Texas Earth & Space Science Revolution

Professional Development for Educators 

For more information about our past workshops, click on a link below or scroll down the page. For information on upcoming workshops, please visit our Upcoming Workshops page.



PDA 1 Team Science: Poking Holes in the Planet >> 

PDA 2: Earth Outside In >>

Summer Institute A >>

PDA 3.A (1st cohort of teachers): Earth: The Water Planet >>

PDA 3.B (2nd cohort of teachers): Earth Inside Out >>

PDA 4.A (1st cohort of teachers): Extremes >>

PDA 4.B (2nd cohort of teachers): Extremes >>

Summer Institute B >>

PDA 5.B: Habitable Planet >>

 


PDA 1: Team Science: Poking Holes in the Planet 
February 14-16, 2008, Austin, TX

  • Program Introduction
  • Rock Identification
  • Synthetic Core Activity
  • Core Descriptions at Bureau of Economic Geology Core Repository
  • Depositional Environments
  • Team Science
  • Virtual Cafe Workshop
  • Wirelilne Logging Activity - ODP Leg 183
  • ANDRILL ARISE Activities
  • Outreach Discussion
Instructors:
  • Dr. Kathy Ellins, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin
  • Dr. Hilary Olson, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin
  • Dr. Eleanour Snow, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin
  • Lu Ann Dahman, Center for Earth and Space Science Education, TERC (Guest)
Speakers:
  • Dr. Terry Quinn, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin, Ocean Leadership USSP Distinguished Speaker, "Sea level and the temperature of tropical waters over the past 25,000 years"
  • Lu Ann Dahman, Center for Earth and Space Science Education, TERC, NAGT Distinguished Lecturer, "Adventures of an ANDRILLian: Geoscience research in Antarctica"



 

PDA 2: Earth Outside In
April 3-5, 2008, Austin, TX

  • Plate Tectoics
  • Google Earth
  • Seafloor Spreading Activity using Google Earth
  • Tectonicland Activity
  • Plates Animation
  • Plate Tectonics Simulation
  • SeisVol Activities
  • Virtual Cafe Workshop
  • Coral Tectonics
  • UNAVCO and Earthscope Visualizations and Activities
  • GPS Applications
  • Time Series Plots
  • Activity: Exploring Plate Motion and Deformation in California Using GPS Time Series Plots
  • Accessing & Exploring GPS Data: Using GPS to Visualize Plate Tectonics in the Pacific Northwest
  • ESI Hot Science Cool Talks: God, Darwin, and Design: Lessons from the Dover Monkey Trial
  • Seismology Basics: Types and Origins of Seismic Waves
  • AS-1 Seismograph Demonstration
  • How to Use Seismic Monitor
  • Tracking Earthquakes and Adding GPS Data to Coral Tectonics Activity
Instructors:
Speakers:
  • Dr. Elizabeth Catlos, Harrington Fellow, Jackson School of Geosciences, "From mineral grain to mountain range: Perspecties on the evolution of the Himlayas"
  • Dr. Luc Lavier, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin, "The Role of Water in Breaking Apart Continents"
  • Dr. Cliff Frohlich, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin, IRIS Distinguished Lecturer, "Deep Earthquakes and the Secrets of Seismology"




Summer Institute A
June 15-27, 2008, Austin and Central TX

Week 1: Earth Science by Design
June 15-20

  • Teaching for Deep and enduring Understanding
  • What is Earth Science by Design? (article by Harold McWilliams)
  • What is Worthy of Understanding?
  • Introductio to Earth Systems Science
  • Designing an ESBD Unit
  • The BIG Picture: Considering Frameworks
  • Writing Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions for your Unit
  • Knowledge and Skills for your Unit
  • Preconceptions and Misconceptions
  • Designing Performance Assessments
  • Creating Rubrics
  • Visualizations and Earth Science
  • Exploring Earth Science Data with Google Earth
  • Presentations of a Unit Activity
  • Blogging for Self-Reflection
Instructors:

Institute A - Week 1 Slideshow

 

Week 2: Maps, Field Geology, and Central Texas Field Trip
June 22-27, 2008

  • Stratigraphic Principles
  • Rock Garden Outdoor Activity - UT Geology Department
  • Bruntons, Magnetic Declination, Strike/Dip - Field Measurements
  • Google Earth and Latitude/Longtitude
  • Reading a Topographic Map
  • Downloading USGS Maps
  • Online Map Readers (Express View by Lizard Tech)
  • Geologic Map Activities Integrating Google Earth
  • Focus Groups with Project Evaluators
  • Central Texas Field Trip:
    • New Braunfels: Orienting in the Field, Field Observations, Karst, Structural Geology, Unconformities
    • Pedernales Falls: Geologic Maps, Field Observations, Field Measurements, Sedimentary Rocks
    • Marble Falls: Igneous Rocks, Granite Quarry, Sedimentary Structures
    • Hoover Point: Local Structure and Stratigraphy, Topographic Expression of Structural Features
    • Llano River: Igneous Rocks in the Field
    • Inks Lake: Metamorphic Rocks in the Field
    • Longhorn Caverns: Karst Topography, Subsurface Reservoirs, Ellenburger Limestone
Instructors:
  • Dr. Kathy Ellins, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin
  • Dr. Hilary Olson, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin
  • Dr. Jon Olson, Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, UT Austin
  • Dr. Eleanour Snow, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin

