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Geoscience Education Division Newsletter, January 2009
Newsletter
Geoscience Education Division Newsletter, January 2009
From Your Newsletter Editor
Greetings, everyone. I hope you are all having a good school year despite the economic climate. It has been challenging to deliver quality education to students with declining resources. The next round of expected budget cuts here at my university will take us up to 25% over the last two years. That would be catastrophic in the private sector, worthy of a bailout! Yet we manage to innovate, make do, and soldier on. Imagine, though, what we could do with $700 billion...ah, we can dream, can’t we?
I hope to see some of you at the Southeastern Section GSA meeting in beautiful St. Petersburg, FL, March 12-13. I was unable to attend the 2008 GSA Annual Meeting in Houston, and so I missed renewing acquaintances with you at our business meeting and at the many, many GED sponsored paper and poster sessions. Budget cuts or not, I will be at the 2009 meeting October 18-21 in Portland, Oregon. If you have never been to Portland, you have missed visiting one of the most interesting cities in North America. A popular bumper sticker there says "Keep Portland Weird." That says it all, and alone is enough reason to go, not to mention the spectacular geology in that region.
As always, if you have items you would like to have included in the next newsletter, please e-mail them to me at
mhafen@cas.usf.edu.Mark Hafen
University of South Florida
GED Chair’s Message
Greetings GED Members! It was very nice to meet and interact with so many of you at October’s GSA meeting in Houston, where I assumed the duty of GED Chair. Please allow me to introduce the 2009 GED management board and provide an update on several GED activities and initiatives.
2009 GED Management Board
Chair: Elizabeth Nagy-Shadman
eanagy-shadman@pasadena.edu
First Vice-Chair: Eric Pyle
Highlights from 2008
, Western Michigan University, "Classroom Observation Methodologies to Assess Student Engagement"Matthew Ludwig
Daniel Bulger, University of Georgia, "Implementation of a Voluntary Research-Based Project to Enhance UndergraduateInvolvement In the Scientific Process In Mineralogy"
Philip Stokes, University of Arizona, "Spreading Roots: The Goals and Challenges of Establishing a Self-Sustaining Diversity Program in Southern Arizona"
Opportunities and Initiative for 2009
On behalf of the current management board, we look forward to serving the GED membership in the coming year. Please feel free to contact me or any of us with questions or comments.
Elizabeth Nagy-Shadman
2009 Chair, Geoscience Education Division
GED Seeking Officer Nominations
Seeking Officer Nominations for 2010, Geoscience Education Division, Geological Society of America
The Geoscience Education Division of the Geological Society of America is seeking candidates for the positions of (a) second vice-chair and (b) secretary-treasurer to join the management board.
The job of second vice-chair entails management board planning work, as well as supervising the Biggs Award, student-travel awards, and other Division award processes. The second vice-chair moves up each succeeding year to first vice-chair, chair, and past chair, so the position is a four-year commitment.
The job of secretary-treasurer entails keeping records of management board and business meetings of the Division, documenting the financial business of the Division, maintaining liaison with financial staff at GSA headquarters, and serving as an ex officio member of all committees of the Geoscience Education Division. The secretary-treasurer serves a 2-year term. Attendance at the GSA Annual Meeting is strongly recommended, as it is for all GED officers.
If you are interested in running for this position, or if you would like to nominate someone else, please respond to Kristen St. John
stjohnke@jmu.edu by April 1, 2009. We will request a brief bio and statement for the ballot. Elections will be held in June, with the new member officially joining the board at the 2009 GSA Annual Meeting.Kristen St. John
James Madison University
Weigh In on Earth Science Literacy
The Earth Science Literacy Initiative (ESLI), funded by the National Science Foundation, was instituted to create an understanding of the principal concepts of the Earth sciences and put them into a document that would have applications for both research in and the public understanding of the Earth sciences. This is part of a larger geoscience Earth Systems Literacy effort.
