BUILDING A FOUNDATION FOR THE GEO2YC COMMUNITY (Invited Presentation)

Today, the Geosciences have a thriving community of 2YC educators organized through the NAGT Geo2YC Division and served by 2YC focused activities like the SAGE 2YC project, as well as by community wide activities like InTeGrate and On the Cutting Edge. Further, this community is well represented and active in the larger geoscience education community. Given that such a community is relatively rare, it is important to ask: “How did this come to be?”

This session honors the work of Heather Macdonald in helping to establish this community. Reflecting on her work with SERC, several foundational elements jump out. 1) The establishment of a culture of collaborative learning and sharing about education in the larger geoscience community through the work of the On the Cutting Edge project. 2) A dedicated focus on inclusion of all sorts, including institutional type across this work. 3) The development of programming supporting geoscience educators through the arc of their professional careers. 4) An understanding that lasting change requires both work with faculty and with programs and colleges. 5) Recognition of the distinct nature of 2YC education and the need to develop, support, and institutionalize leaders for this community. This presentation will reflect on influences that contributed to these foundational ideas and speculate on the lessons they provide for the future.