First-Year Review Dale Easley February, 2006
In the following sections, I have attempted to follow the suggested format for
review of first-year faculty. Throughout, I have created hyperlinks to relevant
documents both online and on this CD. Therefore, this document is best viewed
on a Windows-based PC with Word and Adobe Acrobat Reader installed and a browser
connected to the internet. This is the standard UD installation. Some of the
presentations are executable files that may trigger a Windows message about
potential viruses. Having used UD's virus checker throughout, you may safely
ignore the warning messages. To terminate the presentations, simply push the
ESC key.
1 Teaching
In the spring of 2005, I taught RES 104 Research Writing and ESC
115 Physical Geology plus its labs, for a total of 10 contact hours. A
third course, EVS 375 Watershed Dynamics, had no students, as it was
added to the course bulletin after students had registered for classes. In the
fall of 2005, I taught ESC 115 Physical Geology and its labs, EVS
248 Environmental Geology and Hydrology and its lab for a total of 12
contact hours, plus I was on Wendt faculty release time for three hours, giving
a total of 25 contact hours for 2005.
In my first year of teaching at the University of Dubuque, my experiences in the
classroom haven't been far outside my expectations. The students are not
particularly different than I've found elsewhere in the world, though I've
taught very few freshmen here so far. During my first-semester ESC 115
Physical Geology class, I gave exactly the same tests as I had given the
preceding semester at the University of New Orleans. Average grades were
consistently about 5 points lower at UD than at UNO. I attribute this to a
higher proportion of non-traditional-age students at UNO who tended to make the
best grades in the class. I miss those students, particularly for out-of-class
chats, but I enjoy the small-school environment here at UD. For example, here I
teach my own laboratories rather than having them taught by graduate students.
This makes far simpler the integration of hands-on learning activities into the
course experience, a difficulty I faced in lecturing to groups of 125 students
at UNO. In addition, the physical environment surrounding Dubuque enhances
geologic opportunities (though integrating coastal studies and hurricane
tracking was far more relevant in New Orleans!) Finally, I enjoy my colleagues
in DNAS and find discussions with them to be helpful in planning class
activities. Dan Call and Gerry Zuercher are particularly good at involving
students in field studies.
1.1 Highlights
During the time I've been here, teaching and related activities have dominated
my time, though committee work is beginning to claim its share. Some of the
more significant uses of my time are noted below:
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Developed or extended course web sites at
http://www.geocities.com/DaleEasley.
I started the web site a decade ago and have gradually added to it. I use it
for posting assignments, additional readings, old tests, items of interest,
announcements, personal thoughts, and lecture outlines. Student evaluations
through the years have indicated that the web site is one of the things they
appreciate most.
-
Prepared a laboratory manual for ESC 115 Physical Geology, detailed
below in 2.1, online at
http://www.geocities.com/DaleEasley/Physical/lab/Welcome.htm
-
Revised classroom presentations for ESC 115 Physical Geology, such as
AssociatedFiles/FirstDay.exe.
The accompanying outline available to students is at
http://www.geocities.com/DaleEasley/Physical/Chap01.pdf.
Such presentations and outlines were prepared for each chapter of our textbook.
-
Prepared new classroom presentations to augment those already in use:
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Iowa geology at
AssociatedFiles/IowaGeology.exe. This presentation is
given during the last of the semester to augment lab assignments throughout the
semester. The goal is to apply the student's geologic understanding to local
geologic conditions, a case study of sorts.
-
Picasso's Guernica at
AssociatedFiles/Guernica.exe. This presentation uses a
famous painting and a quote by Norman Maclean to make the case that though
learning and reaching understanding may be difficult, they are both possible and
worthwhile. Guernica has been called the greatest painting of the twentieth
century. I had the opportunity years ago to visit a museum set aside for that
one painting. Yet, the painting at first glance is far from pretty,
the only characteristic most students use for evaluating painting. Is it worth
their time to try and understand why so many people think it's great? Might
there be other things (e.g., science) that are also difficult but worth the
effort?
-
Norman Maclean and A River Runs Through It
(AssociatedFiles/Maclean.exe).
