NAGT News - Vol 22 - No 7

Initial Publication Date: July 7, 2022

NAGT's New Website!

The NAGT website has a new look and we invite you to check it out! If you run into any issues, please let us know.

Do you have a blog? Let us know, and we may share it on our member blogs.

2022 Earth Educators' Rendezvous: Standard registration is still open!

Registration is still open for the eighth annual Earth Educators' Rendezvous, taking place in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN, from July 11-15, 2022! NAGT members receive $100 off registration.

For those who have registered, we look forward to seeing you in the Twin Cities!

In the Trenches

Are you doing something creative, innovative, or inspiring in your geoscience teaching? In the Trenches (ITT) would like to spread the word!

ITT articles are short (2500 words or so) articles that describe what you're doing and how others can try your techniques. Submit ITT article suggestions here.

Our January 2023 issue of ITT will focus on using art to teach!

New, free, and open online Geology course offering - Deep Time: Discovering an Ancient Earth

Deep Time: Discovering an Ancient Earth is a free and open online course that pushes back the mists of time to investigate the history of our planet and review the geologic story of the Rocky Mountains. This is a journey of discovery--a tour through the origins of science and geology itself as well as the Earth's first oceans, atmosphere, and crust. Learners uncover how geologists have reconstructed the rise and fall of the Rocky Mountains. Science is recognized as an exceptional tool for deciphering the world and the deep past, but one that also comes with limitations and responsibilities.

Coursera allows free and unlimited educational usage of these videos. Watch and/or use whatever you'd like! Although generally non-credit-bearing, in many cases, obtaining a Coursera "Certificate" (which involves a few quizzes and postings and a small fee) can be applied towards K-12 teacher recertification hours and/or professional development. If that is of interest, it is best to query your school for applicability.

Enroll today!

NAGT at GSA 2022

NAGT is pleased to sponsor a variety of symposia and sessions at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America held in Denver, Colorado, from October 9-12, 2022.

NAGT at the AGU Fall Meeting 2022

NAGT is pleased to sponsor a variety of geoscience education sessions and activities planned for the Fall 2022 AGU meeting, held in Chicago, IL, and online from December 12-16, 2022. The meeting theme this year is Science Leads The Future.

Learn more on the AGU Information page.

Upcoming Journal of Geoscience Education special issue on impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on geoscience education

The Journal of Geoscience Education is soliciting manuscripts for a Special Issue on the impact of COVID-19 on geoscience education.

The COVID-19 crisis is a major event likely to result in lasting changes to geoscience teaching, outreach, and administration. For geoscience education researchers who were collecting data or began collecting data when the crisis began, the crisis provided the opportunity to observe the impact of a major event on behavior in the educational environment. Much of what happened during the 2020-2022 phase of the crisis involved the abrupt movement of many education and outreach endeavors onto virtual platforms. Has this shift impacted student learning outcomes, including opening or closing learning gaps? In what ways have faculty and students changed their use of digital technologies, and which of these changes are likely to be permanent? Have departments/programs created structural changes that are likely to persist, and what impact will these changes have on the long-term health of the programs, especially in the context of equity and inclusion? We welcome submissions from educators and education researchers whose projects overlap with the COVID-19 crisis or who began new projects in response to the crisis. Submission deadline is August 5, 2022.

Submit by August 5, 2022

Apply to the Fall 2022 Project EDDIE Faculty Mentoring Network

Are you looking to teach scientific concepts using data exploration and open inquiry? Are you interested in teaching quantitative reasoning in your classroom? Project EDDIE is excited to offer a suite of teaching modules that span the disciplines of biology, geology, climatology, oceanography, ecology, and sustainability.

Join the Fall 2022 Project EDDIE Faculty Mentoring Network (FMN), with the support of QUBES/BioQuest. This FMN will bring together instructors interested in implementing Project EDDIE teaching modules that address scientific concepts and quantitative reasoning using publicly available data. Project EDDIE modules address scientific topics spanning environmental disciplines with a flexible structure to fit all teaching situations. This Fall, the FMN will be working with six modules featuring sustainability and climate solutions that can be used in introductory ecology, biology, geology, sustainability, and climate change courses:

Participants will focus on learning to adapt and implement one of the Project EDDIE modules above in their undergraduate courses by participating in bi-weekly virtual sessions throughout the semester (late Sept-December), including collaboration with and supporting others in the network and receiving mentoring. Participants will leave the FMN with experience using the modules available for implementation in multiple classroom settings, access to a network of peers, and an instructor story to share their experience about adapting and implementing a Project EDDIE module in their classroom.

