On Tuesday, October 5, 7-8:30 p.m. ET (4-5:30 p.m. PT) prior to the GSA field trips and other excursions, the NGSS-ESS Working Group will sponsor a 90 minute workshop and discussion session for anyone interested in geoscience education, including those who participated in a field trip as part of the GSA meeting, addressing ways that educators can collect instructional assets in the field while maintaining ethical field travel principles (e.g., such as the “Leave No Trace” principles used in the National Parks). Data, photos, hand-made maps and other assets can be deliberately collected and assembled into instructional materials using principles of place-based instruction and other pedagogical strategies. Photographic techniques, which can be accomplished with a typical smartphone, can emphasize important geoscience principles, as well frameworks such as systems thinking, temporal thinking, and scale effects.

Participants will learn how to collect spherical images, videos, close-ups, and panoramic photos--as well as how to use these in conjunction with each other, especially in virtual learning contexts, to build both conceptual understanding and an overall sense of place. Additional techniques of data gathering, individual map making, non-destructive artifact collection (e.g., leaf rubbings), and others, will also be addressed. Participants will be invited to share their own ideas and experiences. The goal is to extend the value of the GSA field trips, and all field experiences, with respect to their instructional potential.

An optional second session will be held on Sunday, October 10, at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT), which will be an open workshop session in which participants will have support in assembling assets into their own custom-designed instructional resources. Information about registration for this session will be shared with participants on October 5.

If you have any questions please contact: Aida Awad at aawad@tothecloud.edu