Norman Maclean was the son of a Presbyterian minister. In his best-known book, A
River Runs Through It, Maclean presents a variety of material that is well-suited
as examples of the main points of the UD Mission. I also purchased a copy of
the DVD from which to show excerpts in class.
-
Performed a stream assessment of a portion of Catfish Creek for the Dubuque
County Soil and Water District with my EVS 248 Environmental Geology
class. Sandi Helgerson spoke to the class in preparation for the assessment.
This was a serendipitous event, unplanned until after the fall semester began. I
was contacted by Sandi about the opportunity to participate. Students were
provided with training by a professional working with the project and
subsequently undertook the assessment in groups of three. I had previously
walked along parts of Catfish Creek in Swiss Valley and the Mines of Spain.
However, the assessment took us upstream to agricultural areas that I wouldn't
have explored otherwise. Certainly, it was educational for me and, I hope, for
the students.
-
Received 800k funding for laptops for the ESC 115 lab and developed exercises
using them. We installed wireless access in the lab and began taking advantage
of the many free resources available online. An example is a site for mineral
identification such as
http://www.rockhounds.com/rockshop/mineral_id.
-
Obtained 800k funding for GPS units and software maintenance for EVS 333
Geographic Information Systems Applications. I will be teaching this
course in the Spring of 2006, using the purchased materials.
-
Applied for and attended an NSF course on teaching hydrogeology
(
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/hydrogeo05/index.html).
This course was in the summer at the University of Nebraska. Its focus was on
learner-centered and field activities. I came away with resources and ideas
that I have already begun incorporating into classes.
-
Applied for and received funding for a NAGT lecture by Paul Moren on geowall
technology in the classroom (
http://geowall.geo.lsa.umich.edu/). I was initially
quite excited about geowalls, but have since found that Paul's inclusion of
anaglyph maps is more useful here at UD. I can develop and print the maps
myself, make multiple copies for the classroom, and use the maps in any location.
They are more flexible and much cheaper.
1.2 Student evaluations
Hard copies are attached in Appendix A. John Stewart's comments on my first-semester
evaluations are at
AssociatedFiles/SpringStudentEvaluations.pdf. In summary,
my courses generally receive high marks from students. The reasons for this
vary, but talking with students has led me to believe, though with little data,
the following:
-
Experienced students appreciate the effort I put into preparing for class,
especially my web site and lecture outlines.
-
Apprehensive students believe that I care that they do well, and generally they
respond well to encouragement.
-
Most students feel I conduct the course fairly, including not allowing makeups
in large classes but dropping the lowest grade plus posting old tests on my
website.
(Example:
http://www.geocities.com/DaleEasley/Physical/Test1_Fall_2005.pdf)
-
Most students are comfortable with, perhaps even entertained by, my personality.
I have worked hard on skills in story-telling, humor, and drama, and try to
incorporate them into my lectures, along with videos and slides.
That said, I must add that I worry sometimes that student evaluations are mostly
a popularity contest. Geology may come out ahead of physics or chemistry
simply because it is more visual and less mathematical, and I get rewarded for
that reduced rigor. One of my UNO colleagues argued that only years down the
road can a student truly evaluate a course, and even then hind-sight may color
the evaluation. Can any of us give an accurate evaluation of our current
girlfriend? Still, if I date 40 women and they all say I'm a jerk, the
resulting average is pretty believable.
1.3 Peer evaluation
I was evaluated in my ESC 115 Physical Geology lab session by Brad
Clarke of UD's education program
AssociatedFiles/ClarkReview.pdf. I chose Brad because
of his specialization in science teaching plus his many years of experience.
1.4 Self-assessment Submit a 2-3
page self-assessment of your teaching. Describe the learning objectives and the
teaching goals of each of the courses you offered. Describe what you learned
about your teaching from student and colleague evaluations. Identify the
primary teaching strategies that you plan to continue using, extending, and
developing in subsequent courses and the primary improvements you plan to
implement. Be as specific as you can, especially about your plans for
improvement.
My self-assessment is here:
AssociatedFiles/SelfAssessment.html.
