This Phase 3 CCLI project is part of a collaborative that is extending and expanding on the highly successful 'On the Cutting Edge' CCLI-ND program of workshops supporting faculty professional development at all stages of their career.
Seventeen workshops are being offered covering emerging as well as mature topics in science and pedagogy, teaching strategies for core courses in the geoscience curriculum, course design, issues faced by early career faculty, and preparation for an academic career. Many of these are multi-day workshops held on college campuses while the 'Course Design' and 'Preparing for an Academic Career' workshops are one-day workshops held at professional meetings. Web resources are also being developed in association with the workshops and are available on The Cutting Edge website. This project is also training new geoscience education reform leaders through a series of Leaders in Training workshops and mentoring programs.
Research is being conducted to understand the cycle of educational innovation in the geosciences and the impact of the workshops on geoscience education methodology and effectiveness. The research is addressing four fundamental areas: the nature of the cycle of innovation and its implementation in the geosciences, the specific roles that Cutting Edge activities and resources play in this cycle, the role of discipline-specific professional development in education innovation, and the interplay between the cycle of educational innovation and scientific innovation.
