This page is a list (only) of all recommendations organized into 21 categories. “Links” point to details given for each of the 21 main recommendation categories.

Target: Enhancing Courses

1. Rejuvenate syllabi and Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) (link)
   1. Why syllabi and CLOs? To … (4 items)
   2. Consider doing … (3 items)
   3. How? requires … (6 items)
   4. (Further discussion)
2. Enhance QES learning by focusing on “quantitative critical thinking” (link)
   1. Share content adjustments with colleagues.
   2. Focus course adjustments on fostering, practicing and assessing “process oriented thinking”.
   3. Foster higher-level quantitative thinking and decision making abilities.
   4. Integrate computation into the learning of physics and math
   5. Artificial intelligence and machine learning is considered by many to be a priority moving forward.
   6. Incorporate aspects of justice, diversity, equity and inclusion (JEDI) (4 points).
   7. Engage students as co-creators of their education.
   8. Suggestions by EOAS faculty for specific new courses (5 items)
   9. Considerations regarding new courses (8 points).
   10. Regarding specific existing courses (3 mentioned).
   11. Consider some names of courses – make them less abstract?
3. Increase use of applications and context (link)
   1. Seek relevant contexts for learning fundamentals that are not research oriented.
   2. Begin a module or concept with the “need” rather than the abstract development of theory.
   3. Share contexts used with colleagues teaching senior courses.
4. Quantitative concepts in service courses (link)
   1. A new first year course is discussed elswehere
   2. A “champion” is needed who interests in this idea and is given time and space.
   3. Introduce a rotating delivery model
   4. Adjust content and activities to focus LESS on “how it works”, and MORE on “how we use what is known …. etc.“
   5. Revise and simplify the EOAS general goals for non-specialist courses.
   6. Initiate a project to discuss shortcomings and opportunities related to revised goals. (Would need funding)
   7. Incorporate “stories” (eg. readings) that are less descriptive and more about “ways of knowing” or “managing” for the good of communities.

Target: Existing Degrees

5. Revitalize degree priorities and corresponding PLOs (link)
   1. Aim for consistency across specializations
   2. Commit to 2 or 3 structured workshops with the goal of defining priorities and articulating them as PLOs
   3. Factors to consider: (6 items)
   4. Map course learning outcomes (CLOs) against PLOs
   5. Some examples and guidelines (7 items)
   6. Assess results.
6. Enhance delivery of existing degree programs (link)
   1. Implement regular curriculum review procedures.
   2. Increase transparency related to departmental priorities.
   3. Introduce contextual threads that span several courses.
   4. Focus attention on developing the maturity of “geoscientific thinking”
   5. Quantitative learning in non-QES EOAS specializations

Target: Adjusting Degree programs

7. Adjusting current degree programs (link)
   1. The Major in Earth and Ocean Sciences
   2. Add a capstone requirement (5 items about tactics or examples)
   3. Student portfolios
   4. Introduce a broadly-based, impactful foundational course (4 items)
8. Alternative perspectives on a QES degree (link)
   1. An over-arching QES degree?
   2. Consider an optional QES stream within the ENSC specialization involving existing EOAS courses.
   3. Could students achieve a program’s goals (PLOs) in ways other than taking defined courses?
   4. Alternatives to conventional course structures.
   5. ‘Badges’, micro-credentials, course components;
   6. Examples of creative synergies between related groups

Target: Ideas at the Department Level

9. Enhance and streamline faculty & TA support and development (link)
   1. Enhance QES researcher interactions with undergrads:
   2. More regular and informative communication about teaching.
   3. Address the strain or challenges facing faculty
   4. Professional development for EOAS faculty; possible workshops (7 items)
   5. Graduate student training (3 items)
   6. Continue supporting Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion initiatives

