November 18, 2022
Home runs at the World Series causing earthquakes? A lesson in information literacy.
Although the Philadelphia Phillies ended up losing the World Series in Game 6, the 2022 season ended with excitement beyond baseball. It also ended with a valuable lesson in information literacy, and why you should always check your sources.
November 4, 2022
AWG’s Outstanding Educators – elevate and celebrate
Please allow me to use this blog post to share a little more about the award and give a shout-out to all of these amazing honorees from previous years. I hope you recognize several of these names and their contributions to our discipline, and perhaps take a few moments to learn more about this group and their accomplishments. I hope that this post can help groups/institutions outside of AWG elevate and celebrate these individuals and share their stories.
October 20, 2022
Navigating the challenge of COVID and cruises
All of our personal and professional lives were impacted from the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in early 2020. The schedule of ocean expeditions was hit especially hard, and field-based ocean research continues to work through the ongoing challenges of coronavirus.
September 30, 2022
Slow looking for visual literacy
Look at an image. Resist the temptation of immediately jumping to the caption for an explanation of what is being shown. Practice slow looking to unlock more discoveries.
September 19, 2022
Slow Water movement, from “Water Always Wins”
Slow Water solutions are place-specific and community oriented. They center on water’s relationships with rocks, microbes, plants, and animals, including humans. Practitioners aim to collaborate with water rather than try to control it. — Erica Gies website
September 3, 2022
Getting Earth Science Students to Learn by Letting them Speak [guest post]
Everybody has stories to tell. Using of student-produced audio narratives in the classroom allows students to tell the stores behind the subject matter. This can then enhance learning and student engagement, while letting them have a little bit of fun along the way.
August 29, 2022
Take 5… Earth science information, by state
Preparations for teaching involve pulling together datasets, visualizations, and information that is geographically centered. For those looking for information relating to the geographic location (or U.S. state) for your campus, students may be interested in exploring these resources.
August 17, 2022
Giving students a survey on the first day? Think about what you are asking, and why
First-day survey responses can yield stepping stones to conversations and modifications with regards to our students and our courses. As instructors, we need to be mindful and thoughtful about the questions we ask, how we ask these questions, and what (if anything) we will do with those responses.
July 28, 2022
What Inclusive Instructors Do – a book from Stylus Publishing
The themes of “equity and belonging” are present throughout the book, emphasizing that instructors can design learning environments for all students to reach their potential within a welcoming space that fosters a sense of belonging.
July 15, 2022
Catalyzing Change: STEM Faculty as Change Agents
The issue describes how faculty can be change agents, supporting student success, promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, and supporting career and academic pathways.
Laura Guertin is a Distinguished Professor of Earth Sciences at Penn State Brandywine in Media, PA. Her research focuses on how technology can enhance teaching and student learning in introductory-level geoscience courses for non-science majors. Her blog focuses on geoscience education/outreach, science communication, and technology tools in the classroom, online, and in the field.