HR: 16:00h
AN: ED34A-01    [Abstracts]
TI: Learning from One Another: On-line Resources for Geoscience Departments
AU: * Manduca, C A
EM: cmanduca@carleton.edu
AF: Science Education Resource Center, Carleton College, Northfield, MN 55057, United States
AU: Macdonald, R H
EM: rhmacd@wm.edu
AF: College of William and Mary, Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA 23187, United States
AU: Feiss, P G
EM: pgfeis@wm.edu
AF: College of William and Mary, Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA 23187, United States
AU: Richardson, R R
EM: rmr@u.arizona.edu
AF: Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States
AU: Ormand, C
EM: cormand@carleton.edu
AF: Science Education Resource Center, Carleton College, Northfield, MN 55057, United States
AB: Geoscience departments are facing times of great change, bringing both opportunity and challenge. While each department is unique with its own mission, institutional setting, strengths and assets, they share much in common and are all much better positioned to maximize gains and minimize losses if they are well informed of the experiences of other geoscience departments. To this end, over the past four years the Building Strong Geoscience Departments project has offered workshops and sessions at professional society meetings to foster sharing and discussion among geoscience departments in the United States and Canada. Topics that have sparked extended discussion include: Where are the geosciences headed from the standpoints of scientific research and employment? How are departments responding to new interdisciplinary opportunities in research and teaching? What are the threats and opportunities facing geoscience departments nationwide? How are departments recruiting students and faculty? What do geoscience department programs look like both from the standpoint of curriculum and activities beyond the curriculum? How do geoscience programs prepare students for professional careers? What makes a department strong in the eyes of the faculty or the eyes of the institution? This rich discussion has included voices from community colleges, four year colleges and universities, comprehensive and research universities, and minority serving institutions. Participants agree that these discussions have helped them in thinking strategically about their own departments, have provided valuable ideas and resources, and have lead to changes in their program and activities. A central aspect of the project has been the development of a website that captures the information shared at these meetings and provides resources that support departments in exploring these topics. The website (serc.carleton.edu/departments) is a community resource and all departments are invited to both learn from and contribute to its collections.
UR: http://serc.carleton.edu/departments
DE: 0805 Elementary and secondary education
DE: 0820 Curriculum and laboratory design
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting