2014 Dottie Stout Award Winners

published Jun 12, 2014 11:44am
The National Association of Geoscience Teachers is pleased to announce the winners of our 2014 Dorothy (Dottie) Stout Professional Development Grants. Dottie Stout was the first female president of NAGT and was active as a strong supporter of Earth science education at all levels. In honor of Dottie's outstanding work and lifelong dedication to Earth science education, NAGT awards grants to faculty and students at two-year colleges and K-12 teachers in support of the following:
  • Participation in Earth science classes or workshops
  • Attendance at professional scientific or science education meetings
  • Participation in Earth science field trips
  • Purchase of Earth science materials for classroom use
  • This year's grant recipients are:
Joel Aquino, West Hall High School, Oakwood, GA
The Dorothy Stout Professional Development grant will allow Joel Aquino to attend the 2014 Geological Society of America conference in Vancouver, Canada. Joel is in a unique situation in that he teaches the cross-disciplines of geology and physics/physical science in a K-12 high school (West Hall High School), introductory college (University of North Georgia) and graduate-level education (Piedmont College). Joel's attendance and participation at GSA will assist him in achieving his goals of remaining up-to-date on current Earth science pedagogy and Earth science research. This grant will allow Joel to update his professional knowledge, skills, and connections in order to better serve his broad spectrum of students and future science educators.

Ella Bowling, Mason County Middle School, Maysville, KY
The Dorothy Stout Professional Development grant will allow Ella Bowling to attend the History of Lifeā€”In the Fossil and Rock workshop with the Geoscience Adventures of the Bighorn Basin. Currently, Ms. Bowling teaches a wide array of Earth science concepts including the rock cycle, plate tectonics, and weathering and erosion. This grant will allow her to experience this type of geology first hand in a field study basis that would enhance her content knowledge, improve her skill set, and greatly expand what she is currently doing regarding Earth science education in her 7th grade classroom.

Andrew Buddington, Spokane Community College, Spokane, WA
The Dorothy Stout Professional Development grant will allow Andrew Buddington to facilitate an undergraduate student research project involving a combination of field and laboratory research on newly recognized (and geologically important) Precambrian rocks of the Inland Northwest region. The area of study (Cougar Gulch) was recently age dated by researchers from Washington State University. The geologic ages produced were completely unexpected and represent some of the oldest known rocks in the Pacific Northwest (1.86 to 2.64 billion years old). This grant will provide funding for sample preparations and analysis needed to complete an important phase of the project.