For the next session We will start promptly at 10:00 Please sit with people you don’t know (or at least with whom you don’t normally work!) Be sure that each table has two geologists

With an emphasis on Africa Teaching geoscience concepts in a culturally/societally relevant context With an emphasis on Africa

Workshop goals Explore the intersections between geoscience and the important, societally relevant questions that frame current teaching in Pan-African studies Develop outlines of modules and course materials that teach geoscience concepts in the context of African/Pan-African issues and use appropriate Pan-African pedagogy Develop a community that can move Pan-African geoscience teaching forward Our workshop goals have a topical component (big questions,brainstorm topics), a pedagogy component (how do we effectively engage students in personal experience to help them learn geoscience in the context of these topics), and a community component (how do we work together to share our expertise).. Cynthia has just moderated a session to help those of use who are not Pan-African scholars understand Pan-Arican pedagogy She has asked me to do something similar for the non-geoscientists to make sure that we are all on the same page with what InTeGrate means by the geosciences. Before we brainstorm topics.

What is geoscience? Geoscience is about how the Earth works Focus on the processes and products in the solid Earth, its hydrosphere, and its atmosphere How and why these evolve over time in an enormous and highly complex natural system Reconstruct the Earth's past using the geologic archive preserved in Earth materials Understand our present planet with its active (and potentially hazardous) natural geologic processes Use both to predict the future What distinguishes the geosciences is that they encompass a study of Earth processes and products through which geoscientists reconstruct the Earth's past using the rock record, understand our present planet with its active (and potentially hazardous) natural processes, and predict the future. Geoscientists focus on the processes and products in the solid Earth, its hydrosphere, and its atmosphere, along with how and why these evolve over time in an enormous and highly complex natural system.  

Why teach geoscience concepts? Grand challenges facing humanity involve geo Water quality and supply Soil sustainability Safe waste disposal Mineral and energy resources Minimizing risk from natural hazards Predicting future impact of global warming <1% of college students take a geo course Future citizens need to know more about how the Earth works Challenges fundamentally underpinned by the geosciences Huge challenges on the one hand, and little understanding of geoscience even by educated citizens

Why teach geoscience in a culturally/societally relevant context? Relevance makes the science context more engaging for many students Deepens the story/narrative – reveals the underlying influence of geologic processes on humans and human events Potential to attract diverse students to geoscience professions Gives students experience that can help them make better personal and community decisions in the future InTeGration into non-geoscience courses reaches more students Latter is particularly critical for schools without geoscience departments

Three examples Teaching geoscience concepts in a culturally/societally relevant context Example 1 - Aditya Kar Using the geologic record to address the influence of environmental factors on evolution of our hominid ancestors Example 2: Barb Tewksbury Using the geologic record to address the question why Egyptian civilization developed where and when it did Example 3: K. Solomon Isiorho Using concepts of hydrogeology to address the question of socioeconomic standing/status and access to adequate water quality and supply in Africa We’re going to hear briefly about 3 examples of teaching geoscience concepts in a culturally/societally relevant context

Summary of key points Geoscience concepts/data/approaches provide key insights for development of a more complete picture/explanation Not just “what happened?” but, more critically, “how do we know?” and “why did it happen?” All three could be done in either a geoscience course or a non-geoscience course **Need to pull something from each of their talks. Fragmentation of vegetation cover Sea level rise Solomon’s

Workspace pages Go to our workshop web page: And click on: http://serc.carleton.edu/integrate/workshops/african-education/index.html And click on: Participant Workspace Under Wednesday morning, click the link for your table number. Click Show editing controls > Edit this page SAVE OFTEN

Your task Choose a scribe for the workspace Brainstorm a list of topics for teaching geoscience concepts in the context of questions that have African/Pan-African societal/cultural relevance After each topic, list the geoscience concepts/content that could be taught What you will do as a table. For the latter – next slide

Your task Remember what geoscience is How the solid Earth, hydrosphere, and atmosphere work – processes and products Litmus test for topics: what is the geoscience content? Landscape: why the landscape is the way it is Water: geologic processes constraining water supply/quality Alternative energy (wind, solar, biofuels): the geologic underpinnings of current fossil fuels Sustainability: geologic processes governing soil quality Climate change: using geologic record to predict the future Desertification: geologic underpinnings of environmental degradation Human evolution: age constraints from geologic materials; reconstructing past environments from geologic record If you’re interested in landscape, it’s more than just about what the landscape IS All of these are the why

Topics and teams

Forming teams Participant Workspace > Topic list Any missing or that you thought of over lunch? Team members will work together on the overall chosen topic, sharing expertise Course implementation does not have to be identical for each team member – broad topic and components similar but tailored for specific course Barb will have made a composite list over lunch. Ask for any missing or thought of over lunch. Ask for who is interested in working on each topic? Ask separately for geoscientist and non-geoscientist?? Vote for top choices? Mention that people might have multiple interests. Tailoring for a specific course – give example: Saharan climate change and influence on rise of Ancient Egypt. Archaeology course vs a geo course vs a history course. All would have a component of teaching geoscience through examination of the geologic record and reconstruction of paleoenvironments, environmental pressures on humans (where they live, how they lived). Different courses would implement this differently. Purpose of this session is to outline the components of the question and the geologic content that students need experience with to answer the question.

Developing an initial framework for your team’s topic and approaches

Goal: to enable students to use geoscience concepts, methods, and data to address culturally/societally relevant questions in an African/Pan-African context This session What is the culturally/societally relevant question, and what is the general geoscience connection/underpinning that you will explore? How will this deepen students’ understanding? What is the African/PanAfrican context? What concepts/methods/approaches in geoscience will students need experience with in order for them to answer the question (i.e., what do students need to be good at)? What non-geoscience background do students need? Into what course(s) will team members incorporate the question and the geoscience components? Will the topic chosen help students make better personal/community decisions in the future? If so, explain. What components of Pan-African pedagogy as you currently understand them will you implement? 1-1:30 review topics, choose teams 1:30-2:00 instructions 2:00-2:45 work in teams 2:45-3:15 report out, with emphasis on what they would like help with 3:15-3:30 break 3:30-4:30 work in teams

This session Teams work until 2:30 2:30: group discussion of issues/questions that have arisen so far 2:45: short progress report from each team What are your initial ideas? What would you like feedback on? What would you like to consult with someone about? 3:15 - 4:30: teamwork and consultations Team Module workspace has all of the questions from the previous slide. Assign a scribe to record team ideas in your Team Module workspace. SAVE OFTEN!! 1-1:30 review topics, choose teams 1:30-1:45 instructions 1:45-2:30 work in teams 2:30: general discussion of questions that have arisen. 2:45-3:15 report out, with emphasis on what they would like help with – ask for hands of those who can help and provide feedback, have teams make list. 3:15-3:30 break 3:30-4:30 work in teams