EARTHED2YC: NASA-NAGT EARTH EDUCATION RESOURCES FOR TWO-YEAR COLLEGE FACULTY

EarthEd2YC is a monthly webinar series for two-year college faculty sponsored by the NASA Science Mission Directorate Education and Public Outreach (SMD E/PO) Earth Forum and the Two Year College Division of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT-Geo2YC). EarthEd2YC launched Spring 2014 in response to a documented need for resource dissemination and access for faculty who rarely attend national meetings where educational materials are routinely shared by NASA SMD E/PO professionals. EarthEd2YC is designed to serve both online and traditional classroom faculty. This initiative connects two-year faculty nationwide and provides educational leadership, mentoring, professional development, and community building, while simultaneously disseminating NASA E/PO products and programs to a broader underserved audience. Webinars are 30 minutes long, split equally between presentation and discussion. The pilot will continue through 2014, when EarthEd2YC outcomes will be evaluated.

Two year colleges educate more diverse and first generation college students than any other sector in higher education. They also provide STEM coursework for the majority of our Nation’s preservice teachers. EarthEd2YC is a venue for E/PO professionals who want to share resources with this important education sector, and a way for Geo2YC and the Earth SMD E/PO Forum to support Earth science faculty that have been historically underserved. We are seeking ideas, participants and collaborators.