AUGEN NEWS - October 2022
From the President
For most of us, the year’s classroom and field teaching have come to an end, with final assessments and exams to come over the coming weeks. Hopefully everyone has plans for some leave or reflection time at the end of the calendar year. If you have implemented a new approach, or discovered a new challenge, this year that you think might be of interest o others, remember that we will soon be calling for presentations for our annual meeting in February 2023!
We had an excellent first-year geoscience teaching discussion event earlier in the month that was well attended by a diverse group across many of our member universities. We had a series of excellent short presentations that gave an overview of current practice in first year teaching in our region. There were many interesting similarities and contrasts. We are currently working on a written summary of the meeting and hope to have that circulated for comment in the next few weeks.
It was pleasing to see the recent announcement of Federal Government investment in critical minerals research. Like many, the AUGEN team hope that investments like this ultimately lead to greater recognition and support for geoscience education at all levels.
Are you interested in getting more involved in AUGEN? Key roles and some general committee vacancies are coming up and we would welcome new people to join. Send us an email!
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
Our next Conversations event will be held on 16 November, on the topic of student engagement
“Squaring the circle, how difficult it is (really) to keep students engaged. What can be done about it”
9 am (WA)
10:30 (NT)
11 am (Qld, PNG)
11:30 am (SA)
12 noon (Vic, NSW, ACT, Tas)
1 pm (Fiji)
2 pm (New Zealand)
Here is the link to join on the day via CollabUltra - no need to pre-register!
For further queries, or to suggest a topic for Conversation, contact Dom
Upcoming Seminars and Events
NAGT event
Belonging in the Field - part one of a four-part discussion series
November 2nd, 2022 at 11 AM Pacific (= Thursday November 3rd, 5 am (Melbourne) - set your alarm!)
The goal for the series is to promote awareness and understanding about topics related to belonging and the practices that promote its development in undergraduate field education through discussion and reflection. In classroom settings, belonging plays an important role in students’ mental health and well-being, academic achievement and motivation, institution-level retention, and is pivotal for supporting students underrepresented in STEM disciplines. We still have much to learn about the development of sense of belonging in field settings.
More information and registration available online
👏 Congratulations! 👏
Congratulations to Prof Fred Jourdan, AUGEN Team member, on receiving the Curtin University Student guild's EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING Award for 2022 in the Faculty of Science and Engineering! Nominations for the award are driven by students! Well done Fred!
Congratulations to Dr Marissa Betts, AUGEN Team member and committee member, for her winning film in the recent Earth Futures Festival! Her film ROLA (Stone) won the Geoscience Professionals category! Well done Marissa, and team!
Opportunities!
New academic positions! UniSA is hiring!
Two Level B academic positions are currently open:
Lecturer: Environmental Science (Academic Level B) - www.shorturl.at/fluT9
Lecturer: Human Dimensions of the Environment (Academic Level B) - www.shorturl.at/oxMUY
Meet the Team
Patrick Hayman
Queensland University of Technology
patrick.hayman@qut.edu.au
My current teaching role
Earth Science Major Coordinator, Unit coordinator for Earth's Materials and Earth's Mineral Resources
Areas of special interest/expertise
Petrography, Geochemistry, Sedimentology/Stratigraphy, Industry skills, Volcanology, Economic Geology
Feel free to get in touch if you have questions on these topics!
What’s the best teaching advice anyone has ever given you?
Lead by example
What do you enjoy most about your teaching role?
I enjoy the creative element of designing teaching experiences, being paid to learn new topics, and working with engaged students
What advice would you give someone starting out in geoscience teaching?
If possible, get in touch with the Learning and Teaching team - they know what they're doing!
What is the greatest challenge to increasing the reach of geoscience education?
The association of earth science with only negative aspects of mining has damaged the reputation of the discipline. Earth scientists have an important role in society that reaches beyond mining, which itself has many positives. The greatest challenge is to showcase all the meaningful and essential contributions our discipline make to society.
Which wins for you? Rock, mineral, fossil, structure?
Rock!
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!
In the literature
Supporting LGBTQ+ geoscientists, in and out of the classroom
Matthew R. Downen & Alison N. Olcott
Journal of Geoscience Education, https://doi.org/10.1080/10899995.2022.2116205
Abstract
Efforts to increase diversity and create more inclusive environments in geoscience academic spaces often lack LGBTQ+-specific initiatives. The LGBTQ+ community in the geosciences is composed of wide spectrums of sexuality and gender, yet many feel that LGBTQ+ people in geology are not visible or represented. LGBTQ+ geoscientists have also reported a lack of support during their time as a student. Based on LGBTQ+-focused surveys and previous literature, we propose some best practices that geoscience instructors and departments can implement to begin creating a more inclusive and welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ people. This includes in-class and out-of-class practices including pronoun usage, incorporating LGBTQ+ themes into course content, confronting homophobia and transphobia, and celebrating the achievements of LGBTQ+ people. In order to make the geosciences more welcoming and inclusive, there must be explicit intention and effort to create impactful change regarding LGBTQ+ identities.
2023 Annual meeting
Our flagship annual meeting is on again in 2023!
Join us online, Friday 10 February 2023
Meeting details and EOIs for presentations live on our website soon!
https://www.augenteam.net/virtual-meeting-2023
Through the Lens
Mount Isa in October
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