INCREASING THE PARTICIPATION AND LEADERSHIP OF TWO-YEAR COLLEGE FACULTY IN THE GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION COMMUNITY: RESULTS OF A NAGT PLANNING WORKSHOP

Two-year colleges play an important role in the science education of undergraduates (including underrepresented groups), the science preparation of future K-12 teachers, and the professional development of in-service teachers, yet participation of two-year college faculty in the national geoscience education community has been limited. A workshop held in September 2000 brought together seventeen faculty from two-year and four-year institutions to discuss strategies to increase the participation and leadership of this group. Representatives from chemistry, mathematics, and physics shared information about programs and initiatives for two-year college faculty within their disciplines. Issues that emerged from materials submitted by participants prior to the workshop included 1) isolation and lack of a community to support geoscience education at two-year colleges, 2) generally poor communications and connections between two-year and four-year institutions, 3) underrepresentation of two-year college faculty in many geoscience education venues, and 4) lack of support for and encouragement of scholarship at two-year colleges. Workshop participants identified several key areas for the future: development of the community of two-year college faculty (listserve, web-site), professional development for two-year college faculty, scholarship at two-year colleges, articulation issues, involvement in K-12 teacher preparation, and a national survey of two-year college faculty. They also discussed an annual leadership conference to build the community of two-year college faculty in the national geoscience education effort and move forward in selected key areas. Some progress has been made since the workshop, but more work needs to be done. One of the most valuable aspects of the planning workshop was bringing together a group of faculty interested in two-year college issues from across the country. The workshop was an important beginning to forming a core group of people who will work to improve two-year college geoscience education and will help build an increased participation of two-year college faculty in the geoscience education community.