The NSF-supported Earth Science Literacy Initiative has prepared a draft document outlining what every citizen should know about Earth science, and we are seeking community input on the draft. A first public draft was announced and was open for comments during October 2008. These comments have been incorporated into the document, and a second round of comments opened on December 15, 2008. We hope that you will take the time to provide your input, because this document will provide a clear and concise summary of the fundamental ideas in Earth science for policy makers, educators, students, and the general public.
This document complements the efforts of the Ocean, Climate and Atmospheric science communities in defining the big ideas and supporting concepts essential for an Earth-system literate public. The Earth Sciences draft was developed through an NSF-supported, 350-participant online workshop held in May 2008 and a 35-participant, in-person writing workshop held in July 2008. These workshops brought together scientists from a broad representation of the geosciences, including mineralogists, petrologists, resource explorationists, sedimentologists and statigraphers, paleontologists, tectonists, geophysists, geomorphologists, low-temperature geochemists and biogeochemists, continental dynamacists, volcanologists, geohazard specialists, and members of the freshwater hydrologic science community. The document has gone through several rounds of revisions since then, and though it is already the product of 10,000’s of hours of work, we want to make sure that it represents the current state of Earth science understanding.
To view continuing updates to this draft document, go to
http://www.earthscienceliteracy.org.This is a critical time for our science – the geosciences can play a critical role in helping society meet the challenges of natural hazards and human impacts on the environment. Please help us make this document accurate and engaging! Please contact Michael Wysession at
michael@seismo.wustl.edu with any questions.Nicole LaDue
National Science Foundation
Din-o-mite Opportunity at the Dinosaur Academy
We run something called the Dinosaur Academy: an educational camp for high school students. It’s the perfect 7-day paleo-experience for science enthusiasts! College credit is also available. This is one of the only certification programs for fossil preparation, field basic works, and molding and casting. The Dinosaur Academy will run from June 21-28, 2009. There is also a Teachers' Workshop, which takes you into the fields of geology and paleontology, through hands-on research and activities. This workshop takes place July 29-August 2, with 2 credit hours available through the University of Wyoming Outreach School. Last year, all of the teachers went home with handouts and activities to use in their classrooms, and even got to collect their own fossils.
The Dinosaur Academy is supported by the Big Horn Basin Foundation. The BHBF is what runs the non-profit part of the group, whether it be students and teacher or volunteers. Check us out at
http://www.bhbfonline.org/, where anyone can download the certification requirements or our research papers, etc. Contact Bill Wahl for more information at wwahl2@aol.comBill Wahl
Paleontologist/Preparation Lab Manager
Drill, Baby, Drill: The DOSECC Summer Internship Program
DOSECC (Drilling, Observation and Sampling of the Earths Continental Crust) internships promote involvement in projects where drilling has provided data and materials for study. Interns can undertake research related to ongoing or past drilling efforts. Grad students, undergrads, and primary and secondary school teachers – worldwide – are eligible.
Internship funding will be available in the summer of 2009, and budgets of $2000 to $5000 are appropriate. Applications must be received by March 1, 2009 and awardees will be announced April 1, 2009. In the past, a high percentage of applicants have been successful.
Application details are listed on our website:
http://www.dosecc.org/html/internship.html. Or email the DOSECC Education and Outreach Manager, David Zur dzur@dosecc.org.David M. Zur
DOSECC Education and Outreach Manager
Geology Seminar on Craters of the Moon (Sort of)
Through our partner the Sawtooth Science Institute, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve will be offering a two day Geology Seminar on the geology of the park: July 17th and 18th, 2009. The workshop fee is $50, and if you want 1 hr. of college credit through Idaho State University, there is also a recording fee of $50.
Call the Sawtooth Science Institute (208) 788-9686 to register. For details on the contents of the seminar or for more information, call Doug Owen at the park (208) 527-1331. For geologists who may have an interest in winter ecology, there is also a Winter Ecology Snowshoe Workshop being held in the park on February 7th and 8th, 2009, also offered through the Sawtooth Science Institute.
Douglass E. Owen
Park Ranger Naturalist/Park Geologist
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve
Charles Darwin, in da House!
