The National Association of Geology Teachers (NAGT) will develop a program to disseminate the effective and innovative strategies for teaching geoscience that have been developed over the last decade. The two-year program has four components: 1) three one-day short courses on effective teaching offered each year at meetings of professional geoscience societies; 2) one annual four-day summer workshop on re-designing an introductory or upper-level geoscience course in the context of educational reform; 3) opportunities for continuing discussions among participants via an electronic list server and "alumni" reunions at meetings of professional geoscience societies; and 4) a Teaching Resource Book of successful and innovative strategies for teaching geoscience to undergraduates. The audience for this project will include faculty members at a variety of types of institutions as well as graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. The short courses and workshops will introduce participants to teaching techniques that promote active learning, stimulate them to look critically at design of effective learning environments, and provide opportunities for discussions about teaching. The presenters are five experienced faculty members who will actively involve participants in the session. Participants will leave a short course or workshop informed not only about the value of making changes in how they teach, but also about specific teaching strategies and examples of assignments.
