NAGT at the AGU Fall Meeting 2023
NAGT is sponsoring a variety of geoscience education sessions and activities happening next week at the Fall 2023 AGU meeting, held in San Francisco, CA, and online from December 11-15, 2023, and continuing virtually in late January 2024. Come visit us at the NAGT booth (#319)! The meeting theme this year is Wide.Open.Science.
Are you attending AGU in San Francisco this year? If you are, NAGT would appreciate your help staffing our booth in the exhibit hall. The booth is a great place to have conversations with other NAGT members and educators. We aim to have 2-3 people staff the booth at all times, so you won't be alone. And this year, NAGT and SERC are splitting the booth, so a SERC representative should be able to help answer questions about any projects you are not familiar with. If you're interested and able to volunteer, please contact Mitchell Bender-Awalt (mawalt@carleton.edu).
Learn more about this year's meeting on the AGU Fall Meeting web page.
Renew your NAGT Membership for 2024
Thank you to all who have already renewed their membership! If you haven't yet, now's the time! Renew your NAGT membership and continue to receive benefits for 2024. Membership in NAGT comes with many benefits, including:
- Discounted registration rates on NAGT Professional development workshops, including the Earth Educators' Rendezvous, AND new virtual opportunities coming in 2024!
- The monthly NAGT e-newsletter, featuring articles, updates, and deadlines in the world of Geoscience Education
- A subscription to the Journal of Geoscience Education, the premier peer-reviewed publication for geoscience education research, curriculum, and instruction
- Online access to In the Trenches, our quarterly magazine focused on improving geoscience education at all levels
- A voice in the development of Teach the Earth, NAGT's portal to online teaching and professional development resources for geoscience educators
- The ability to recognize your colleagues and students through NAGT's awards
- Opportunities to volunteer in NAGT committees and offices, from advocacy to professional development
Nominate your Outstanding Teaching Assistants
NAGT recognizes outstanding teaching assistants in geoscience education with up to 30 awards annually. Both undergraduate and graduate teaching assistants are eligible for the award. Award winners receive a one-year membership in NAGT, which includes an online subscription to the Journal of Geoscience Education and the In The Trenches quarterly online magazine. The next deadline to nominate students is December 15, 2022.
Please consider nominating your top teaching assistants. The process is not cumbersome and means a great deal to the recipients. For any questions, please contact Katherine Ryker (kryker@seoe.sc.edu).
Apply to be NAGT's Social Media Editor
Do you enjoy making connections across the geoscience education community? Are you interested in learning about and sharing timely information and resources with the NAGT community and beyond? Do you make a point of staying connected to geoscience education through social media? If you answered yes to these questions, then you might be a good fit for the NAGT Media Editor.
The Social Media Editor would be involved with creating this NAGT monthly newsletter, which serves as a means to inform our members about relevant events and activities within and beyond the organization. In addition, the Editor would have the opportunity to expand our impact and reach in social media through NAGT's Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter/X accounts.
Learn more about the position and, if it sounds like a good fit, apply using this form.
Deadline January 8: Public comment period on Framework for Equitable and Effective Teaching in Undergraduate STEM
NAGT members are invited to provide feedback on the recently released public comment draft from the Committee on Equitable and Effective Teaching in Undergraduate STEM Education. Public input will be used to inform revision of the principles of teaching proposed in the draft and to guide development of recommendations for changes to policy and practice. You can share your own thoughts on the draft on the National Acadamies public input website. Deadline: January 8.
Seeking a Managing Editor for In the Trenches
NAGT is seeking a managing editor for In the Trenches. The managing editor works with the Editor and with the Executive Office staff to produce the quarterly member journal. Specifically, the managing editor will:
- Layout each issue of ITT, including the cover and advertisements, to produce an interactive, booklet-style PDF with embedded URLs;
- Prepare a print-ready version of the October issue and provide it to the printer in an appropriate format;
- Coordinate with the Editor, Executive Office, and printer (as necessary) to meet publication deadlines;
- Copy edit and generally edit articles to help ensure that articles maintain a consistent style and layout;
- Work closely with the Editor to assure that each issue of ITT is complete;
- Lay out the NAGT Annual Report to produce an interactive, booklet-style PDF with embedded URLs in a style similar to ITT;
- Update the style and layout of the journal and annual report to meet accessibility guidelines, design standards, and the organizational branding and style.
Learn more and apply using this form by December 11.
2024 Geoscience Field Camps: Scholarships & Offerings
Field Study Scholarships for Students Offered by NAGT and AWG
Each year, NAGT makes several $750 awards to undergraduate students to facilitate their study of field geoscience. These awards, previously given to students who attend a traditional summer field camp, are now available for students attending field-based courses at any time of year and in any format: face-to-face, virtual, or hybrid. The intent of the awards is to support students' participation in intensive field courses in any aspect of geoscience (including geophysics, soil science, hydrology, etc.) that focus on students practicing skills of field observation, data collection, analysis and synthesis. Awardees are selected based on the importance of the field experience in meeting their educational and career goals, the quality of the field aspects of the course, and the importance of the financial award in allowing them to participate in the program. In addition, the committee endeavors to select awardees that expand the diversity of people studying geosciences in the field, and a collaboration with the Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG) funds two additional awards specifically for women. Applications are due on Tuesday, February 14, 2024.
