USE YOUR NEIGHBORS WISELY: SHARING BEST PRACTICES IN SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY

For the past three years, faculty who teach Sedimentary Geology courses from diverse higher-education institutions around Indiana have gathered in early August to exchange ideas about discipline-specific teaching and learning. The overall aim is to improve our courses and reinvigorate our teaching by: learning about how others structure their course, sharing instructional materials and assessments that others have found to be effective, gaining inspiration to implement new assignments/labs/field trips, and discussing common challenges and solutions. As a direct result of our workshops, nearly all participants have tried new approaches in their courses, including revising assignments or assessments, and/or reflecting on learning goals and outcomes. So far, about half of the faculty members who teach Sedimentary Geology at liberal arts colleges and state universities across Indiana have participated. Each workshop has a theme, such as field trips or project-based learning and assessment. Local pedagogical experts have been involved to share best practices and individuals from the Indiana Geological and Water Survey were invited to describe available resources. We have created a shared folder for instructional materials that serves as an on-demand resource. The group has been an important sounding board for such diverse topics as new textbook development, minimizing risk on field trips and new sample acquisition. These inexpensive workshops have created a valuable new community of colleagues with whom we can have inclusive, in-depth discussions and share information about local field trips and other resources for teaching sedimentary geology in Indiana.