Intro slides
- 1. Building Strong Courses: Connecting to sustainability and social justice Workshop Facilitators: Sarah Fortner Richard Gragg Ellen Metzger
- 2. The National Association of Geoscience Teachers NAGT supports a diverse, inclusive, and thriving community of educators and education researchers to improve teaching and learning about the Earth. Goals: • To foster improvements in the teaching and learning about Earth as a system at all levels of formal and informal instruction; • To emphasize the societal relevance of geoscience and its cultural significance for all people; • To foster and disseminate research in geoscience education; • To promote the professional growth of our members. Building geoscience expertise and an Earth-literate society through high-quality education www.nagt.org
- 3. Workshop Goals • Effectively incorporate high-impact practices into your courses • Identify sustainability and social justice issues that are relevant for your students and connecting with other faculty and your local community • Use relevant issues in teaching content to engage diverse learners • Use the backward design process to (re)design a course
- 4. Icebreaker • Introduce yourselves • Within your group of three, come up with at least three issues that relate to sustainability and social justice that you face in this community
- 5. Think-Pair-Share • For you, what has been a significant learning experience? Something that stuck with you, or had a profound impact?
- 6. What unites these experiences?
- 7. Why the SWOT? • Gets you thinking about your course in context • Strengths: the topic, the landscape/region, class size (small), resources • Weaknesses: New courses have no history, expenses textbooks, too much writing, quantitative skills, student apathy, class size (large) • Opportunities: semester transition, new Gen Ed program, real-world applications • Threats: competition, cost, student apathy, lack of recognition of geosciences/courses, maintaining quality with multiple instructors
- 8. Collected research on learning Research on learning All freely downloadable from the National Academies Press: http://nap.edu
- 9. Key findings • Students come in to our classes with preconceptions, not blank slates • Students must have the opportunity to develop a conceptual framework that facilitates retrieval and builds on deep knowledge • A metacognitive approach helps students monitor their own learning and become better learners • Promising practices: – Developing (and using) learning outcomes – Engaging students in activities during class, in groups – Organizing content in scenarios, with context – Getting and giving feedback through formative assessment Research on learning
- 11. If you could choose one thing… What would you want students to remember from your course in (5, 10, 20) years? How do we design courses that facilitate this process?
- 12. List Course Topics Design Instruction Design Exams/Papers Course Design “Traditional” Wiggins and McTighe (1998) = instructor-centered Typical syllabus • Week 1: Chapter 1 • Week 2: Chapter 2 • … Typically graded based on • 1-2 midterms • Final
- 13. Course Design Identify outcomes: what you want students to know and be able to do Figure out how you will know that they know Design activities that help them succeed “Backward” Wiggins and McTighe (1998) = learner-centered Typical syllabus • Learning goals • Organization of course • … Typically graded based on • Weekly assignments • Projects
- 14. Backward Design Identify Desired Results Determine Acceptable Evidence Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction Wiggins and McTighe (1998)
- 15. 1. Identify desired results learning goals/outcomes – Enduring understandings: that one thing… – Course-level outcomes: aspirational and substantial – Unit-level outcomes: achievable and measurable – Goals should “bundle up” 2. Determine acceptable evidence assessment – Consider a wide range of assessments – Match assessments to learning outcomes 3. Plan learning experiences – Use instructional strategies that foster engagement – Design activities that give students practice Backward Design
- 16. Enduring understanding: What do I want my students to remember 5 or 10 years from now? Some of my goals Overview Earth science is the study of our home planet, from its origins to the way we interact with it today. Much of what we know about Earth—its history and the processes that shape it—comes from detailed observations at a range of scales, from satellite images to microbes. Learning about Earth and how we know what we know, therefore, means learning how to observe, look for patterns, and interpret those patterns in light of the complexity of the Earth system. As future teachers and citizens, you will find yourselves in the position of helping others understand that complexity in the future. My primary goal for this course is to empower you to teach Earth science by giving you the opportunity to engage in learning Earth science through inquiry. Example from GEOL 106 Earth Science Inquiry
- 17. Course-level outcomes: What should my students know and be able to do by the end of the course? Some of my outcomes By the end of this course, you will be able to… • Apply… • Collect, analyze, and interpret quantitative and qualitative data to address questions about relevant Earth science concepts. • Apply… • Articulate... • Find and utilize a variety of resources to learn and communicate about Earth science events and processes. Example from GEOL 106 Earth Science Inquiry
- 18. Unit-level outcomes: What should my students know and be able to do (and show me they can do it) by the end of an activity? Some of my outcomes 1: Nature and methods of Earth science • Define data, interpretation, and evidence, giving examples from the Earth system. • … 2: Plate tectonics and the rock cycle • Describe the difference between a map and a cross-section and how they are used to display data. • Describe and explain the distribution of earthquakes, volcanoes, topography, and age of the seafloor around the world. • …. Example from GEOL 106 Earth Science Inquiry Over 10 weeks, these “bundle up” into: • Collect, analyze, and interpret quantitative and qualitative data to address questions about relevant Earth science concepts.
- 19. 1. Identify desired results learning goals – Enduring understandings: that one thing… – Course-level goals: aspirational and substantial – Unit-level goals: achievable and measurable – Goals should “bundle up” 2. Determine acceptable evidence assessment – Consider a wide range of assessments – Match assessments to learning outcomes 3. Plan learning experiences – Use instructional strategies that foster engagement – Design activities that give students practice Backward Design Now! Shortly Tomorrow
- 20. Your task • In your table groups: Share out about the pre-readings from & how these might connect to course-level goals • Then we’ll share out as a whole group
- 21. Your task • On your own: Write an enduring understanding, at least one course-level outcome, and at least one unit- level outcome in your workspace • See resources on program page for help, or ask! • In pairs or trios: Talk with your neighbor(s) about your goals and outcomes • Then we’ll share out as a whole group
- 22. How to get to & edit your page • Method 1: Go to serc.carleton.edu and log in to your account (upper right) • Method 2: Go to the workshop program, click on participants (left navigation), then click on the link next to your name • Everyone: – Click “Show editing controls” (upper right, red box) – Click “Edit this page” (top green box) – Click anywhere in the text to start typing