Waubonsee Community College is proud to announce a rare appearance of Charles Darwin! We will be hosting the award-winning performance of Brian Fox as Charles Darwin on 12 February 2009, in celebration of Darwin’s 200th birthday. There will be an evening presentation, and presentations during the day for local schools. Come to Waubonsee to ask Mr. Darwin those questions you always wanted to, but couldn’t! Please contact David Voorhees at (630) 466-2783 or
dvoorhees@waubonsee.edu or the Waubonsee Earth Science Department web page http://chat.wcc.cc.il.us/~earth/newsevents.htm for more details as they...evolve.David H. Voorhees
Waubonsee (IL) Community College
Congrats to One of our Own
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) have named GED member Maud Walsh the 2008 Louisiana Professor of the Year. Walsh, an associate professor in the School of Plant, Environmental & Soil Sciences at Louisiana State University, was selected from nearly 300 professors in the United States. She was nominated in recognition of her excellent contributions to undergraduate education. Send your congratulations to Maud at
evwals@lsu.edu.Report from the GSA Committee on Education
The Committee on Education serves as advisor and advocate to the Society on issues and programs that have the potential to stimulate interest in the importance and acquisition of basic knowledge in the Earth sciences at all levels of education. Committee members work with the GSA Education and Outreach staff, and with other interested scientific and education organizations, to develop informal, pre-college (K-12), undergraduate, and graduate earth-science education and outreach objectives and initiatives.
Recent activities of the Education Committee
Nature of Science
National discussions related to evolution and global warming make clear the need for
public understanding of the Earth sciences perspective on the nature of science and use of
the scientific method to advance science. Recently, the committee was involved in
preparation of
Attracting Geoscience Majors
Many societal issues require an increased awareness and comprehension of the
geosciences among the general public and an increasing pool of bright and creative
individuals who pursue geoscience as a career. Few matriculating college students are
aware of the importance of an understanding of the geosciences in their lives or the
potential for careers in geoscience-related fields. The committee is actively working on
two initiatives that may help address this challenge.
A. Dual Enrollment
One challenge relates to the relative scarcity of high-school-level requirements or
even offerings of Geoscience courses. The lack of an AP Geology course or exam contributes
to this problem. The practice of offering dual credit/dual enrollment geoscience courses
for high school students has been successful in some places in attracting pre-college
students to the geosciences and could help to increase the pool of undergraduate geology
majors. The committee is actively researching successful Dual Credit/Dual Enrollment
programs across the country in order to generate a document that outlines best practices
and potential challenges with the intent of producing a reference document to encourage
this pre-college outreach approach.
B. Connecting with 2-year Colleges
The committee also believes that faculty at 2-year institutions are important partners
in the outreach to pre-college and early college students and are potentially a population
that has been underserved by the Society. The committee is currently exploring how the
Society can better serve 2-year/community college geoscience faculty. The committee is in
the process of surveying faculty members of this community and will use the results of the
survey and discussions at a 2-year college faculty forum at the 2009 GSA Annual Meeting in
Portland to make recommendations to GSA Council.
Make-up of the GSA Education Committee
The makeup of the committee has recently been revised to consist of the following 12 voting members, serving 4-year terms, plus ex officio members:
1 - 2yr college faculty
representative |
The committee welcomes ideas and input from all GSA members. A good way to provide comments or make suggestions to the committee is through the current Division representative to the committee, Ginny Peterson
petersvi@gvsu.edu. We strongly encourage members to nominate themselves or others to serve on this important committee. The Education committee meets formally 2 times per year, once at the Annual Meeting and a second time in early spring. In 2009, the spring meeting will be held at the Southeastern Section meeting in St. Petersburg, FL.Ginny Peterson
GED Representative to the GSA Committee on Education
Grand Valley State University
Geothermal Geoscience Certificate in New Zealand
Postgraduate Certificate in Geothermal Energy Technology, 20 July - 13 November, 2009. This is a 5 month course at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, in geothermal geoscience and geothermal engineering, and is aimed at graduates who wish to work in the geothermal industry, and engineers and scientists who are already working in geothermal who want to extend their knowledge and gain a tertiary qualification. For more information, visit
http://www.iese.co.nz/ or contact olwen.morgan@auckland.ac.nz.Juliet Newson
Dept of Engineering Science Geothermal Reservoir Group
University of Auckland
Survey Says...?
