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Professionalism and Geoethics: Creating a Workplace Environment Where Everyone Can Succeed


American Institute of Professional Geologists
  1. Course Number

    AIPG009
  2. Classes Start

  3. Estimated Effort

    1 hour
  4. Classes End

Professionalism refers to the attitudes and behaviors that impact interpersonal relations in the workplace, the foundations of which are based on the concepts of power, trust, respect, responsibility, justice, and fairness. The nature of the Geosciences (e.g., working with an incomplete record, temporal and spatial scales beyond human perception, uncertainty in natural systems), and the geoscience work environment (e.g., in the field, laboratory, with extensive travel) presents many situations where ethical dilemmas may arise. Recent high-visibility transgressions have brought special attention to sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace. Everyone has a right to a safe, inclusive, supportive, and productive work environment and a high bar must be set for both students and faculty to ascribe to the highest professional standards of the discipline. This course will introduce topics that contribute to workplace "climate" (e.g., microaggressions, implicit bias, empowering bystanders), and will provide suggestions for personal and institutional actions that can be taken to ensure that everyone can succeed in your workplace environment.

Course Objectives

Students are expected to learn the following when they take this course:

  • What is professionalism and why should it be an important in any workplace?
  • What are some of the behaviors and actions that can impact the workplace climate in your organization?
  • What actions can we all take to create a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment for everyone in our own workplaces?

Course Format

This is an asynchronous short-course that contains videos, resources for learning more, and a set of questions in each section to help facilitate learning. An asynchronous course is a course that can be done on your own time. Feel free to pause, take a break, and come back to your saved progress to continue with the course. There is no deadline for completion of this course.

Note: For tips on taking this course via the edX mobile app, please visit the edX Learner’s Guide, and read the section on using the edX mobile app for the most up-to-date information.

Obtaining Continuing Education Units

If your course grade is at least 70%, you may apply for 0.1 CEU credit. There is an administrative fee for the issuance of the CEU, and you can view the fee structure here. You can check your final grade by clicking on the Progress menu item in the course navigation menu at the top of the page.

Requirements

There are no pre-requisites for this course.

Course Staff

American Geosciences Institute staff serve as the facilitators for this course. If you have questions at any time during this course, you can email your questions to learning@americangeosciences.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

What web browser should I use?

The Open edX platform works best with current versions of Chrome, Firefox or Safari, or with Internet Explorer version 9 and above.

See our list of supported browsers for the most up-to-date information.

How do I take the course using the edX mobile app?

For tips on taking the course via the edX mobile app, please visit the edX Learner’s Guide, and read the section on using the edX mobile app for the most up-to-date information.

Do I have to take this course all at one time to pass it?

No, in fact that's the advantage of offering asynchronous online courses. You can go through the course at your own pace, pause when you wish, save your progress, and resume the course when it’s convenient for you to do so.

Do I have to pay a registration fee for the course?

There is no registration fee for the course. You may view the entire course, and complete all the assessments, assignments, and exams at no cost.

Are Continuing Education Units available for this course?

If you would like to receive credit for the course and obtain CEUs, you will need to pass the course with a minimum of a 70%, fill out a form to register for the CEUs, and pay an administrative fee. The administrative fee for CEUs varies for each course. Please see details in the “How to Obtain CEUs” section at the end of each course.

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