Institute A - Week 2 Slideshow

 

 


 

PDA 3.A (1st cohort of teachers): Earth: The Water Planet
October 2-4, 2008, Austin, TX

  • Google Earth applications - *optional* introductory Google Earth workshop conducted by Steve Kluge (Geoscience Education Consultant)
  • Submarine sedimentation and fluid activity
  • Aquifer studies
  • Watersheds
  • The impact of drought on human development in history
  • Understanding of statewide water planning through presentation by a representative from the Texas Water Development Board
Instructors:
  • Dr. Kathy Ellins, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin
  • Dr. Hilary Olson, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin
  • Dr. Eleanour Snow, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin

Speakers:

PDA3.A slideshow







PDA 3.B (2nd cohort of teachers): Earth Inside Out
October 23-35, 2008, Austin, TX

  • seismology
  • depositional environments
  • rock origins
  • climate
  • groundwater resources
  • overview of and technology used as part of the two-year program

Instructors:
  • Dr. Kathy Ellins, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin
  • Dr. Hilary Olson, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin
  • Dr. Eleanour Snow, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin
Speakers:
PDA 3.B slideshow


PDA 4.A (1st cohort of teachers): Extremes
February 19-21, 2009, Austin, TX

  • Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T)Boundary Calamity: Using Gravity Anomilies to Interpret the Chicxulub Impact Crater
  • K/T Calamity: Interpreting Processed Seismic Reflection Data Across the Chicxulub Impact Site
  • K/T Calamity: Using Foraminifera to Examine Extinctions at the K/T Boundary
  • RIDGE 2000 (FLEXE Activities): The Ridge2000 program sponsors FLEXE, From Local to EXtreme Environments), a new Earth Systems Science project of GLOBE. FLEXE features web-based data-oriented activities designed for middle/high school level students interested in learning about the deep-sea in the context of their own environment.
  • Panel Discussion: "Research in Extreme Environments"
  • Portfolio Presentations by Teachers
  • Tides
  • Tsunamis as Shallow Water Waves
  • Tsunami Google Earth Activity
Instructors:
 Speakers:

"Research in Extreme Environments" Panel members:


PDA 4.B (2nd cohort of teachers): Extremes
February 26-28, 2009, Austin, TX

  • Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T)Boundary Calamity: Using Gravity Anomilies to Interpret the Chicxulub Impact Crater
  • K/T Calamity: Interpreting Processed Seismic Reflection Data Across the Chicxulub Impact Site
  • K/T Calamity: Using Foraminifera to Examine Extinctions at the K/T Boundary
  • UNAVCO Activities
  • Panel Discussion: "Research in Extreme Environments"
  • Tides
  • Tsunamis as Shallow Water Waves
  • Tsunami Google Earth Activity
Instructors:

Speakers:

  • Dr. Sean Gulick, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin, and IODP Distinguished Speaker,  "Geohazards of subduction zones and how marine geophysics can yield insights.: Examples from the Nankai Trough and Sumatra"

"Research in Extreme Environments" Panel members:

  • Dr. Gail Christeson, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin
  • Dr. Matt Hornbach, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin
  • Dr. Jack Holt, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin
  • Steffen Saustrup, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin
  • Dr. Nick Hayman, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin

Summer Institute B: Petroleum Science and Technology Institute
June 14-26,2009

Week 1 - Austin, Houston, and Galveston, TX
June 14-20, 2009


Instructors (view a detailed list of institute Faculty):

Week 2 -Earth Science by Design
June 21-26, 2009, Austin, TX

  • Teaching for Deep and enduring Understanding
  • What is Earth Science by Design? (article by Harold McWilliams)
  • What is Worthy of Understanding?
  • Introductio to Earth Systems Science
  • Designing an ESBD Unit
  • The BIG Picture: Considering Frameworks
  • Writing Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions for your Unit
  • Knowledge and Skills for your Unit
  • Preconceptions and Misconceptions
  • Designing Performance Assessments
  • Creating Rubrics
  • Visualizations and Earth Science
  • Exploring Earth Science Data with Google Earth
  • Presentations of a Unit Activity
  • Blogging for Self-Reflection


PDA 5.B: Habitable Planet
October 22-24,2009, Austin, TX

  • Program Introduction
  • Private Universe
  • Our Place in the Universe
  • Earth's Structure
  • Magnetism and the Sun-Earth Connection
  • Icy Mysteries of Mars
  • Importance and Benefits of Volcanoes
  • Corals
  • Great Planetary Debate
Instructors:
  • Dr. Kathy Ellins, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin
  • Dr. Hilary Olson, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin
  • Dr. Eleanour Snow, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin
Speakers: