Date: August 16th at 10 AM PST
Worried about how you’re going to run a successful field class with all the COVID-19 restrictions and concerns this fall? Join us for a discussion about navigating the return to in-person undergraduate field experiences in the midst of continuing COVID-19 concerns and policy revisions. This conversation will focus on how faculty, instructors, and program coordinators can still achieve learning objectives while adhering to local policies and guidelines. Come equipped with links to your own university’s policies if possible. This is the second UFERN Community Conversation. Ryan Petterson from Stanford University will host the conversation. He will share a brief example from his own experience to get the conversation started. Please bring your own examples and questions to share.
Note: This is not a discussion about what policy “should” be, but rather how to best adhere to state, local, and university policies while still achieving desired outcomes. Additionally, I am not a lawyer or a medical doctor. All participants are responsible for ensuring their activities are compliant with any applicable laws, policies, or guidelines. They should consult with their respective departments or schools on any plans.
Meet the host:
Ryan Petterson
Director of Field Education, School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences at Stanford University & Staff Director, Wrigley Field Program in Hawaii
Ryan teaches a variety of earth science field courses, including courses on teaching in the field. He also provides safety, logistics, and pedagogical support for field education across the school. His work includes improving diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in field courses, strengthening safety and risk management approaches, and in general providing resources for both students and faculty to improve overall learning outcomes for field activities. For the last year, he has applied that experience to designing, building, and using virtual field sites and virtual field trips and provides curriculum, training, and support for creating and using virtual field sites. He has also played an integral role in the university’s COVID-19 response, writing policy and creating systems to facilitate field research and travel during the pandemic.
