designing courses that incorporate effective teaching methods in any discipline. A
synopsis of the tutorial is also available.
Resources for Graduate Students and Postdocs
Preparing for an Academic Career - We have an annual workshop and an associated set of web resources for graduate students and post-docs who are preparing for an academic career in the geosciences. These resources focus on key topics of interest, including the
academic job search process,
preparing to teach, and
moving your research forward.
Career Development 2011 Webinar Series - From
On the Cutting Edge, this webinar series features
webinar recordings and associated web resources for graduate students and post-docs who are preparing for an academic career in the geosciences. The series continued in 2012 and 2013, and
additional sets of recordings and associated resources are available from the
2012 webinar series site and the
2013 webinar series site.
Preparing Students for Their Careers
Professional Preparation - To prepare your students for their future careers, you'll want to know what those careers are most likely to be and what knowledge, skills, and attributes those careers will require. These pages present information on
geoscience workforce trends along with
strategies for preparing your students for their future careers, including building networks, and knowledge, skills, and abilities that are desirable.
Geoscience Careers - This page lays out information about
what geoscientists do,
what kinds of preparation are necessary, and
what the earning potential is in various parts of the geoscience workforce. These resources on workforce development are part of the project, Supporting and Advancing Geoscience Education in Two-Year Colleges (SAGE 2YC).
Preparing Teachers to Teach Earth Science - This site examines the role of geoscience departments and faculty in
preparing preservice teachers and
supporting practicing teachers who teach Earth science at all
pre-college levels. Information is drawn from the participants and outcomes of the 2003 On the Cutting Edge workshop, Developing the Earth Science Teacher Workforce: The Role of Geoscience Departments and Introductory Courses.
Related Site Guide
Strengthing your Teaching - Explore effective teaching methods, learn about course design, and more!
Resources for Teaching Introductory Level Courses. This site guide provides pointers that contain useful information and inspiration for teaching introductory-level courses. While many of these resources are geared towards the geoscience community, they can be modified to fit other science disciplines.
Resources for Teaching Upper Level Geoscience Courses. This site guide provides pointers including activities, course information, and teaching methods that can be utilized in upper-level courses in the geosciences.
Quantitative Skills, Thinking, and Reasoning. This site guide provides pointers to resources to incorporate quantitative skills, thinking, and reasoning into your classroom.
Teaching Large Classes. This site guide provides resources that are useful in designing and teaching large courses.
