Volume 15, Issue 2 | Summer 2026
Foundations
NEWSLETTER OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GEOSCIENCE TEACHERS GEO2YC DIVISION
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In this Issue:
- President's Column
- NAGT Voting - July 1 deadline
- Earth Educator's Rendezvous - Calling all Geo2YC attendees: come to our mixer!
- GSA Connects 2026
- Travel stipends (particularly if you are going to EER or GSA)
- Fireside Chats return this fall!
- Geo2YC wants to hear from you
- Geo2YC pencil pictures
Beth Johnson, 2025-2026 Geo2YC President
President's Column
Beth A. Johnson, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
It's summer! For some of us, this is an opportunity to step back from the classroom and relax or at least work on some projects that couldn't be finished during the school year (I'm looking at you, messy lab that needs to be cleaned...again). For others, it's a chance to change how they teach during the school year, either by teaching a different summer class or taking advantage of a longer class period to do activities that require a bit more time than the standard class periods of the academic year. For me in recent years, summer has been a time to go back to being a student in order to learn new topics to cover in my ever-changing teaching load. I've taken free online courses (thanks to those universities for offering those opportunities!), read new textbooks, and watched lecture videos to the point that I have started seeing some of these topics appear in my dreams. It's always such a valuable reminder for me as a professor of what it's like to be back on the other side of the desk.
There are so many ways we can learn, both as students and professors, and all of us benefit from considering things from another point of view. With that in mind, one great opportunity to do this is by attending the 2026 Earth Educators' Rendezvous in Columbia, South Carolina, July 20-23. There are so many wonderful sessions you can sit in on to learn new things while interacting with your geoscience friends! For those who are recent graduates or finishing up grad school, check out "Preparing for an Academic Career in the Geosciences" to learn about the steps you need to consider for following that career path. Those who want to shake things up in their classrooms may want to check out "Instructional Design: How to Write and eLearning Tutorial Style Quiz to Advance Scientific Computing in Your Classroom" or "Curriculum Design with Interdisciplinary Learning Goals for Environment and Sustainability." And if you want to bring together non-science topics in the geoscience classroom, consider participating in "Teaching Climate Data Through Art and Science." There are so many great workshops to participate in and so little time! Plus, don't forget about the pre- and post-conference field trips!
Finally, if you happen to join us at EER, the Geo2YC Division is hosting an Earth Educators Mixer on Wednesday, July 22 from 6-8 PM. We will be meeting at Hunter-Gatherer 1402 Jim Hamilton Blvd. in Columbia. It is open to all EER participants, so please come join us for some drinks, snacks, and good conversation!
NAGT Officer Election Voting - July 1 deadline
Cast your ballots for the 2025 NAGT Officer Elections by July 1. Up for election this year at the national level are second VP and two councilors-at-large, and within the Geo2YC Division, we have elections for VP, Newsletter Editor, and Archivist. Let your voice be heard.
Earth Educator's Rendezvous - Join us for a Geo2YC mixer
Earth Educator's Rendezvous is coming up July 20-23, 2026 at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina. Registration is still open. Grab a colleague and go! This is a great teaching-focused conference that will give you a wide variety of ideas to infuse new energy to your classrooms.
Geo2YC is hosting a mixer at this summer's Earth Educator's Rendezvous! Please join us as Hunter-Gatherer for an evening of drinks, snacks, and good conversation! The mixer runs 6-8p. Hunter-Gatherer is located at 1402 Jim Hamilton Blvd. in Columbia. The Geo2YC Division will be sponsoring a few appetizers for the event.
GSA Connects annual meeting - Abstract deadline August 6
This year's annual GSA meeting is in Denver, Colorado from October 11-14, 2026. There are a number of geoscience education sessions, and a poster session for 2YC student research. Check out the GSA Connects site for more info.
Let us support your attendance at EER (or GSA)
The Geo2YC Division is here to support our members financially - we offer $500 to help facilitate workshops or activities for 2YC faculty that are planned by our members, and $100 travel grants for professional meetings, including GSA, AGU, EER, regional NAGT meetings, and more. Historically, we've received few applications - so the likelihood of funding is high - let us help you. Rolling deadlines annually are on April 15 and September 15. Apply here.
Fireside Chats are back on August 28
Get back into the swing of things this fall with Fireside Chats! Our first chat will be on Wednesday, August 28 at 8p Eastern/7p Central/6p Mountain/5p Pacific. Our topic will be: What do you want people to know about geoscience at 2YCs? With the focus of increasing enrollments in geoscience courses, how can we best advocate for our field? What ways have you tried to reach out or engage incoming students and advisees? Do you take advantage of open houses to attract new students? How might student groups increase informal exposure to geosciences?
Hey members - we want your stories!
Please share your Geo2YC experiences with us - we are always looking for:
- Field Notes - tell us (and show us with pics) about field trips you do with students, especially if it's outside on your campus or in urban areas. If you are conducting field work with colleagues, tell us about that too.
- Geoscience/geology/STEM clubs/professional society chapters - how are you encouraging your students to engage beyond the classroom? Tell us about meetings or outreach events...show us your t-shirts! Consider getting your students to write about it for us.
- Grant projects - have you had a funded grant? We would love to hear about your projects.
- Teaching experiences - have you tried a new activity that went well? Did you try something that totally flopped? Do you love a particular lesson from the SERC collection? Let's talk about what we do best.
- Favorite rocks and fossils - we all have favorite samples in our teaching collections - share yours with us!
- Book reviews - have you enjoyed a good geo-related book (fiction or non-fiction?) lately? Tell us about it.
Please note, you don't have to write a lengthy, fully perfect article. A picture and a paragraph or two can tell the full story...and don't worry about typos/grammar...your trusty newsletter editor's got you covered.
Where in the world are NAGT Geo2YC pens and pencils?
