Education Sessions and Workshop at AGU Fall 2021 Meeting
NAGT is pleased to sponsor a variety of geoscience education sessions and a workshop planned for the Fall 2021 AGU meeting held in New Orleans, LA, and online from December 13-17, 2021.
NAGT-Sponsored Topical Sessions
Valerie Sloan, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Catalina MartinezNOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
College experiences for many underrepresented scholars can be vastly different than those of their majority counterparts due to gaps in social, economic, cultural, and political resources that are often attributable to historic and persistent structural bias and racism. For example, freshmen from all racial and ethnic backgrounds are interested in STEM fields at similar rates but are severely underrepresented relative to the population. Gaps can be bridged through opportunities such as internships, field camps, and other experiences for undergraduates and graduate students that support the development of skills, a science identity, and a sense of belonging to a professional community, all of which support long-term success. In this session, presenters will explore barriers to entry for underrepresented students into these programs, and share suggestions to open doors to and diversify programs, while creating a more equitable, enjoyable experience for all applicants.
ED008 -Building programming and computational skills through the geoscience curriculum
Alice C. Bradley, Williams College, Andrew M. Fischer, University of Tasmania.
As Earth and Environmental sciences move towards increasing reliance on computational and numerical methods, students need to become fluent in programming languages in order to successfully engage in research. Writing and applying effective (and intelligible) code is a challenging skill that takes time and practice to master. This session will explore how departments, degree programs, and broader curricula help students build these skills over the course of their degree programs and how programming skills are developed across multiple classes and experiences.
We encourage abstracts from departments who have intentionally structured programming content through their curriculum, along with those who are reviewing how these skills are taught for the first time. We also welcome abstracts from early career researchers who can draw lessons from their own experiences.
This session aims to build a community of practice in computational geoscience education through sharing approaches and lessons learned.
ED010 – Climate Literacy Initiatives
Kathryn Boyd, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences,Anne U Gold ,University of Colorado at Boulder, Frank Niepold, NOAA Washington DC, Patrick Chandler, University of Colorado at Boulder
Reducing vulnerability to climate and preparing for just transitions to a low-carbon economy are critical for societies across the world, particularly in frontline communities. Coordinated systems of education, communication, and outreach can support learning to enhance the adaptability of our cities and create stronger communities, empowering people to address climate change. Improving learning about Earth's complex climate and energy system is fundamental to support development of mitigation and adaptation strategies. The CLEAN Network is committed to improving climate and energy literacy locally, regionally, nationally, and globally and brings together a professionally diverse community of over 800 members and programs. This session provides opportunities for CLEAN network partners to showcase their work and share information, models, and new program designs in order to support session participants in taking action within their own communities and organizations. We also invite abstracts from other climate-centered learning programs, projects, initiatives, and efforts.
ED014 -Diverse Voices: Embedding Science Storytelling in Pedagogical Practice
Erin R. Kraal, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Laura Guertin, Pennsylvania State University Brandywine, Lisa S Gardiner, UCAR, Adam Papendieck, University of Texas at Austin
Telling scientific stories is a powerful technique for teaching and learning geoscience. Storytelling or narrative pedagogy can empower diverse voices as well as communicate scientific content and help learners articulate how their lives connect with geoscience. Stories also serve important roles by recognizing student agency in creating the future of geoscientific communities; they may illustrate diverse experiences of becoming and being scientists. This session focuses on how the geoscience community uses storytelling as a pedagogical approach. Storytelling, or narratives, can take many forms including oral, written, visual, and digital media. The narratives could be student-created or generated by scientists or educators to support scientific communication. We welcome submissions that share the experience of incorporating narrative into educational settings, including pedagogical techniques and training, examples or outcomes of programs, and research into narrative education. We particularly welcome submissions that expand the diversity of voices learning and sharing within the geosciences.
ED015 -Earth and Space Science Education Research (ESSER): Methods, Theories, and Findings
Kristen K St John, James Madison University, Laura Lukes, George Mason University Fairfax, Elijah T Johnson, Auburn University, Leilani Arthurs, University of Colorado Boulder
Today, we live in a communication society. While there are unprecedented possibilities to gather information, finding relevant data and information seams to become more and more complex. Amongst the multitude of modern communication channels, museums and other public institutions stand out. Not only by their physical appearance, but by their extraordinary quality of communication. Here, genuine dialogue and participation is still lived.
Within this session, we invite presentations about new concepts for meaningful and moving science communication at museums, universities, science centers and festivals, visitor centers or outdoor exhibitions. We will discuss innovative ways to engage all audiences to actively take part in the discourse about the grand challenges of today's and tomorrow's society.
ED021 -Geoscience Soft Skills Research and Training
Samuel Cornelius Cornelius Nyarko, Western Michigan University, Esther Akoto Amoako, University of Toledo
The geoscience workforce emphasizes on three broader set of skill competencies for future geoscientists – technical skills, field skills, and management/soft skills. Geoscience researchers and educators do a good job of studying and training technical and field skills, but skills related to management/soft skills such as teamwork, leadership, critical thinking, communication and ethics are less studied in the geosciences. The onus falls on geoscience departments and other stakeholders to train and educate students to become competent in these management and soft skills. Thus, how educators and researchers are training and studying management skills in STEM have become important. This session seeks to bring together researchers and educators doing work in this area of need to inform future plans and decisions regarding management/soft skills training in STEM. Submissions are welcome for applications across STEM fields, including but not limited to: team-based learning, leadership, ethics, science communication, spatial and critical thinking.
