Although we have made progress, why are we still talking about these topics? Previous discussions – 1996: NSES, STF; 2000: Revolution; SERC activities; and NSF-GEO and other education and research – Systems approach; effective undergraduate teaching; effective teacher prep/pd; broadening participation Why hasn’t more change occurred? – We are good at what we do, BUT – We are bad at policy, politics, organizational change AGI: NEW Center for Education and Public Understanding – This new center and the NGSS are an opportunity to make real change Support geoscientists who get involved in developing assessments for NGSS – Get involved with state and local policy makers

Teacher Preparation Provide support for geoscientists to be involved in developing assessments for NGSS - NGSS is an opportunity to get geoscience back in the K-12 curriculum ; do we have enough teachers? NO! Let’s not let history repeat itself (i.e. post-1996 NSES) Lifelong process – a community of scholars – a two-way partnership Provide practice doing science rather than talking about it Current teachers should contribute to teaching future teachers Less is more Misconception-change teaching Constructivist: Piaget; 5Es or 7Es; Bloom’s Taxonomy Align curricula to intended outcomes (backward design) including states’ requirements – Insert geoscience into other subjects – Emphasize connections, applications Model effective pedagogy (e.g., teaching for understanding) for diverse leaders Embed authentic assessments Use [low-cost] authentic models of processes Get involved in real-world school-related issues Have the discussions with teachers that you hope they will have with their students – Relevance of science to societal issues (particularly local issues) – Provide opportunities to practice discussing “difficult” issues

Broadening Participation Issues – Recruiting Start early and build relationships; address family concerns Career information and mentors; portray geoscientists and successful professionals Diversify the faculty (role models and mentors) Bridge programs (high-school to college; 2-year to 4-year); address math hurdles (EO Wilson example) – Retention Stereotype threat – BIGGEST impact on those who WANT to do well – Causes self-imposed excess cognitive load – Increased cognitive load results in diminished performance Imposter syndrome – Decreased self-efficacy, increased cognitive load, decreased performance Funding Definitions of “best” – ?= people who look/act like majority? – Accumulation of advantage Strategies – Sense of belonging Role models Mentoring Community building (communities consist of people) Make the implicit explicit