Being Your Own Best Advocate: Geoscience Education Researchers and the Tenure Track in Traditional Geoscience Programs

Abstract

Geoscientists have seen the boundaries between traditional geology and other science fields become more permeable as geoscience research questions have evolved to better capture the transdisciplinary nature of the natural world. From geochemistry to geophysics to geobiology, the value of a transdisciplinary approach to complex and meaningful research questions is evident in each of these fields. Research on geoscience teaching and learning is following a similar path, but has the added complexity of crossing over with the social sciences (e.g., educational psychology), which introduces research methods useful, but less familiar, to many geoscientists. This is one of the reasons that Feig (2013) called for targeted ''marketing'' by geoscience education researchers to contextualize their research and build community, a concept echoed by Lukes et al (2015). I think this advice is a time-sensitive action item for one group of geoscience education researchers in particular - those who are currently on the tenure-track. While it is important for all tenure-track faculty to talk with their department colleagues early and often about what they do, how they do it, and why it is important (St. John and Leckie, 2009), it is especially true for tenure-track geoscience education scholars in traditional geoscience programs.How those conversations are approached is important. Avoid jargon, which creates further barriers. Maintain respect for colleagues; wisdom on geoscience teaching and learning isn't exclusive to those with geoscience education research PhDs. Find common ground. As is the case for all discipline based educational researchers (DBER), a strong geoscience education researcher also has disciplinary knowledge (D. Mogk, DBER webinar 30 June 2015, available at: http://nagt.org/nagt/profdev/workshops/geoed_research/ dber_webinar.html; Singer et al, 2012); therefore connecting by way of the geoscience itself can help establish common ground with geoscience department colleagues. The university mission and the geoscience departmental goals are also areas of common ground. Serving that mission and meeting those goals depends on faculty that can each play to their strengths and respect the diverse and unique contributions of their colleagues, including geoscience education researchers.Like all tenure-track faculty, tenure-track geoscience education faculty should be expected to demonstrate achievement and impact in the traditional promotion and tenure categories of Teaching, Research, and Service. However, both at the community level and at the department level, conversations need to occur between geoscience administrators, senior-faculty, and tenure-track faculty on the metrics of success of geoscience education research.There are at least two points to consider when thinking about metrics of success. One is deciding on what ''counts'' as evidence of achievement and impact in a research field that, by its very nature, overlaps with teaching and service. Like in other geoscience fields, publications and grantfunding are key pieces of geoscience education research evidence, but there are nuances that need to be considered. For example, there is a wide range of dissemination outlets for geoscience education scholarship. …