ED038 -Teaching Introduction to Geographic Information Science: Best Practices and Reflections
Forrest J Bowlick, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Caroline McClure, Georgia State University
Many early-career faculty in Geography and Geoscience departments are placed in a classroom teaching an Introduction to GIS course, with or without prior teaching experience. While GIS is broadly used in research, teaching experiences are less available. This session will compare practices and discuss methods for teaching such a course. It will bring together a diverse group of faculty all currently teaching Intro GIS courses. The participants will share their experience teaching the course, their format for the course, and what does and does not work in the classroom (projects vs. exams, teaching both lecture and lab vs. teaching lecture with TAs teaching labs, types of projects, etc., ESRI software vs. others, hybrid vs. face-2-face vs. online, etc.). Anyone interested is invited to also share their experiences in teaching the course, along with ideas on how to give students the best experience concerning learning GIS.
ED049 -Promoting International Projects to Support Geoscience Education
Michael J Passow, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Sharon M Locke, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
This session will explore projects that promote geoscience education at all levels, including K-12. This will include discussion of the International Earth Science Olympiad.
Danielle F Sumy, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, Jenny Crayne, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Robert M DeGroot, United States Geological Survey
In 1993, the first public alerts for earthquake early warning (EEW) arrived in Mexico City. Over the past thirty years, many other earthquake prone countries around the world, such as Japan, Taiwan, India, Romania, Israel, Italy, and New Zealand, are in various stages of development and implementation of EEW. As of 2021, public alerting is operational for ShakeAlert®, the EEW system for the West Coast of the United States. The efficacy of an EEW system is based on how people use the alerts and take a protective action, rather than solely on scientific and technological advances. This session will explore compelling questions about education and messaging around EEW technology and public alerting to mitigate earthquake risk, what we know about people's experience with EEW systems, and what actions people take in response to an alert. We also seek science communication, education, and outreach case studies about EEW throughout the world.
Brandon Jones, National Science Foundation, Kendall Moore, University of Rhode Island
The session will emphasize pedagogy as a primary driver of B A JEDI work in the U.S. with presentations focusing on how this work in the geosciences fits within an antiracism framework. Participants of this session will have an opportunity to examine their own efforts and position their programs as either transactional-ethical or relational-ethical work. And to think about who is benefitting, and how, from the different approaches.
SY022 -Innovative Communication Hubs for Earth and Environmental Sciences
Simon Schneider, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Gilla Simon, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich
Today, we live in a communication society. While there are unprecedented possibilities to gather information, finding relevant data and information seams to become more and more complex. Amongst the multitude of modern communication channels, museums and other public institutions stand out. Not only by their physical appearance, but by their extraordinary quality of communication. Here, genuine dialogue and participation is still lived. Within this session, we invite presentations about new concepts for meaningful and moving science communication at museums, universities, science centers and festivals, visitor centers or outdoor exhibitions. We will discuss innovative ways to engage all audiences to actively take part in the discourse about the grand challenges of today's and tomorrow's society.
SY041 -Toward a More Equitable Global Geoscience Community: Partnerships, Programs, and Processes
Beth A Bartel, Michigan Technological University, Wendy Bohon, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, Lorena Medina Luna, National Center for Atmospheric Research
The geoscience community has a responsibility to promote an ethical, diverse, inclusive and just culture across and within the Earth system sciences. We can and must make thoughtful, meaningful changes in what and whom is valued within the sciences: who participates in the sciences, how science is communicated, the opportunities for advancement, who is credited for knowledge production, and equitable inclusion of cultures and perspectives beyond Western scientific thought. We invite presentations on experiences, research, ideas and solutions on topics such as building equitable partnerships across organizations and borders, decolonizing geoscience curriculum, increasing equity and access within geoscience and science communication, ensuring inclusion and acknowledgement of traditional and local knowledge, and other topics centered around justice and equity in science.
NAGT-Sponsored Workshop
SCIWS6 -Virtual Workshop: Building Quantitative Literacy Through Science, Education, and Art
Are you excited to support your students in developing skills for science and connecting with communities? Sign up for the Virtual EDDIE Workshop at the AGU meeting: Building Quantitative Literacy Through Science, Education, and Art! This workshop will be online-only, Wednesday, December 8, 2021 from 8am to 2pm CST.
Sarah K Fortner, Science Education Resource Center, Tom Mexneir, University of Arizona, Hannah Perrine Mode, Independent Artist, Susan Eriksson, Independent Artist, Education Evaluation
In the first half of this workshop participants will engage with strategies for supporting scientific inquiry and quantitative reasoning developed by the Project EDDIE (Environmental Data-Driven Inquiry and Exploration) in teaching materials that engage students in openly available earth and environmental data sets. Materials feature topics such as climate change, urban planning, biodiversity, and water pollution that all offer the opportunity to build creative reasoning skills. In the second half, a panel of artists will share strategies for connecting societally relevant science to culture, community, or the advancement of justice. Participants will develop and share ideas for how they will add inquiry and creativity to their courses to prepare their students as scientists and change advocates! This workshop should be of interest to researchers, educators, and advocates seeking strategies to build student interest in both research and the translation of science.
Artists
- Gabriel Harp (Art & Science in Higher Education)
- Jiabao Li (Artist, Designer & Technologist)
- Francesca Samsel (Artist, Big data visualization)
- Hannah Perrine Mode (Artist, Faculty on the Juneau Icefield Research Program)