The University of British Columbia

Introduction

Course transformation calendar - the long term plan.

Criteria for targeted courses for "transformation" are: (i) number of students in the course, (ii) range of student types (EOS, science, non-science), (iii) faculty involved in the course (aiming to have all EOS faculty involved at least once during the 5-yr life of the project), (iv) balanced coverage of disciplines within the department.

A standard agreement between principle instructors, STLFs and the Department is used as a framework for project deliverables.

The following framework (based on guiding principles below) is used to help guide priorities and strategies.

1. Organize the working group and characterize project scope.
2. Establish course-level learning goals.
3. Identify key concepts/principles/framework/etc.
4. Design module-level (ie lesson or topic) learning goals and corresponding outcomes and assessments.
5. Evaluate available (and possible) resources including classroom, lab, and other facilities.
6. Establish pedagogic structure including classroom and outside activities and culture.
7. Choose, collect, design, and develop content & resources.
8. Implementation and evaluation of initiatives in pedagogy, content, activities, assessments.
9. Iterate through a second term to refine pedagogy, collect more data, and assess effectivness.

Courses	Dep't Faculty involved	STLF	Start
EOSC111, Hands on and web-based activities about processes that shape and change the planet Earth.	S. Harris, S. Sutherland,	BG	Sep07
EOSC114, Natural Disasters, a team taught course available for science credits to all students at UBC	R. Stull, E. Eberhardt, M.L. Bevier, S. Sutherland, S. Harris.	FJ	Sep07
EOSC221, Introductory Petrology.	M.L. Bevier, G. Dipple, K. Russel, M. Bustin, J. Mortensen, J. Scoates, L. Groat.	BG	Sep07
EOSC112, The Fluid Earth - Atmosphere and Oceans	R. Francois, L. M. Ver	BK	Jan08
EOSC210, Earth Science for Engineers	E. Eberhardt, U. Mayer	BG	Jan08
EOSC212, Topics in Earth & Planetary Sciences	M. Jellinek, M. Bostock	FJ	Jan08
EOSC220, Introductory Mineralogy	S. Mills, M.L. Bevier	BK	Jan08
EOSC332 Tectonic Evolution of North America	J. Mortensen	BG	Sep08
EOSC322 Metamorphic Petrology	G. Dipple	EL/JC	Sep08
EOSC355 The Planets	C. Johnson	FJ	Sep08
EOSC211 Computer Methods in Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences	R. Pawlowicz	JC	Jan09
EOSC372 Introductory Oceanography: Circulation and Plankton	S. Allen	EL	Jan09
EOSC373 Introductory Oceanography: Climate and Ecosystems	M. Maltonado and others	EL	Sept09
EOSC252 Introduction to Experimental Geophysics (physical properties)	F. Herrman	FJ	Sept09
EOSC472 Introduction to Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry	K. Orians	JC	Sept09
EOSC326 Earth and Life Through Time	S. Sutherland	FJ	Sept10
EOSC329 Groundwater Hydrology	R. Beckie	JC	May10
EOSC321 Igneous Petrology	M. Kopylova	BG	May10
EOSC331 Intro. Mineral Deposits and Exploration Geology	K. Hickey, J. Scoates	BG	May10

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Other department courses that are being or have been improved by faculty in accordance with recognized principles of effective pedagogy are:

Courses	Dep't Faculty involved
EOSC116 Dinosaur Earth	M. Grey, S. Sutherland
ENVR200 Environmental Studies I	D. Steyn, S. Harris
ENVR300 Environmental Studies II	D. Steyn
EOSC324 Introduction to Mineralogy and Petrology	M.L. Bevier
EOSC350 Applied geophysics for engineers and geologists	F. Jones, D. Oldenburg
ATSC201 Meteorology of Storms	R. Stull

Instructors of these courses are implementing changes and innovations aimed at three important aspects of teaching and learning:

1. Setting course-level and module-level learning goals,
2. Increasing the amount of active learning that happens in class, and
3. Enhancing the ways that assessment of learning (and corresponding feedback) are used to inform both students and instructors about the effectivness of all aspects of the course at increasing the learning gains achieved by students.

For a complete list of planned course-related actions, please see the Long Term Project Plan. This is an evolving outline of plans for this 5 year project, and it is definately subject to change.

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Guiding Principles: For each targeted course, instructors will collaborate with instructional designers, IT specialists, the EOS-SEI project committee, and CWSEI (the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative) to achieve the following goals.

1. Identify measurable learning goals appropriate for the types of students targeted by the course. Goals may address any combination of general science literacy, key disciplinary knowledge, and cognitive & metacognitive skills.
2. Define prerequisite knowledge for incoming students.
3. Provide opportunities for students to identify and remedy their level of preparation. This includes design and development of interactive review modules addressing key concepts and skills. Students will be able to self-assess their individual level of preparation for the course. Discussions with other departments will be included as needed.
4. Design and develop interactive learning tools to improve effectiveness of learning. Examples include research games and simulation models of different aspects of the Earth system. These tools will likely overlap with the review modules above (see also Learning Resources).
5. Identify engaging, proven teaching practices that will best serve the class size and target audience while achieving learning objectives. We will use available tools and expertise on and off campus, innovate where appropriate, test innovations, and tap expertise within CWSEI and Skylight for ideas from the science education literature.
6. Identify commonly challenging concepts, and provide opportunities for students to grapple with them and practice the skills they are expected to master.
7. Design, test, and implement objective assessments ( formative and summative) that measure student understanding of earth, ocean, and atmospheric science concepts including broad topic areas such as “ fields”, “fluxes”, and “complex systems”.
8. Incorporate common misconceptions into assessments and structure assessments to reveal information about cognitive skill development, e.g., the ability to transfer concepts to new situations.
9. Track results over time to gauge effectiveness of new techniques.

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