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University of Northern Colorado

Mike Taber
Michael Taber
Assistant Professor,
Department of Earth Sciences
University of Northern Colorado
Ross Hall
Greeley, CO 80639
phone: 970-351-2470
fax: 970-351-1269
michael. taber@unco.edu
http://esci.unco.edu/faculty/
taber/taber.htm

Global Change: A New Upper Division Undergraduate Majors Course

The focus of this project will be the creation of a new Earth systems course on global change that will be taught at the upper division undergraduate level.  The course will serve as a capstone course for students majoring in Earth science with an emphasis in general Earth science, secondary teaching, and environmental Earth science.  The course is also expected to be dual listed as an introductory graduate course in Earth system science.
 
The overall design of the course will be based on strong alignment of project goals and measurable outcomes. 
 
Goal 1:  Create a new 3-credit capstone Earth systems science course on global change that is data driven and utilizes the latest visualization tools (ArcGIS, My World, DODS, VisAD, GrADs).

Outcome 1:  Students will increase their content understanding of Earth system processes and apply their knowledge in interpretation of global change.
 
Goal 2:  Generate investigative modules that reflect constructivist pedagogy and serve as a curriculum model for upper division undergraduate Earth systems courses.

Outcome 2:  Students will improve their ability to perform quantitative analysis on spatial and temporal datasets using visualization tools such as ArcGIS, My World, DODS, GrADs, and VisAD.
 
Goal 3:  Involve students in focused dialog on global change topics with their peers at other academic institutions in order to promote diversity in communication of ideas.

Outcome 3:  Students will engage in focused dialog with peers outside of the University of Northern Colorado in order to further develop their critical communication skills through effective defense of arguments.
 
Goal 4:  Disseminate pedagogical products, evaluation criteria, and assessment results through ESSE 21 and the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE).

Outcome 4:  Students will contribute to the overall quality of instruction and richness of datasets through qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the course.

Courses

Courses and enrollment Syllabus 2003/4 2004/5 2005/6 2006/7 2007/8
F W S F W S F W S F W S F W S
Met 495 - Special Topics: Global Change X 12

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Earth System Science Education
for the 21st Century (ESSE 21)
Universities Space Research Association
10211 Wincopin Circle, Suite 620
Columbia, MD 21044

(410) 740-6220
esse21@usra.edu

 

USRA | NASA Earth Science | NSF Geoscience | DLESE | SERC
 
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