How can geoscience curricula prepare our students for the future?

1. How can geoscience curricula prepare our students for the future? Mary Savina, Department of Geology, Carleton College April 25, 2007

2. What is the future like? • More interested in applications • More collaboration • Different and broader career paths in earth science • More societal relevance • More complex data management tasks

3. Acknowledgements • My Carleton teachers and colleagues: • Dave Bice, Scott Bierman, Shelby Boardman • Ed Buchwald, Liz Ciner, Clint Cowan • Cam Davidson, Bereket Haileab, Cathy Manduca, • Julie Maxson, Sarah Titus, Chico Zimmerman

4. Outline of talk • Some models of curricular change • Thinking about curriculum – three models • Subject-based • Place and level based • Goals, skills, experience based • Characteristics of a responsive curriculum • How can we recognize change? How can we evaluate it?

5. Models of Curricular Change Structural geology Min and Pet Paleo “Global Change-ology” Geomicrobiology

6. Models of Curricular Change How the heck did we end up here? http://www.physics.orst.edu/~rubin/TALKS/CPtalk/DEMO/demo6.html

7. Models of Curricular Change Punctuated equilibria Gradualism Always adding, never subtracting http://web.uccs.edu/twynn/macro%20ev%20patterns.htm; Dennis O’Neil

8. Thinking about curriculum – Model #1 • Course titles and content: • Introductory geology (audience) • Min, Pet, Structure, . . . • Paleo, Geomorph, Tectonics, Geochemistry, Geophysics • “Special topics” OR

9. Thinking About Curriculum- Model #2 • Making maximal use of local area geology and geography • Sequence – what are good second level courses? Advanced courses? OR

10. Thinking About Curriculum – Model #3 • Goals • Skills • Geoscience-specific • General • Experiences • Values • Content Combinations of the three models work best

11. One model • Welcoming everyone (no pre-graduate school or pre-professional emphasis) • Introductory geology (= Terminal geology) – “What does my neighbor need to know?” (Ed Buchwald) to 120-150 students/year • Emphasize practical skills and experiences in major RESULT: large number of majors, high % of graduates go on in field Carleton geology home page

12. Skills – Geoscience-specific (list generated by workshop participants) • Make field observations and interpret outcrops • Read, construct and interpret geologic map and cross section • Data management and interpretation, 3-4 D visualization of spatial, temporal, other data • Recognize and interpret landforms • Interpret earth materials, identification and description of rocks minerals and fossils • Apply a systems analysis to a problem • Generate/describe geologic history of processes and events from data

13. Geoscience Skills – Carleton • 3 Dimensional • Stereonets • Thinking in 3 dimensions • Maps and Interpretation • Make a geologic map/strat section • Creating and interpreting maps • Data Analysis • Geological data • Numerical data handling • Literature searching and analysis • Field Observations • Making field observations • Observations vs. interpretations • Interpret Phase Diagrams

14. General Skills(list generated by workshop participants) • 3D? - geology + architecture + mol. chemistry • Scientific method • Computational fluency • Evaluating results • Dealing with uncertainty • Communication • Team skills • Critical thinking

15. General skills – Carleton • Writing and Communication • Information – locating and evaluating • Data – measuring, problem solving, and quantitative reasoning • Visual presentation of data – graphing and drawing • 3 Dimensional reasoning and visualization • Tackling Complex Problems • Learning the Limits of knowledge • Working in Groups

16. Experiences - Carleton • Projects and Independent Research, including Comps/Senior Thesis • Integrated lectures and labs • Solving Hard Problems (together) • Frustration and epiphany • Dealing with insufficient data • Field Work, Field Trips, and Field Problem-solving • Take field notes they have to use • Visit classic Midwest geologic localities • Field trips/field work (the more, the better) • Off-campus studies • Bereket’s • Make thin sections • Other • Measure something on a machine • Read and understand scientific papers • Community-based learning • Attend a professional meeting

17. Program Goals –Carleton • Thinking like a Scientist • Enjoy learning science • Help students learn from each faculty and staff member • Teach students how to learn about the Earth • Think like a geologist • Generate new knowledge • Life Skills/Goals • To provide an environment that helps students learn and grow • Historical perspective • Be confident with the tools that they have • Act on knowledge • Prepare for life after college (grad school, work force) • Provide a well-rounded flexible major for students interested (or not) in pursuing geology as a career • Nuts & bolts • Keep producing excellent geologists • Keep 20-25 majors in each graduating class • Give all students field experience opportunities • Introducing 120-150 students/year to important concepts of “citizen geology” • Promote intelligent professional growth and development of dept. faculty and staff Carleton geology home page

18. Content areas - Carleton • Time • Earth as a dynamic system • Tectonics • Climate, climate change and climate history • Deformation • Surface Processes • Rocks & Minerals • Chemical Differentiation and Phase Diagram

19. Values - Carleton • Good Environment • Excellent learning environment • Opportunities for all students • Integrity • Integrity (of the science method) • Collaboration • Collaboration between students and faculty • Learning from peers and from a variety of faculty • Respect • Openness • Sense of community, including alums, students, profs, etc • Appreciation (past and future) • Respect for ideas

20. Behind the matrix • Geology majors should begin their "senior integrative exercise" having practiced all of the formal steps in the process (recognizing problems, writing proposals, carrying out a project, reporting a project in several ways) multiple times in previous geology courses; • Students graduating from Carleton as geology majors should learn a variety of geologically specific skills, preferably practicing these skills in more than one course; • Geology graduates also should develop general communication, analysis and quantitative skills in geology classes.

21. So – where do they get these skills?

22. Another version of the general

23. A breakdown of one category

24. Characteristics of a responsive curriculum • Flexible, non-linear, built-in redundancy • Serves people headed in different directions, welcomes students from other departments (have we got a deal for you! Science majors get free passes!) • Allows rapid integration of new content and skills within existing courses (e.g. systems approaches, Snowball Earth, computational modeling, stable isotopes) • Allows maximal interaction with interdisciplinary programs and college initiatives (quantitative reasoning, visuality, environmental studies) • Makes maximal use of local resources in Minnesota • Has a small number of formal requirements with careful advising for students going to graduate school • Emphasizes peak experiences

25. Perennial debates • Is there a “core?” If so, what is it? • Would the mineralogists and petrologists please just get over the idea that they have a right to a 20-week course. . . ? • How can we show those other sciences that earth science is really important? I mean – really important! • If students don’t take courses in sequence, is there anything I can assume that everyone in my class has seen?

26. Trends in Higher Education • Changing nature of the student body, • Change in what it means to be an “educated person,” • Emphasis on skills and habits of mind rather than content, • Recognizing learning outside the classroom, • A more cohesive and coherent first year experience, a capstone. • (Thank you, Chico!)

27. Connecting with university initiatives • Importance of cross-cutting skills – not just general education (Liz Ciner story about chemistry) • Quantitative reasoning, WAC, visualilty, academic civic engagement, ethics. . .

28. Recognizing and evaluating change • Use the capstone projects • Subjects and methods • Sources and experiences • Use the department review process • Check in with alumni • Evaluate the course content

29. Comps topic analysis 1979-2007 • Fewer “local” projects • Fewer projects connected directly with faculty research • More projects related to REU and Keck • More projects with analyses we can’t do here (magnetics, stable isotopes, U-Pb dating) • Continuing outreach, education, environmental projects • More faraway places

30. Questions • Can we change the curriculum without changing the courses? • How do we maintain flexibility and respond to new trends without hiring in new expertise? • Do we have to do everything? YES! Consider Curriculum as Faculty Development NO!