Specific learning outcomes are on my syllabi at
http://www.geocities.com/daleeasley/RES104/Welcome.htm,
http://www.geocities.com/daleeasley/Physical/Syl_phys.htm,
http://www.geocities.com/daleeasley/Envgeol/Syllabus.htm,
and
http://www.geocities.com/daleeasley/GIS/Syllabus.htm
2 Scholarship
2.1 Lab Manual for ESC 115 In the
spring of 2005, I decided to develop a lab manual for ESC 115 for two reasons:
the use of a purchased manual was adding approximately $80 to the students' cost
for the course, and an in-house manual could be tailored easily to local geology
and resources. The manual was produced as a series of pdf documents available
on the course web site at
http://www.geocities.com/DaleEasley/Physical/lab/Welcome.htm.
Because of having only 10 contact hours in the spring of 2005, I had time to
begin the writing, which was mostly completed over the summer. I continue to
make revisions in light of student feedback. In developing the manual, I spent
considerable time determining available online resources, producing figures of
my own, and writing the text. I also sought to produce the lab in a manner that
made it straight-forward for students to prepare for weekly quizzes that begin
each lab session. The main purpose of the quizzes is to assure that students
come to lab having read over the material in advance.
Student response to the lab manual during its use in the fall semester was
generally positive. One of the online components yielded by far the most
complaints, and the lab containing it will be modified during the spring, 2006,
semester. Not surprisingly, the students appreciate most not having to purchase
a manual.
2.2 Reviews
I am on the editorial board of Environmental Geology, a leading journal
in my field. I received a manuscript to review approximately every 6 weeks.
In addition, I wrote a book review of a geostatistics text for publication in
the journal.
3 Service
In 0.5 to 2 pages, describe your service activities for the current year,
including any confirmed plans for the remainder of the period. For a
description of what counts as "service," see the Handbook, 2.9.1.3. Distinguish
among service to the University, service to your profession, and service to the
community. Include relevant documentation.
3.1 Profession
-
Editorial board member, Environmental Geology, as mentioned above in
2.2.
-
Reviews: During 2005, in addition to reviews for Environmental Geology,
I reviewed a manuscript for the American Water Resources Association and a
research proposal for the Geological Society of America.
-
Membership: I am currently a member of the American Water Resources Association,
the National Ground Water Association, and National Association of Geoscience
Teachers.
-
COAC committee member.
-
Interviewed candidates for library position and institutional research position.
-
Fulbright contact for UD.
4 Advising
Write a one-page or shorter description of your work as an advisor and your
contributions to the University’s recruitment efforts. Include relevant
documentation.
4.1 Advising During the first
semester, I was assigned no advisees. During the second semester, I was
assigned six students whose major was undecided. I helped two register and
three find advisors in their new major. One, a girls volleyball player,
transferred to another school.
4.2 Recruiting
-
Email to prospective EVS students: I worked with Jesse James to contact
prospective students who had expressed an interested in environmental science. I
wrote an email (
AssociatedFiles/bulkEVSemail.pdf) which Jesse then sent
out in bulk using Admissions software.
-
Meetings: I met frequently with prospective students and attended multiple
Preview Day events, both in the summer and fall.
-
Speech-River Museum: In October, I gave a speech to high-school guidance
counsellors at the River Museum (
AssociatedFiles/Counsellors.exe). The event was hosted
by UD's Admissions Department. The speech was well received and led directly to
my being invited to give a lecture in February, 2006, on energy to the annual
Great Decisions series held in downtown Dubuque.
5 Mission Describe the ways you
perceive your teaching, scholarship, service, and advising to support the
mission of the University. What courses do you teach that help achieve the
University’s goals? How does your scholarship promote UD’s mission? How do
your advising and service also do this? I ask in this section that you be
reasonably articulate about how your work supports UD’s Reformed Christian
mission. You are not required to adopt a Reformed Christian perspective, but
like every UD student who takes WVS1, you are expected to understand what UD’s
perspective is and to describe in more than a sentence or two how your work
complements, extends, or otherwise supports it.
5.1 Class presentation on mission: A
River Runs Through It (
AssociatedFiles/Maclean.exe), as discussed in 1.1 above.