The GSA Committee on Education is looking for feedback to discover how GSA can best serve geoscience faculty at two-year institutions. If you are among that faculty group, we would very much appreciate your input. Please follow this link to a survey designed for geoscience faculty at two-year institutions:
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB228KVR3V92F
A more detailed explanation of the survey can be found on the first page.
In addition, we would also appreciate feedback from faculty who are NOT GSA members. If you have contact information for other geoscience faculty at two-year institutions, please forward this information to them. The more feedback the committee can gather, the more effective we can make the response strategies.
Thank you for your time. We greatly appreciate your participation!
Aida Awad
Chair, GSA Committee on Education
Earth Science Resources through CoreKids
The scientists and staff of the Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education (MGRRE) share geology and Earth science resources with K-12 teachers, students and parents through their CoreKids program. CoreKids was founded to help bridge the gap between Earth science and the public.
CoreKids program representatives visit classrooms and other groups in SW Michigan, host field trips to the MGRRE on the Western Michigan University campus, and make their presentations available to others as Learning Modules on their website.
To find out more about the program, or to download any of their resources, visit their new website at
http://www.wmich.edu/corekids/index.htm.Susan Grammer, WMU-CoreKids Coordinator
susan.grammer@wmich.eduSummer Field Course in Morocco
The Cultural and Natural Resources of Morocco
GEOG 4910 / 5510 (3 credit hours)
Oklahoma State University
May 23 to June 7, 2009
This study abroad summer course, offered through Oklahoma State University, College of A&S Outreach, will focus on themes of cultural and natural resources in Morocco and include fascinating and exciting experiences along the way. The course instructors are Dale Lightfoot and Thomas Wikle, both in the Department of Geography at OSU. Dr. Wikle has more than a decade of experience directing summer travel courses, and Dr. Lightfoot has more than 15 years experience with research and outreach projects in Morocco and the wider Middle East and North Africa region.
Highlights include:
The cost of the trip will be $4,042 for undergraduate students and $4,112 for graduate students and non-credit participants.
For more information, including a day-by-day itinerary, please contact:
Dr. Dale Lightfoot:
d.lightfoot@okstate.eduWorkshops, On the Cutting Edge
On the Cutting Edge is offering the following workshops in 2009. The workshop schedule gives links to the individual workshop web pages (including the online application forms). The earliest deadline is coming up fast:
February 6, 2009.
http://serc.carleton.edu/Nagtworkshops/workshops.htmlTeaching Paleontology in the 21st Century
Conveners: Barbara Tewksbury, Warren Allmon, Rowan Lockwood, Bruce
McFadden, and Margaret Yacobucci
July 30 - August 3, 2009, Cornell University and the Paleontological
Research Institute, Ithaca, NY
Application Deadline: February 6, 2009
Teaching About Energy in Geoscience Courses: Current Research and Pedagogy
Conveners: Cathy Manduca and Jimm Myers
May 17-19, 2009, University of Wyoming
Workshop for Early Career Geoscience Faculty: Teaching, Research, and
Managing Your Career
Conveners: Heather Macdonald and Richelle Allen-King
June 14-18, 2009, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA
Optional trip to NSF on June 19
Preparing for an Academic Career in the Geosciences: A Workshop for
Graduate Students and Post-Doctoral Fellows
Conveners: Heather Macdonald and Robyn Wright Dunbar
July 16-19, 2009, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
On the Cutting Edge, a professional development program for current and future geoscience faculty, is sponsored by the National Association for Geoscience Teachers and supported by grants from the CCLI program of the Division of Undergraduate Education of the National Science Foundation.
We encourage you to visit the Cutting Edge website and check out the many online resources.
Heather Macdonald, College of William and Mary
Cathy Manduca, Carleton College
David Mogk, Montana State University
Barbara Tewksbury, Hamilton College
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