Pamela Jane Nelson

EDUCATION

Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
August 1999 to August 2000
Science Education (Geology)
Cumulative GPA: 4.0 of 4.0

Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
August 1994 to August 1997
Masters of Science in Geology, August 1997
Cumulative GPA: 3.8 of 4.0

Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas
September 1989 to May 1994
Bachelors of Science in Geology, May 1994
Minors: Mathematics and Combined Science (Astronomy, Chemistry, Physics)
Cumulative GPA: 3.72 of 4.0 Magna Cum Laude

University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas
Summer 1990, Summer 1991 (Summer Transient Student)
UTEP GPA: 4.0 of 4.0

Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
Geologic Field Course in Montana, Summer 1993
Grade received: B+

SKILLS

Written Communication
Able to complete research and compile information into concise summaries
Significant Publication Experience

Oral Communication
Able to teach geological concepts to students using clearly understandable and relevant examples
Prepared and presented research results for professional meetings

Computer Competencies
Experience using Macintosh & Windows systems
Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Entourage
Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Photoshop, Canvas
Development of HTML pages using code and Dreamweaver

CERTIFICATION

Arizona Regular Teaching Certificate A.1.a
Certification for Geology
Completed HED 533: Arizona Community College at ASU, Fall 1996 as taught by Dr. Alfredo de los Santos

ACTIVITIES (GCC)

GCC Faculty Senate
Elected Position as of Fall 2001 - Fall 2005
Faculty governance leadership for GCC Campus.

Women's Leadership Group
Member - Fall 2001 to present
Co-chair with Amanda Dunnigan as of Fall 2001 to Fall 2004
Networking and support group of on-campus women designed to help women of all levels meet and interact with one another.

LinkUp! Learning Communities Committee
Member, Fall 2000 to Fall 2003
Committee designed to organize and support course linking. Through this linking, courses are team taught and offered as unified courses.


Faculty Mentor for Campus Students
Fall 2001 to present
Group of faculty and staff who choose to mentor incoming Freshmen or disadvantaged students in order to make their transition into college life more successful.

WORK TRAINING

Fall Assessment Forum: Underprepared Students - Teaching, Learning and Assessment Challenges
October 2006
Discussion of underprepared student in college courses; Included background on K-12 education, information on ASU intro-level preparation and discussion of college-specific ways to better integrate underprepared students into the college community.

Maricopa - Hire the Best! Workshop
February 2006
Training includes information about how to implement best practices in hiring new faculty and staff in the Maricopa CC system. Diversity issues, hiring preparation issues, and hiring discussions were included. (Necessary to be a member of any future hiring committees).

Spring Assessment Forum:Effective Practices for Using Technology in Assessment
January 2006
Training included discussion of on-line assessment methods as well as application and use of on-line systems such as Blackboard. No training in the on-line systems was included.

District Defensive Driving
August 2004
Required to drive any district vehicle.

Enhancing Student Learning Through Assessment
ASU Center for Learning and Teaching Excellence
June 2003
Training included introduction to and application of a variety of classroom assessment activities for incorporation into large lecture-style classes. Assessment exercises were developed as part of the course.

Enhancing Student Learning Through Critical Thinking
ASU Center for Learning and Teaching Excellence
June 2003
Training focused on the definition of true critical thinking and the design of course assignments that directly assist in the encouragement of critical thinking in first-year students.

Performance-Based Assessment: Papers and Projects
Janice Denton @ Fac Development Event
January 2003
Short training involving discussion of non-test assessment methods for use in "lecture" courses.

Developing Intercultural Competence
Maricopa Diversity - District
September 2002
Training included details on cultural differences that may influence how students learn and how material should be presented to obtain the best results in a diverse student community.

Teaching for Critical Thinking
MCCCD Dialogue Day
October 2001
Wide-breadth discussion of use of Critical Thinking techniques in academic and life work.

ACEPT (Arizona Collaboration for Excellence in Preparation of Teachers)
Summer 1999 Geology Workshop
Included training in using "hands-on" approaches to teaching geology and discussions of new ways to present material using collaborative learning. Based on collaboration with geology peers from other Maricopa Community Colleges, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona Univeristy. Each participant developed a teaching module to be used in the following teaching year.

Introductory GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Training
Offered by Glendale Community college as introduction to enable discussion of beginning certifications programs or courses. One-day training included introduction to ArcView and ArcExplorer as well as tutorials on the usage and expandability of the GIS system.

 

WORK EXPERIENCE

Glendale Community College, Glendale, Arizona
Full-time permanent resident faculty of Geology, August 2000 to present
One-year-only Full-Time Instructor of Geology, Fall 1999 to Spring 2000
One-semester-only Full-Time Instructor of Geology, Spring 1999
Part-Time Instructor of Geology, August 1997 through December 1998
Responsible for teaching all offered sections of Historical Geology (GLG 102, 104) and completing all related tasks, including independent production of lecture and course materials for both lecture and lab. Preparation and compilation of 104 labs into new lab workbook completed. Also responsible for teaching 1-2 sections of Physical Geology Lecture (GLG101) and laboratory (GLG103).

SyRIS (Systemic Reform in Science), through MCCCD, Phoenix, AZ
GCC "Team Red" Project Participant, Fall 2001-Spring 2002
Developed "Evolution: The Only Constant Is Change" module with GCC Team. Currently in process of running trials of modules as part of the Historical Geology sequence. Please see our group's web page for other information and links to the SyRIS Project.

Maricopa Community Colleges, Phoenix Urban Systemic Initiative, Phoenix, Arizona
Developer of Curriculum and Workshop Instructor, May 1998 to December 1998
Responsible for producing earth science workshop materials used to train K-12 teachers in curriculum background. Training based on giving K-12 teachers introductory college level detail on subjects they teach. Workshop materials primarily based on "inquiry based/guided hands-on" learning technique. Teach "Level 3" (curriculum background) workshops for K-4 and 5-8 teachers at various times during the year.

ASU Department of Geology, Tempe, Arizona
Research Assistant, August 1994 to December 1997
Work involves limited field work, compilation of written research, analysis of various types of collected geochemical data, and presentation of results in both written and oral form. Advised by Dr. Jonathan Fink and Dr. John Holloway.

ASU Department of Geology, Tempe, Arizona
Teaching Assistant, August 1994 through August 1996
Taught 1-2 introductory physical geology lab course(s) per semester; tasks included designing half to full hour lecture over subject material, supervising and helping students to complete lab work during course period, producing weekly quizzes and bi-sememsterly exams, and assigning grades for coursework completed

UTEP Department of Geology, El Paso, Texas
Research Assistant, Summer 1991
Determined terrain corrections for Grand Canyon field gravity measurements; Limited field experience in Oro Grande, New Mexico. Supervised by Dr. Randy Keller.

UTEP Department of Geology, El Paso, Texas
Volunteer Lab Assistant, Summer 1990
Organized previously collected core samples for analysis; Supervised by Dr. K. M. Marsaglia.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

Professional Member, Geological Society of America
Member, National Association of Geoscience Teachers

REFERENCES

Available upon request.