Collaborative Research: EAGER: Advancing Pedagogy and Inclusivity through Multimodal Upper Level Geophysics Education

如今，由于COVID-19大流行，教室面临着灵活学习的需求，以及吸引来自不同背景的学生并让他们茁壮成长的动态课程材料的挑战。EAGER启动了一项试点工作，为全国范围内的物理学课程开发可供高级物理学课程使用的基于研究的学习模块。在高等教育，用于教学和课程开发指南的资源较少，代表性不足群体的学生人数明显下降。EAGER将探讨如何实施高质量的教材，以创造一个更加公平和包容的学习环境，可以建立学生的信心，让来自各种不同背景的学生取得成功。PI团队汇集了互补的学术专业知识，促进了广泛的教学模块的创建，以及高水平物理学学生和核心STEM学科学生之间的融合，如物理，数学和计算科学，这些都是全球地震学所依赖的基础学科。该项目将设计多模态试点模块（1）弹性动力学，（2）地震学和板块构造学，（3）近地表地震学方法及其在开发环境中的应用。这项工作有可能改变上层地球物理学课程的传统教学机制，并被用来作为一种手段，以吸引代表性不足的群体，地球物理学谁可能没有考虑，否则地球科学作为一个研究重点。该项目将结合翻转课程设计和掌握学习，以帮助建立学生的信心，以这样一种方式创建的材料，他们都适应在线和面对面的教学。此外，该团队将通过创建传记来进一步发展包容性，这些传记以来自代表性不足群体的科学家为特色，将直接纳入学习模块。试点模块将特别侧重于高级地球物理学课程，以解决和支持学生从本科培训过渡到研究生院或地球科学专业工作，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查进行评估，被认为值得支持的搜索.

Today, classrooms are challenged by the need for flexible learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic and for dynamic course materials that attract students from diverse backgrounds and allow them to thrive. This EAGER initiates a pilot effort to develop research-based learning modules for the upper level geophysics classes that can be used by geophysics programs across the country. At the upper level there are fewer resources for teaching and course development guides, and there is a notable drop off in students from underrepresented groups. This EAGER will explore how to implement high quality teaching materials to create a more equitable and inclusive learning environment that can build student confidence and allow students from a variety of diverse backgrounds to succeed. The PI team brings together complementary academic expertise facilitating the creation of a broad range of teaching modules and the convergence between upper level geophysics students and students in core STEM disciplines such as physics, mathematics, and computational science, which are fundamental disciplines on which global seismology relies.The project will design multimodal pilot modules on (1) Elastodynamics, (2) Seismology and Plate Tectonics, and (3) Near surface seismological methods and applications to the developed environment. The work has the potential to transform the traditional teaching mechanisms for upper level geophysics courses, and be used as a means to attract underrepresented groups to geophysics who may not have otherwise considered Earth science as a research focus. The project will incorporate flipped course design and mastery learning to help build student confidence, with the materials created in such a way that they are adaptable to both on-line and in-person teaching. In addition, the team will further develop inclusivity through the creation of biographies featuring scientists from underrepresented groups that will be incorporated directly into the learning modules. The pilot modules will specifically focus on upper level geophysics courses to address and support students transitioning from undergraduate training to graduate school or to professional work in the geosciences, thus extending the pedagogical support from lower level to upper level geophysics teaching.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.