The application deadline is September 1, 2022.

Apply

Apply for the AGU Bridge Program as a Partner Institution by 1 October

Applications are now open to partner with the AGU Bridge Program, which works with graduate geoscience departments across the U.S. to promote equitable practices in graduate education and to recruit and retain students from historically marginalized groups.
As a Partner department in the AGU Bridge Program, you will have:

Access to resources for improving your department's equity practices and a connection to a community of peer departments.
Access to the AGU Bridge Program student applicant database.
Recognition by AGU of your department's commitment to diversity and inclusion in the Earth and space sciences.
Recommendation of your department's educational environment to prospective AGU Bridge Program students.

You are invited to apply on behalf of your graduate department on our AGU Bridge Program website. Click on the "Partner Benefits & Applications" tab to get started. The deadline for partner applications is 11:59 p.m. ET on 1 October 2022.

Apply

Congratulations to NAGT Vice President Christy Visaggi, this year's winner of the Biggs Earth Science Teaching Award from GSA's Geoscience Education Division. The Biggs Award recognizes innovative and effective teaching in college-level earth science in the first ten years of teaching. We're proud and lucky to have her on our leadership team.

Congratulations to Pranoti Asher and Jade Star Lackey, NAGT members that were honored as 2022 GSA Fellows!

Do you have good news related to your geoscience education work that you would like to share with the NAGT community? Submit it to NAGT's Community Kudos!

Earth Educators' Rendezvous

Join us for the eighth annual Earth Educators' Rendezvous. The Rendezvous brings together researchers and practitioners working in all aspects of undergraduate Earth education, including a mix of college faculty, graduate students, and K-12 teachers from all disciplines who are interested in improving their teaching about Earth.

Date: July 11-15, 2022, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Register

MATLAB Workshop: Teaching Computation Online with MATLAB - California

MathWorks California Team
Lisa Kempler, MathWorks Sponsor

Date: November 6-8, 2022

*specifically designed for California-based educators

Application deadline is September 1, 2022.

Apply

GETSI Short Course @ GSA: Teaching SfM and GNSS/GPS Methods to Undergraduates in the Field

Benjamin Crosby, Idaho State University
Bruce Douglas, Indiana University
Beth Pratt-Sitaula, UNAVCO

Dates: October 7-8, 2022
Location: Denver, CO (in conjunction with the annual GSA meeting)

Registerthrough GSA. Apply for travel support through GETSI.

IRIS Consortium for GSA Short Course #535: 'Using Geophysics to Address Societally Relevant, Urban and Environmental Real-World Questions in Introductory-Level Geoscience Courses'

Instructors: Andrew Parsekian; Sarah Kruse; Carol Ormand; and John Taber

Join us at the Geological Society of America Meeting on Saturday, October 8th for a half day workshop on implementing IGUaNA (Introducing Geophysics for Urban and Near-surface Applications) modules in your undergraduate classroom. The cost is $10/person and registration is via the GSA meeting registration page.

Dates: October 8, 2022
Location: Denver, CO (in conjunction with the annual GSA meeting)

GEO2YC Division

2YC Faculty Change Agents Publish Volume

A group of Geo2YC division members published a New Directions in Community Colleges volume titled "Catalyzing Change: STEM Faculty as Change Agents." The included chapters, written predominantly by 2YC geoscience faculty, highlight their work to support students' success, DEI efforts, and career pathways on their campuses and in their communities. Check out the volume for innovative inspiration on the collective power of faculty to bring about change in classrooms, through programs, and across institutions!

Nominate an Outstanding Adjunct 2YC Faculty today!

The Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award (OAFA) is an opportunity to showcase the efforts of you or one of your adjunct colleagues who is doing great work in geoscience education. Nominations are accepted on a rolling basis. See the information page for more details about the award.