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Workshop Series

• On the Cutting Edge Professional Development Series for Geoscience Faculty:
  The On the Cutting Edge project helps geoscience faculty stay up-to-date with both geoscience research and teaching methods. The workshop series and website combine to provide professional development opportunities, resources, and opportunities for faculty to interact on-line and in person with colleagues around the world who are focused on improving their teaching. An integral aspect of the project is development of an expanding community of geoscience educators with a strong and diverse leadership.
• Chautauqua Short Courses:
  This is an annual series of forums in which scholars at the frontiers of various sciences meet intensively for several days with undergraduate college teachers of science. The primary aim is to enable undergraduate teachers in the sciences to keep their teaching current with respect to both content and pedagogy.

Interdisciplinary/STEM Education Efforts

For a good list of geoscience topic resources, check out DLESE's For Educators Page.

• Project Kaleidoscope is an informal alliance working to build strong learning environments for undergraduate students in mathematics, engineering and the various fields of science. This website provides essays and other information about what works, on going activities, and people and networks.
• Resources for Earth Sciences and Geography Instruction contains links which are organized alphabetically around the sequence of topics typically taught in an introductory earth science or physical geography class.
• MERLOT is a free and open resource designed primarily for faculty and students of higher education. Links to online learning materials are collected here along with annotations such as peer reviews and assignments. Of particular interest would be the geology materials they have in their collection.
• Science Education Resource Center provides several sites aimed at geoscience faculty including Using Data in the Classroom, Bringing Research on Learning to the Geosciences, and the Earth Exploration Toolbook.
• DLESE provides searchable access to a wide variety of resources of interest to geoscience faculty.
• Council for Undergraduate Research (CUR) provides publications and outreach activities designed to share successful models and strategies for establishing and institutionalizing undergraduate research programs. Of particular relevance would be the Geoscience Division.
• Serendip: Science and Education: This area of the Serendip portal presents materials aimed at finding ways to make science education, and education in general, more exploratory, and more fun.

Professional Societies

Organizations supporting undergraduate education in the Earth and Space sciences include:

• American Geophysical Union: AGU is a nonprofit scientific organization focusing on four fundamental areas: atmospheric and ocean sciences, solid-Earth sciences, hydrologic sciences, and space sciences.
• American Geological Institute: AGI provides information services, serves as a voice of shared interests, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public understanding of the vital role the geosciences play in society's use of resources and interaction with the environment.
• American Meteorological Society: AMS promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. AMS publishes nine atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic journals, sponsors more than 12 conferences annually, and offers numerous programs and services.
• Coalition for Earth System Education: CESE brings together the combined forces of the Earth Science community (societies, organizations, government, industry and educational organizations) to facilitate communication, cooperation, and coordination on education activities, and provide a united voice on national and regional policy issues that affect Earth Science education reform.
• Geological Society of America: GSA's primary activities are organizing scientific meetings and conferences and publishing scientific literature. Other activities include disbursing research grants, operating an employment matching and interview service, honoring outstanding scientific contributors with medals and awards, assisting teachers in geoscience education, and fostering public awareness of geoscience issues.
• National Earth Science Teachers Association NESTA is a nonprofit educational organization whose purpose is the advancement, stimulation, extension, improvement, and coordination of Earth Science education at all educational levels.

Key Documents and Reports from Recent Years

• DLESE: A Community Plan
  The Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) is conceived as an information system dedicated to the collection, enhancement, and distribution of materials that facilitate learning about the Earth system at all educational levels. This document details the vision, plan and current progress in making DLESE a reality.
• Scrutiny of Undergraduate Geoscience Education: Is the Viability of the Geosciences in Jeopardy (AGU, 1994)
  This is the report of the AGU Chapman Conference on "Scrutiny of Undergraduate Geoscience Education." The conference yielded a series of observations and recommendations to help improve the education of the geological professionals and the general public which are put forth in the report. The report also includes the agenda, participant list and abstracts of speakers and presenters at the conference.
• Shaping the Future of Undergraduate Earth Science Education
  Forty-eight Earth and space science educators met in November 1996, at a workshop sponsored by the American Geophysical Union, in cooperation with the Keck Geology Consortium. Participants formed panels that addressed fundamental questions about Earth system science and education. The recommendations of these panels to faculty, campus administrators, NSF and other funding agencies, professional and educational societies, and to government and industry form the body of this report.
• National Science Education Standards
  The National Science Education Standards present a vision of a scientifically literate populace, outlining what skills, knowledge, and understanding indicate scientific literacy at different grade levels.
• Pathways to Progress: Visions and Plans for Developing the NSDL
  The National Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (SMET) Education Digital Library (NSDL) was conceived and is being constructed to support excellence in SMET education for all Americans. This document describes the goals of NSDL, the challenges the diverse user base represents, and is intended to engage the larger SMET community in building the NSDL by describing the needs, opportunities, vision, scope, and plans for development.
• Revolution in Earth and Space Science Education
  This report from the Nation 2001 National Conference on the Revolution in Earth and Space Science Education makes recommendations for an action plan for long-term change in Earth and space science education throughout the nation.