AUGEN NEWS - July 2022
From the President
Welcome back to the team after a short mid-year newsletter break! Semester 2 has begun for many in region and many of us have been busy with student fieldwork during the break.
Late last month we had a fantastic special seminar by our former committee member and ongoing AUGEN superstar Dr Jacqueline Dohaney (who recently moved to the University of Edinburgh) on Interactive vs. Traditional methods of lecturing. We had a great interactive session and a lively discussion.
The pandemic continues with increases in case numbers across all states in Australia and throughout other countries in the region. Here at the University of Melbourne I was personally pleased to hear that students and staff are now again required to wear masks in class (despite there not being a formal State Government directive) This is great leadership to help keep our classes open at the same time protecting vulnerable members of our community
The committee are busy working on our program of talks and events. Save the dates (listed below) for our inaugural first-year geoscience teaching event in October, and our regular annual meeting in February.
Can you help? Later in the year we will be seeking sponsorship to cover the costs of our ongoing web presence. If your organisation is able to help please let a team member know!
And don’t forget to complete an AUGEN TEAM member profile to be included on our website and in a future newsletter https://forms.gle/kPk5YQwFDXh4S8vD8
Best, Sandra
A/Prof Sandra McLaren
School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
University of Melbourne
AUGEN Conversations
A reminder that Conversations is taing a short break over the winter as Dom enjoys some well-deserved leave. Stay tuned for our next event in September!
AUGEN Special Seminar report
We had an excellent session with Dr Jacqueline Dohaney, University of Edinburgh on Interactive v. Traditional methods of lecturing in late June.
Jackie took us through the landmark Hake (1998) paper https://aapt.scitation.org/doi/10.1119/1.18809 that illustrated, for the first time, the learning gains for students from an active learning approach. We met concept inventories and thought about how we could use them (and possibly even develop our own) for AUGEN TEAM research.
Take home 1: active learning works!
Take home 2: we need to advocate for more flexible timetabling for our teaching to allow more active learning approaches (note, this is not saying that the ‘lecture is dead’, it isn’t!) as well as maintain our commitment to our traditional active learning strategies like field work and practical classes.
If you missed the session, there is a recording available on our website here
Meet the Team
Tiah Penny
The Australian National University
tiah.penny@anu.edu.au
My current teaching role
Education Support Officer
Areas of special interest/expertise
Sedimentology/Stratigraphy, Environmental Geoscience, Fieldwork, Virtual Fieldwork, Assessment, Outreach (general public), Outreach (primary and secondary school) First year geoscience teaching
Feel free to get in touch if you have questions on these topics!
What’s the best teaching advice anyone has ever given you?
In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn (Phil Collins, Son of Man - Tarzan Soundtrack!)
What do you enjoy most about your teaching role?
Seeing and fostering students passion and engagement with geology and the natural world
What advice would you give someone starting out in geoscience teaching?
Find a mentor(s) who you can learn from. Seek out continual professional development for best-practice in pedagogy. Ask a colleague to watch your teaching and provide peer feedback
What is the greatest challenge to increasing the reach of geoscience education?
People's perception of its irrelevance to their everyday lives, and the perception that geology is only mining (which people consider to be "dirty")
Which wins for you? Rock, mineral, fossil, structure?
All of the above!
See all the AUGEN TEAM profiles online https://www.augenteam.net/team-profiles
WE NEED YOU! Complete the form at https://forms.gle/kPk5YQwFDXh4S8vD8 to be profiled on our website and in an upcoming newsletter!
📣 Upcoming events and seminars 📣
Tuesday 13 September, 10 am (WA) - AUGEN Conversations
Friday 7 October - AUGEN TEAM first year teaching discussion event
(more details coming soon - SAVE THE DATE)
Friday 10 February - AUGEN TEAM Annual conference (virtual event)
HERDSA Webinar: Education Focussed Academics:the changing face of academia
Thursday 4th August 2022
There have always been discipline based academics whose passion has been education rather than research. The contribution and commitment of these faculty, while often valued within their own department, has largely gone unrecognised at an institutional level in absence of clear guidelines and a national policy. However, this is slowly changing. More and more institutions now have teaching/education focused academics engaging in scholarship, accessing professional development opportunities and with career progression akin to those with traditional teaching and research work portfolios.
In this panel discussion hosted by the HERDSA NSW Branch, we will explore the recent drivers and changes to the higher education environment that have led to the development of these roles; look at the question of ‘academic identity’ and career pathways in this changing institutional environment and some of the challenges that still remain.
Webinar Presenters: Janis Wardrop, Jo-Anne Chuck, Corina Raduescu, Collins Fleischner, Gerry Raynor, Sharon Flecknoe, John Randal, Susan Page
Further information: https://www.herdsa.org.au/herdsa-webinar-series
Links, reading and resources
Do you want some nice (mostly) geological images in your inbox? Subscribe to the Daily Overview: https://www.getrevue.co/profile/dailyoverview
Reminder for your students that applications for the NExUS summer school close at the end of this month! https://set.adelaide.edu.au/nexus/
This year Sandra was asked to act as a judge for the Global Undergraduate Awards competition. Although submissions for 2022 are closed (and judging is currently underway) it might be something you could encourage your second and third year students to join in 2023: https://undergraduateawards.com/
Geoscience Concept Inventory: https://geocognitionresearchlaboratory.com/2018/11/20/the-geoscience-concept-inventory/
New BHP First-year internships program, successful applicants will participate in a structured 8-week program over the summer break. Applications now open, more information available: https://www.bhp.com/careers/graduate-student-programs/australia
Dunes at Cooringle Beach, Marlo, East Gippsland, July 2022 @sandramcgeo
Contributions to AUGEN News are welcome! Please send your updates, commentaries, book or journal article reviews, photos and ideas through to the team - sandra.mclaren@unimelb.edu.au