Transcript Starting Point: Teaching Entry Level Geoscience

Engaging faculty use of the
web in teaching as a basis for
designing
Cathy Manduca, SERC, Carleton College
Flora McMartin, MERLOT
Wes Shumar, Drexel University
Ellen Iverson, SERC, Carleton College
Science Education Resource
Center, Carleton College
Cathy Manduca, Director of SERC
Ellen Iverson, web development and
evaluation
Tale of Two Projects
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Starting Point: Teaching Entry Level
Geoscience
Manduca, Merritts, and Savina
NSF NSDL-0226243
serc.carleton.edu/introgeo
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On the Cutting Edge: Professional
Development for Geoscience Faculty
Macdonald, Manduca, Mogk, Tewksbury
NSF CCLI-0127141
serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops
What we wanted to find out
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How do faculty think about their teaching?
How do they make decisions about what to do
in class?
What are faculty looking for on the web? How
do they find it?
How do they use these materials in their
teaching?
Focused study on small sample
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8 structured interviews of faculty with a range
of teaching experience
21 additional walkthroughs using scenariobased think-aloud protocol
Iteratively developed coding scheme
What are faculty thinking and doing?
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Faculty like to talk about teaching.
Most expressed interest in teaching higher order
thinking skills.
Decisions about what to do in class based largely on
classroom experience of faculty member and
colleagues.
Most faculty use the web a lot.
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sources that colleagues recommend,
Google™ on science topics.
Faculty adapt and create from what they find.
What are faculty looking for on the web?
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Information or visuals about science topic
Specific data to use in exercise or lab
Ideas
Relatively few faculty search web for teaching
materials
Even fewer think of web as source of pedagogic
information
Starting Point: Designed with
this research in mind
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Teaching examples
searchable by
geoscience topic and
findable in Google™
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Pedagogic information
linked with example and
tips for use and
adaptation
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Site developed by faculty
colleagues and peer
reviewed to increase its
ability to become a
trusted source
serc.carleton.edu/introgeo
Initial Evaluation Results
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Examples are extremely popular and spark
creativity
Many faculty explore site using examples in a
topic
Pedagogic information is placed in a useful
context
7000 hits per month; 1/2 from Google™
Long visits initiated with searches on
pedagogic topics
Next steps
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Broad dissemination of site
Demonstrating use
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Case studies
Web stats
On-line feedback
Geo-ed survey
Vocabulary testing
Crit Lab/Heuristics
On the Cutting Edge: Websites from
Workshops
Creating Coherence
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Website Use Survey
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100 respondents
82 used site and recommended to colleague
2004 Workshop Evaluations
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93% find workshop website easy to use
96% plan to use workshop website in future
Less than 50% indicate awareness for larger Cutting Edge
website
Only 1/8 to 1/3 aware of other workshop/topical websites
Primary issue is recognizing that there is more than one
thematic collection
Continuing Evaluation
Who is using the site for what?
 Interviews
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Focus Groups
Questionnaire
Website usage
Earth system and resource type vocabulary
testing
In sum
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Research and evaluation have had big
impact on site design
Evaluation in progress for purposes of
demonstrating impact
Not yet successful in disseminating
interesting results to larger community