Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

I am a structural geologist by training and have carried out research in the area of rock physics. More recently however, I have become involved in research on the use of technology to enhance the teaching of mathematics and science.

My major focus is on introductory courses, and the effective use of technology to make learning more inviting and interactive. I feel that students learn best by “experiencing” the content and placing it within the context of the greater subject area. One of the key elements of my courses is the effort in every section to emphasize issues that are relevant to everyday life and present them in a way that captures the imagination of the student. One area of emphasis is the interaction between the public policies we create and how they affect the earth and our relationship to its systems.

Multimedia tools to demonstrate geological processes and environmental issues in introductory geology courses. The tools were designed in such a way that they could be re-purposed and reprogrammed with a minimum of new code. In essence they are templates in which other professors may place their content in different topic areas. They are based not on particular content, but rather on particular styles of teaching and learning.

I have worked with students to develop math tools without proprietary math editors. These tools will allow students to derive equations, plot functions, make calculations, and generate curves without the use of complex, and often expensive, math editor software.

• Dunning, J.,Battacharya, Dunning, K., Do Learning styles really matter? Journal for Asynchronous Learning. 21 pp.
• Dunning, J., Battacharya, Dunning, K., Zitman, Siswaro, Dobbs, Williams, Sanusi, Nicklow, and Corrigan (the last 7 were students at IU) Matching Learning Styles and Pathways of Interactive Learning Objects to those of the Student: a Double Blind Study of Students in an Introductory College Geology Class, Accepted for the proceedings of the International Conference on Education and Information Science, IIIS, 18 pp.
• Dunning, J., Rogers, R., Magjuka, R., Waite, D., Kropp, K., Gantz, T., Kaur, A., Hunt, T., and Vandermolen, L. 2004. Technology is too important to leave to technologists, Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, Vol. 8 (3), 12 pp.
• Kaur, A., Dunning, J., Bhattacharya, S., and Ahmed, A. 2005. Re-purposeable learning objects based on teaching and learning styles, “Encyclopedia of Multimedia and Technology”, Idea Group Publishing, London, Melbourne, New York, 14pp.

• ACHE Novel Use of Technology Award, 2004
• Alfred Sloan Foundation, Sloan C Best Practices Award, 2003
• ICI Gold Medal, 2003
• Golden Delta Award (Egypt), 2003
• Distinguished Visiting Faculty, Universiti Malaysia 2000
• Distinguished Fellow, Agency for Instructional Development, 1998
• Hearst Distinguished Lecturer, University of California
• UCEA Distinguished Course of the Year, 1996

• 2 U.S.G.S. Earthquake Mitigation Program
• 4 NSF Geophysics Directorate
• 11 grants from Industry