Autumn Greetings from Teach the Earth
With most Fall classes safely underway, we're writing to share updates from recent SERC collaborations. These feature collections of teaching activities and other materials to offer inspiration as you engage with your students. We also have a quick activity you can do yourself to help us make all the SERC-hosted websites even more useful for you and your colleagues.
Take 5 minutes to help us improve
Please Help Us Tune Our Search Engine
We are tuning the search engine that underpins all the SERC-hosted websites and we need your help to finish the job. If you're an Earth educator and have a few minutes, consider participating in our tuning exercise. You'll be asked to give us your best judgment on the quality of a handful of search returns. We'll aggregate everyone's input and use that to make search better for everyone.
New things for you
Project EDDIE Teaching Materials
Project EDDIE (Environmental Data-Driven Inquiry and Exploration) offers a variety of teaching materials -- activities to get students using data in class, just-in-time statistical vignettes and short video tutorials -- to help you get started using large, publicly available datasets to engage students and improve their quantitative reasoning. The expanded collection of modules span topics in ecology, limnology, geology, hydrology, and environmental sciences. Browse curricular modules, explore statistical vignettes that support you as you teach common statistical topics, and check out the teaching videos and tutorials collection.
Business And Science: Integrated Curriculum for Sustainability
The Business And Science: Integrated Curriculum for Sustainability (BASICS) team is developing transdisciplinary curriculum modules for undergraduate students that combine STEM and business, with a focus on the "wicked" problems of sustainability in a global economy. Two modules featuring transdisciplinary learning and approaches are ready for use: The Wicked Problem of Water Quality in the Mississippi River Watershed and The Wicked Problem of an Equitable Zero-Waste Circular Economy.
ADVANCEGeo
To help you prevent and respond to sexual harassment, bullying, and discrimination in the geosciences, the ADVANCEGeo Partnership has developed a suite of online resources about relevant research and tested strategies. These include a resource page on anti-racist practices and anti-racism in the geosciences and informational pages on Codes of Conduct, In the Field, and Creating Inclusive Virtual Spaces.
EvaluateUR Methods
The EvaluateUR Method provides an online guided evaluation process designed for programs and courses that support research experiences for undergraduates. This includes both independent summer student research as well as course-based research (CUREs) . This project is also sharing a set of Metacognition activities that educators and research mentors can use to engage students further in their metacognitive learning process.
New Cross-Project Activity Search
Through the NSF funded Compass project, SERC has developed a new activity search interface within the Teach the Earth portal which includes all the Earth educator relevant resources in one place. It is a great place to start if you are looking for a good teaching activity created and tested by your peers. We also have added new navigation features to improve your experience on SERC sites. Check out the 'Pages you Might Like' section now found on most SERC pages and see where it takes you.
Shape the 2024 Earth Educators' Rendezvous
Save the date for the tenth annual Earth Educators' Rendezvous! NAGT and the Rendezvous Planning Committee are pleased to announce that next year's Rendezvous will be held July 15-19 in Philadelphia, PA at Temple University!
Propose a workshop or roundtable
Interested in leading a workshop or roundtable? The deadline for workshop and roundtable proposals is October 23. The Planning Committee will review all proposals received following the submission deadline with the aim of creating a balanced program that serves diverse audiences and community needs.
Share suggestions for programming
Have general ideas for programming? Submit your ideas and suggestions for the 2024 program by October 23.