THE INFLUENCE OF SUPPORTING AND ADVANCING GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION AT TWO-YEAR COLLEGES PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ON A NEW ADJUNCT PROFESSOR AND HER STUDENTS

Professional development programs are integral to the success of faculty and students alike at colleges and universities. Adjunct faculty are commonly employed at multiple institutions and have not always been provided access to professional development opportunities. Supporting and Advancing Geoscience Education at Two-Year Colleges (SAGE 2YC) provides an opportunity for adjunct instructors to be a part of the conversation for building strong geoscience programs. SAGE 2YC Change Agent teams facilitate the dissemination of best practices by leading local professional development events where like-minded instructors learn to employ evidence-based instructional practices that more fully engage the broadening and diverse population of two-year college students. These workshops provide the space and time to collaborate with others and have moved my curriculum and teaching practice forward in the following ways: 1) transforming lecture-based lessons to active-learning modules as exemplified by the InTeGrate curriculum; 2) engaging students with poor quantitative skills more effectively using real data; and 3) incorporating metacognition in student activities. The SAGE 2YC professional development community is ever-supporting and provides the means for all geoscience instructors to be agents of change in our own classrooms.