5.2 Wendt faculty release time, Fall
2005 During the 2005 fall semester, I participated in the group of faculty
who had release time funded by the Wendt Initiative. We met most weeks, sharing
ideas on the nature of the Wendt Initiative, methods for incorporating it into
the classroom (
AssociatedFiles/EthicsIncorporation.pdf), and further
readings related to the topics (
AssociatedFiles/AnnotatedBibWendtEasley.pdf).
5.3 Incorporation of the UD Mission and
Wendt principles into the classroom
Incorporation of the UD Mission and Wendt principles into the classroom takes
two major forms:
-
the methods of developing and implementing the course, and
-
the specific materials used in the course.
The Wendt principal most important in running a class is fairness. Students
must believe that hard work yields positive results, and that others have no
unfair advantage in the resulting grades. I have addressed this by allowing no
make-up exams in my ESC 115 course and by posting old exams on my web site. In
a large class, there is no way that I have yet discovered of being fair with
make-up exams. Therefore, I instead drop the lowest grade. If a student misses
a test, that is the one that is dropped. In addition, by posting the old exams,
all students know equally well what I have done in the past, not just those who
might have access to a former students old tests.
Within a course, incorporating the UD Mission and Wendt principals is natural,
given my interest in environmental geology. The environmental field is
inherently value-driven. Should we preserve wilderness areas? Why? Science
can tell us what a wilderness area is and its role in ecosystems, but decisions
about its preservation depend on what matters-more money, short-term profit,
Native-American spirituality, or good stewardship. An essay question from
my EVS 248 Environmental Geology and Hydrology course is an example of
advancing students recognition of the role values play in their profession:
Essay question: What should be the distinction between moral, technical, and
financial responsibility as applies to the hazardous waste site at Love Canal?
This question was from the Test 1 of the fall, 2005, EVS 248 course
(
http://www.geocities.com/daleeasley/Physical/Test1_Fall_2005.pdf).
In class, we had previously discussed the historical background of the hazardous
waste site at Love Canal and technical issues dealing with epidemiology and
groundwater contamination. Their textbook devoted a section to Love Canal. In
addition, I provided them with links to a number of web sites, such as
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/lovecanal/.
In the spring of 2005, I also faced the incorporation of the mission and
principals into RES 104 Research Writing. The course is broken into
three sections for which I prepared the following:
-
Humanities: a presentation of paintings (demonstrates the Reformed tradition
ideas of a lack of separation between the sacred and secular;
AssociatedFiles/Paintings.exe),
-
Social sciences: a discussion of a quote by Kavanaugh on commodification of our
desires (demonstrated stewardship, Christian love, and Reformed view of
humankind; AssociatedFiles/Kavanaugh.pdf),
and
-
Physical science: a presentation on sustainable development (demonstrates
stewardship, Christian love, and professional preparation
AssociatedFiles/SustDev.exe).
6 Vita Available on my web site at
http://www.geocities.com/daleeasley/Webvita.htm.
7 Professional Development Plan
In a paragraph-or more, if necessary-describe your professional development
plan for the next 1-3 years. Tell what you will do to enhance your professional
capabilities as they support your department’s and the University’s missions.
Identify what you believe are performance deficiencies, the level of proficiency
you plan to achieve, the time line for achievement, and the activities that will
help you develop in these ways.
My professional development plans focus on adapting my knowledge to the
specifics of UD and the Midwest. I intend to focus on three main areas:
- Field Trips:
- I will be participating in a Boundary Water Canoe Trip in the summer of
2006, with plans to develop my own trip for UD students. My own experience with
geology field trips as an undergraduate plus my experience leading them for many
years indicates that field trips are among the best ways to gain and maintain
student interest in the natural world. I also hope to develop a field trip to
Wyoming, the location of my graduate studies and a place close to my heart.
- Additional skill-building in GIS.:
- Presently I am weakest professionally as to the requirements of my job in
the area of GIS. Though I have done much of the work of mapping, database
management, and geostatistics that forms the basis of GIS, I am not yet
thoroughly versed in the particular software, ARCGIS, that I will be using.
- Student research projects:
- This fall was my first opportunity to teach a course for our EVS majors, and
I hope to begin undertaking individual projects with several of them. These
will focus primarily on mapping and water resources.
Staying busy in the upcoming year is unlikely to be a problem.
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