ED43D-0893
On the Cutting Edge Professional Development Program – An effective model built from years of experience

Thursday, 17 December 2015
Poster Hall (Moscone South)
Monica Z Bruckner1, Heather Macdonald2, Rachel J Beane3, Cathryn Allen Manduca1, David A Mcconnell4, David W Mogk5, Barbara J Tewksbury6, Katryn Wiese7, Michael Edward Wysession8 and SERC Webteam, (1)Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College, Northfield, MN, United States, (2)College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, United States, (3)Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME, United States, (4)North Carolina State University Raleigh, Raleigh, NC, United States, (5)Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States, (6)Hamilton College, Clinton, NY, United States, (7)City College of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States, (8)Washington Univ, Saint Louis, MO, United States
Abstract:
The On the Cutting Edge (CE) program offers a successful model for designing and convening professional development events. Information about the model is now available on the CE website. The program model has evolved from more than 12 years of experience, building with input from strong leaders and participants. CE offers face-to-face, virtual, and hybrid events, and features a rich website that supports these professional development events as well as a growing community with a shared interest in effective geoscience teaching. Data from national surveys, participant feedback, and self-report data indicate the program’s success in improving undergraduate geoscience education. Successes are also demonstrated in classroom observations using RTOP, indicating a significant difference in teaching style among participants and non-participants.

A suite of web pages, with a planning timeline, provides guidance to those interested in designing and convening face-to-face or virtual events based on the CE model. The pages suggest ways to develop robust event goals and evaluation tools, how to choose strong leaders and recruit diverse participants, advice for designing effective event programs that utilize participant expertise, websites, and web tools, and suggestions for effectively disseminating event results and producing useful products. The CE model has been successfully transferred to projects that vary in scale and discipline.

Best practices from the CE model include (1) thinking of the workshop as shared enterprise among conveners and participants; (2) incorporating conveners and participants who bring diverse viewpoints and approaches; (3) promoting structured discussions that utilize participants’ expertise; (4) emphasizing practical strategies to effect change; and (5) using the website as a platform to prepare for the workshop, share ideas, and problem-solve challenges. Learn more about how to utilize this model for your project at:
serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/workshops/convene

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