Education Sessions and Activities at AGU Fall 2018 Meeting

Description: This one-day workshop provides an opportunity for heads and chairs of Earth and Space Science departments to discuss issues and strategies for building a strong department, meet other heads and chairs, and learn more about current issues.

Leaders: Jane Tucker, Center for Creative Leadership (ret) and Yvette Huet, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

Description: This workshop is designed to build an understanding of mutual interest based negotiations and problem-solving. The content will focus on both understanding the other party's interests and asking for what you want or need to be successful. Participants will evaluate their personal conflict resolution styles. Cases reinforce the use of effective styles in negotiating and problem-solving and help define patterns of negotiations when choice and stress are factors. Participants practice their own cases and receive feedback. Several methods of responding to difficult tactics are demonstrated and discussed.

Leaders: Cathy Manduca, Richard Gragg, Sarah Fortner, and Robert Rohbaugh
Description: Many of the topics we teach in undergraduate geoscience courses address issues where environmental justice is an important challenge. Engaging the relationship between geoscience and environmental justice can strengthen students' interest in geoscience and build their ability to work on complex societal issues in their geoscience careers. This workshop will focus on two strategies for incorporating environmental justice in undergraduate courses: case studies and service learning, as well as provide a discussion of the challenges of incorporating social issues in our courses.

Leaders: Norlene Emerson (University of Wisconsin-Richland), Eric Baer (Highline College), and Heather Macdonald (College of William & Mary)

Description: This workshop for educators from two-year colleges focuses on strategies to build strong geoscience programs in two-year colleges. The workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to analyze strengths and opportunities of their program, discuss alignment of program goals with institutional goals, and explore approaches for investigating program initiatives using success and completion data. The workshop will also present strategies to help programs develop a thriving community of students and faculty. These strategies might include approaches for attracting students to your program, instructional strategies that promote equity and support inclusion of all students, activities that prepare students for the professional workforce, and working with full- and part-time faculty in your program. Workshop participants will leave with specific practical strategies for their courses and programs and will develop and receive feedback on an action plan to strengthen their geoscience program.

Leaders: Anne Egger, Central Washington University and Laura Rademacher, University of the Pacific
Description: The ways in which geoscientists think and learn about the Earth are skills we want students to gain in our geoscience courses along with content knowledge. This workshop will focus on enhancing your teaching to engage students at all levels—from introductory to advanced—in developing the critical skills of geoscience: learning from observation, thinking across temporal and spatial scales, and working with complex systems.