Carla Weaver
As part of our ATS workshop series, faculty from CSULB and beyond share case studies and key lessons learned from implementing new approaches in their teaching practice.
Carla Weaver
Carla Weaver is a Full-Time Lecturer in the CSULB Department of Geological Sciences. She grew up in Venice, Italy and attended the University of Padua before moving to the United States. Her main interest is in Environmental Geology, and in particular, groundwater related problems. In addition to teaching at CSULB, Carla also teaches a General Geology class at El Camino College in Torrance.
Insights on Using Technology in the Classroom:
After developing very successful face-to-face lecture courses in Natural Disasters, I thought that converting them to online classes would allow me to reach a wider audience, especially working students that couldn’t attend regular classes due to their busy schedules. Later, after years of drought in Southern California and an increase in public interest on the subject, I decided to convert my course on Water Resources to an online format, hoping that more people would become informed on the issue of water scarcity. My two courses are the only online classes offered by the Geology Department.
During the Spring 2013 semester I developed the online version of the lecture course on natural disasters (GEOL 110) with the support of the College of Continuing and Professional Education, as part of its goal of creating 25 high-quality online courses to be delivered for the first time during the 2013 summer session; the class has been offered every summer and winter session and during the regular Fall and Spring semester ever since. In 2016, I took advantage of the same program offered by CCPE, and converted my GEOL 280 (Water Resources and Society) course as well. For both classes I had to participate in “Course Development Meetings” and meet regularly with an instructional designer who oversaw my work and made sure that every part of the course was delivered by the provided deadline.
The student response was overwhelming. Enrollment increased every semester, and we are now offering 3 to 4 sessions of Natural Disasters -a GE course- every Fall and every Spring. Water Resources and Society is not a GE course and was usually attended only by ES&P students; its enrollment also increased and now students from different majors are registering, thus fulfilling my original goal.