Target: Student Support

10. Increase students’ sense of community within EOAS & QES3 (link)
    1. Introduce (or adjust) an EOAS faculty service duty, to be called “Undergraduate Liaison”.
    2. Actively and regularly engage with student clubs
    3. Instigate a club or interest group that could be called something like the “quantitative Earth sciences interest group”.
11. Improve the efficiency and efficacy of QES program advising (link)
    1. Provide EOAS student advising resources via Canvas. In progress – see the Canvas Resource discussion page or the Canvas site itself (CWL required).
    2. Advisors should consider interactions with QES students more as “mentoring” rather than as simply providing advise about degree programs.
    3. Honors students could be better supported.
    4. Guidelines for registering as a Geoscientist in Training in Canada are not clear within EOAS (QuEST project activities are working to address this concern).
    5. Include support specifically targeting preparation for post-graduation opportunities
    6. A page of guidelines for instructors provides (and explains) key resources related to undergraduate teaching and student support.

Target: Career Preparation

12. Incorporate career-related settings into learning activities and tasks (link)
    1. Make use of  UBC’s Career Centre. They are eager to contribute workshops, presentations, etc.
    2. Establish a Department-wide set of objectives and corresponding strategies for incorporating career preparation explicitly and transparently into courses and curricula
    3. Adjust course syllabi, learning goals and maybe even formal course descriptions to highlight how career-relevant learning is occurring next to learning goals that emphasize fundamentals & scientific values.
    4. Actively facilitate career exploration (7 items and ideas)
    5. Consider an official “course” or “for credit” career-development experiences.
    6. Highlight the importance of QES professions in terms of impacts on society.
    7. Three suggested tactics for career development.
    8. Incorporate DEI (or EDI or JEDI) aspects w.r.t. career preparation.
    9. Aspects related to professions are in the next section.
13. Improve the support for professional registration. (link)
    1. Appoint a Professions Advisor, ideally one person for all and who can liaise with EGBC.
    2. Clarify student advising strategy regarding professional registration.
    3. Prepare and submit for vetting a selfcheck list for geophysicists that aligns EOAS courses with EGBC requirements. (DONE, Oct 2023)
    4. A slight adjustment to geophysics degree requirements
    5. UBC’s career Services should eventually be appraised of the results of mapping UBC degree specialization course lists against EGBC requirements.
    6. Other EOAS disciplines would benefit from notes regarding preparation for formal “professional”.

