STARTING POINT: RESOURCES FOR FACULTY TEACHING ENTRY LEVEL GEOSCIENCE

Electronic student response technologies provide new and exciting ways to interact with students during lecture. Building on research that indicates how important it is to make sure that students are actively engaged in thinking during lecture, faculty have developed a wide range of strategies for using these systems. The Starting Point website (serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/interactive) brings together information about desiging interactive lectures and using electronic response technologies with examples of different types of activities that work in entry-level geoscience courses. Materials include a collection of ConcepTest questions, images and ideas that can be used to develop interactive activities, several effective structures for intereactive lectures, things to consider when setting up an interactive classroom, logistical tips, and references pertaining to the design and use of interactive lectures.

The materials on interactive lectures are part of a larger collection of resources for faculty teaching entry-level geoscience available on the Starting Point site (serc.Carleton.edu/introgeo). These include 1) information and examples of teaching methods including Socratic questioning, role playing, peer review, investigative cases, teaching with models and data, and teaching field labs; 2) resources for teaching with an Earth system approach; and 3) ideas and sample syllabi for designing Earth history and Earth system science courses. Materials are searchable by geoscience topic as well as teaching method. Faculty are invited to review the site, review the specific teaching materials, and contribute examples from their own classes.