Development of cost effective strategies for teaching, learning and assessing scientific reasoning abilities in large face-to-face and distance education general science courses

TitleDevelopment of cost effective strategies for teaching, learning and assessing scientific reasoning abilities in large face-to-face and distance education general science courses
Faculty/College/UnitScience
StatusCompleted
Duration3 Years
Initiation04/01/2016
Completion04/30/2019
Project Summary

This three-year project will improve students’ abilities to apply scientific knowledge, data and reasoning to personal and societal decisions; a primary educational goal for a scientifically literate society. In EOSC114, the Catastrophic Earth, taught annually to over 2000 face to face (f2f) and distance education (DE) students, we will re-configure existing content within a natural hazards framework and build corresponding learning activities and assessments for both the f2f and DE settings. Learning activities will address student motivation and include practice with scientific thinking, opportunities for student choice and virtual field experiences. Students will work creatively and collaboratively towards making contributions every term to a permanent collection of course resources. Assessments of thinking skills, attitudes and knowledge will be developed to support learning and evaluate students’ learning gains. We will also characterize the efficiency, sustainability and transferability of these teaching, learning and assessment strategies.

Funding Details
Year 1: Project YearYear 1
Year 1: Funding Year2016/2017
Year 1: Project TypeLarge TLEF
Year 1: Principal InvestigatorSara Harris
Year 1: Funded Amount111,786
Year 1: Team Members

Sara Harris, Professor of Teaching, Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (EOS), Faculty of Science
Francis Jones, 12-month Lecturer, EOS, Faculty of Science
Brett Gilley, Instructor, EOS, Faculty of Science / Vantage College
May Ver, 12-month Lecturer, EOS, Faculty of Science
Roland Stull, Professor, EOS, Faculty of Science
Stuart Sutherland, Professor of Teaching, EOS, Faculty of Science
Susan Hollingshead, Instructor, EOS, Faculty of Science
Kirsten Hodge, Sessional Instructor, EOS, Faculty of Science / Curator, Pacific Museum of the Earth

Year 1: TLEF ShowcaseYear 1: TLEF Showcase
Year 2: Project YearYear 2
Year 2: Funding Year2017/2018
Year 2: Project TypeLarge TLEF
Year 2: Principal InvestigatorSara Harris
Year 2: Funded Amount65,202
Year 2: Team Members

Sara Harris, Professor of Teaching, Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (EOS), Faculty of Science
Francis Jones, 12-month Lecturer, EOS, Faculty of Science
Brett Gilley, Instructor, EOS, Faculty of Science / Vantage College
May Ver, 12-month Lecturer, EOS, Faculty of Science
Roland Stull, Professor, EOS, Faculty of Science
Stuart Sutherland, Professor of Teaching, EOS, Faculty of Science
Susan Hollingshead, Instructor, EOS, Faculty of Science
Kirsten Hodge, Sessional Instructor, EOS, Faculty of Science / Curator, Pacific Museum of the Earth

Year 2: TLEF ShowcaseYear 2: TLEF Showcase
Year 3: Project YearYear 3
Year 3: Funding Year2018/2019
Year 3: Project TypeLarge TLEF
Year 3: Principal InvestigatorSara Harris
Year 3: Funded Amount29,594
Year 3: Team Members

Sara Harris, Professor of Teaching, Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (EOS), Faculty of Science
Francis Jones, 12-month Lecturer, EOS, Faculty of Science
Brett Gilley, Instructor, EOS, Faculty of Science and Vantage College
May Ver, 12-month Lecturer, EOS, Faculty of Science
Roland Stull, Professor, EOS, Faculty of Science
Stuart Sutherland, Professor of Teaching, EOS, Faculty of Science
Susan Hollingshead, Instructor, EOS, Faculty of Science
Kirsten Hodge, Sessional Instructor, EOS, Faculty of Science / Curator, Pacific Museum of the Earth

Year 3: TLEF ShowcaseYear 3: TLEF Showcase
Project Report2018-TLEF-Final-Harris-WEB.pdf