Target: Marketing QES

14. A quantitative EOAS first year course (link). Numerous specific suggestions, ideas and thoughts are included, organized into three sections.
    1. Regarding development of such a course
       1. Such a project needs a complete proposal
       2. The team …
       3. Support in terms of teaching/learning expertise, project coordination and teacher buyout
       4. incorporate proven best-practices
       5. The goal should be to not to teach facts, figures and procedures about Earth and climate, but to gain familiarity with quantitative ways of thinking needed to understand how Earth works, and for sustainable, responsible stewardship of our planet and its resources and environments.
       6. Consider precedent from other institutions,
       7. Determine likely students
    2. Regarding scope of coverage and content themes
       1. Two models for developing course module content.
       2. Build a modular course
       3. Design content and learning activities that point at QES programs, courses, & experiences.
       4. Content and contexts need to be inspiring.
       5. Jupyter Notebooks are attractive because …
       6. explore the global community of geoscience educators teaching “first-exposure” courses
       7. Several potential themes were discussed (5 points)
    3. Regarding teaching models
       1. Choosing teaching tactics is a second step
       2. Regarding the choice of teaching model (3 points)
       3. Single, two, or many teachers are options.
       4. Traditional lecture, online, a truly flipped class … or a hybrid?
       5. Labs are considered awkward
15. Showcase student learning and experiences (link)
    1. The communications team could do with a designated “student liaison” person.
    2. Showcase types of experiences  rather than specific products generated by individual students. Possibilities include (5 ideas)
    3. Existing and new web content about students needs to be re-purposed to inspire rather than simply to inform.
    4. Feedback from students could be selectively presented.
    5. Departmental public relations work could work more closely with students,
    6. EOAS social media  content producers could engage more regularly with students
    7. The ways undergraduates are engaged within the EOAS Community need showcasing.
    8. An EOAS blog site may be more efficient to maintain than the EOAS website.
16. Establish a sustainable marketing strategy. (link)
    1. The Department would benefit from additional dedicated support for marketing
    2. Add a QES faculty member or graduate student to the EOAS communications team
    3. A marketing vision and corresponding strategies focusing on under-enrolled specializations is needed.
    4. To incorporate JEDI perspectives into a marketing strategy, refer AGI’s “vision and change” document
    5. make more use of brochures, business cards, a couple of informative presentation slides, etc., prepared by the EOAS communications team.
    6. Geophysics faculty rarely teach in EOAS first year courses.
    7. Further labour market research is needed identify concrete examples of diverse career opportunities for QES graduates,
    8. Increase the visibility of EOAS QES degrees and research at conventions, tradeshows and meetings
17. Attract BSc students as they choose their degree specialization. (link)
    1. Be visible in 1st year math, physics, and chemistry (piloted in winter term, 2023)
    2. Be more active in Science Undergrad Society
    3. Engage with more FoS activities, e.g. science-rendezvous-2023.
    4. Be more visible at “Meet Your Major”.
    5. Explore UBC science social media
    6. There are undoubtedly other avenues for engaging with incoming and existing students; this needs research, prioritizing, and action-planning.
18. Foster partnerships emphasizing QES (link)
    1. The Communication Director and their role & team could be more visible to EOAS faculty
    2. EOAS and ATSC courses should be made more accessible to physics &/or other students.
    3. Connect regularly with other BC post-secondary schools.
    4. Co-ordinate with Mining Matters in outreach efforts to students and public
    5. The organization MineralsEd has a volunteer program called “Geoscientist in the Classroom”.
    6. Promote more aggressively degree minors & combined options in EOAS disciplines. (3 specific points)
    7. An “Introduction to geophysics for geotech/mining students” course or module (online and/or in person) may be a way of connecting with other schools & colleges,
    8. Establish more concrete connections to Canadian Earth Science community.
    9. Develop opportunities to experience QES in action as a 1-hr lesson, or 1/2-day workshop, or multiday enrichment opportunity. (2 specific points)
    10. PME could increase exposure to quantitative aspects of EOAS and Earth sciences generally
    11. Connect with UBC’s “Science 101” initiative
19. Engage in active outreach to high schools and Vantage (link)
    1. QES faculty and students need to partner with PME to introduce QES content accessible to school workshops, teachers and casual visitors including families.
    2. Re-boot the potential for partnering with UBC’s GeeringUp.
    3. Engage with high schools is an attractive idea, but we know from experience that it is challenging (12 points noted)
    4. For school kids, focus on people, not “science”. Let the science emerge from inspiring stories about who did what and how they impacted society, eco-systems, communities,, etc.
    5. Opportunities at Vantage College: (6 points noted)
    6. Questions re. Vantage to resolve (4 points noted)
20. Alumni engagement (link)
    1. Can the department engage with alumni without going through UBC alumni “system”?
    2. Explore creative ideas from the literature,
    3. Regarding alumni profiles …
    4. Industry contacts were gathered (36 to date) – followup is needed.
    5. Gather public-domain alumni information based on LinkedIn data
    6. Showcase pathways into geoscience occupations using an efficient model developed at Boise State University.
21. Enhance EOAS website content for QES recruiting (link)
    1. Each web-content suggestion is not “difficult” but needs to be on an active task-list for the website and communications teams.
    2. Existing and new web content about students needs to be re-purposed to inspire rather than simply to inform. (4 points)
    3. Reintroduce (simplified) information about EOAS courses.
    4. Make scholarships & awards from outside UBC more visible
    5. Build a showcase page  about courses involving physics & computing like the one for climate related courses.
    6. In the EOAS website’s “Degrees” section add a Combined Options section
    7. Augment and modernize the QES & geoscience careers and opportunities page (9 points).
    8. Improve the FoS page “What can I do with a BSc in Geophysics?”.
    9. The alumni “showcase” page needs modernizing and maintaining regularly.