The Enhancing Excellence in Teaching Program (EETP) from the Nebraska Department of Education provides forgivable loans to Nebraska teachers enrolled in an eligible graduate program at an eligible Nebraska institution. This current application is for courses that are held between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020.
This means that NMSSI course GEOS 898: Nebraska Geology Through Time is eligible!
Last year we introduced a new course, GEOS 898: Nebraska Geology through Time, and it was a favorite course of the summer, so we have decided to offer it again this year.
This course is a one-week tour through key events in the geologic history of Nebraska. By the end, you should be able to answer lots of your students’ questions about the landscape they see around them! We will begin 1.8 billion years ago, with the mountain-building events that created the oldest rocks in Nebraska. Subsequently, we will step through time in chronological order, taking a couple of half-day field trips to look at ~300 million-year-old rocks within easy driving distance of Lincoln. The course includes a tour of the paleontology displays in the State Museum, learning in detail about the Highway Paleontology program and Nebraska’s Cenozoic Megafauna. The museum also has a newly opened fourth floor called “Cherish Nebraska” to explore. We will finish with an overview of relatively recent (~5 million year) geomorphologic and geologic process in Nebraska, so that teachers are equipped to incorporate Nebraska-based examples into a variety of learning modules in their classrooms.
There is no need to have a background in geology to take this course. Instructor Dr. Cara Burberry has made the course highly accessible, and the small class sizes of the NMSSI graduate courses allow you to take advantage of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s professional development opportunities quickly yet in an immersive manner.
GEOS 898: Nebraska Geology through Time (Class # 3260) will be offered in Lincoln on the UNL City Campus from July 8-12, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., in 109 Bessey Hall.
Eligible students may apply, on an annual basis, for an EETP loan in an amount of up to $175 per credit hour, or a maximum of $3,000, for coursework that has been identified by the institution as part of the student’s graduate program. In return for receiving an EETP loan, the student agrees to complete the graduate program that s/he is currently enrolled in and maintain full-time employment in an accredited or approved public or private school in Nebraska. If the student meets the loan forgiveness obligations, beginning after the first two years of full-time teaching, loans will be forgiven pursuant to the individuals’ signed contract.
Additional information about the EETP is available at the link below or by contacting Karen.Buller@nebraska.gov or at 402-471-4837.
https://www.education.ne.gov/educatorprep/eetp-current-teachers/