Summer 2024 Geoscience Field Camp Offerings
In an effort to help students and faculty find options for Summer 2024 field camp offerings, NAGT is compiling a list of field camps of all formats. This list includes programs-whether they be online, in-person, or hybrid-that have space for additional students. Are you a field camp director with space for additional enrollment in your summer 2024 course? We invite you to add your program to the list.
Please share the field camp list with students who may be interested in participating in these programs.
Propose an NAGT-sponsored Session or Short Course for GSA 2024
Planning on proposing a session for the 2024 Annual Geological Society of America meeting, which will take place September 22-25, 2024, in Anaheim, CA, and looking for NAGT sponsorship? Submit your request for sponsorship by January 29 in order to meet the GSA proposal deadline of February 1.
Do you Speak Spanish? Participate in a Spanish-language Educational Podcast for Kids
Cumbre Kids, a producer of educational podcasts in Spanish for kids and families, is seeking Spanish-speaking NAGT members who they can feature as a guest expert on one of their podcasts. Their podcast "Cráneo: Ciencia para niños curios" covers a science topic every week, and they are hoping to increase the geology-related content offered to listeners. They produced an episode about volcanoes this fall, and are interested in adding episodes about mountains, gems, and earthquakes, and more. If you are interested, please contact Mitchell Bender-Awalt to be put in touch with their executive producer who can provide further information.
2024 Workshop for Early Career Faculty
Applications are now being accepted for the 2024 Workshop for Early Career Faculty! Join us for NAGT's highly-rated, annual multi-day workshop in a stimulating and resource-rich environment where you will participate in sessions on topics including effective teaching strategies, course design, establishing a research program in a new setting, working with research students, balancing professional and personal responsibilities, and time management. This year's workshop will take place June 23-27, 2024, at Macalester College in Saint Paul, MN. Learn more about and apply for the workshop by March 3.
2024 Earth Educators' Rendezvous
Mark your calendar and save the date for the tenth annual Earth Educators' Rendezvous, taking place July 15-19, 2024, in Philadelphia, PA! 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.
Apply for a Traveling Workshop: Bring our experienced leaders to you
The NAGT Traveling Workshops Program (TWP) connects you with experienced facilitators to design a two-day workshop that meets the needs of your department, program, or group. The TWP has well-tested workshop sessions on adapting to change, (re)designing your courses and curriculum, inclusive mentoring, supporting all students, and more. Are you preparing for a program review or responding to the feedback from one? Have you seen changes in the faculty in your department through new hires or retirements? Do you feel you could do a better job serving your students? We can help you. Apply to bring facilitators to you for a Summer 2024 workshop by January 15.
Apply for a Traveling Workshop
Application open: NAGT Scholarships for Field Study
Are you planning to attend field camp in the coming year? The 2024 application for NAGT scholarships for Field Study is now open. Each year, NAGT makes several $750 awards to undergraduate students to facilitate their study of field geoscience. These awards are available for students attending field-based courses at any time of year and in any format: face-to-face, virtual, or hybrid. The intent of the awards is to support students' participation in intensive field courses in any aspect of geoscience (including geophysics, soil science, hydrology, etc.) that focuses on students practicing skills of field observation, data collection, analysis, and synthesis. Awardees are selected based on the importance of the field experience in meeting their educational and career goals, the quality of the field aspects of the course, and the importance of the financial award in allowing them to participate in the program. In addition, the committee endeavors to select awardees that expand the diversity of people studying geosciences in the field, and a collaboration with the Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG) funds two additional awards specifically for women.
Summer 2024 Geoscience Field Camp Offerings
If you're looking for a field camp to attend in 2024, NAGT is compiling a list of field camps of all formats. This list includes programs-whether they be online, in-person, or hybrid-that have space for additional students. The list also allows users to refine results for format and credit hours using the options on the upper right side of the list.
Geo-Launchpad: Paid internship for community college students in Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming 2024
Do you have an interest in geoscience but are unsure where to take your next step? Geo-Launchpad is a paid multi-week summer internship program for community college students attending college in Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming.
Geo-Launchpad runs over eleven weeks in the summer, pays a stipend, and provides shared housing and transportation to Boulder, if needed. This program provides community college students with an introduction to research, a reliable source of summer income, geoscience and engineering knowledge and technical work, career path experience, and professional development activities. All this as a community college student - before you transfer to a four-year university!
Only students attending community college in CO, NM, and WY are eligible.
- Complete an internship interest form to be notified when applications open
- Learn more on the information page.
GEO2YC Division
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.
Teacher Education (TED) Division
Post to the TED Division Facebook Page
Members are invited to post time-critical information on the TED Division Facebook page.
PolarPASS Curriculum Available for Undergraduates
PolarPASS curriculum is now available for use in your undergraduate classroom! Earth's polar environments are undergoing rapid change and scientists have generated important new data and made groundbreaking insights. Polar Spaces and Places, or PolarPASS, connects polar-focused material with innovative teaching methods to advance STEM undergraduate education and increase polar knowledge.
Using real data, diverse material types, and a range of activities, PolarPASS modules bring polar science and exploration to the classroom. PolarPASS modules link to Climate Literacy Principles and Polar Literacy Principles and have been tested in classrooms that include semester, quarter, and block teaching models. The curriculum is both complete and flexible. Two modules each containing 4-5 units explore the glacier basin system, from long-term spatial transformations to the conditions of today and the future, and the curriculum can fill a semester or supplement activities for your upper-level geoscience undergraduates. Educator materials provide full support for you to teach with 360-degree interactive environments and with GIS, even if you are new to the technology yourself.
PolarPASS brings real polar data into the classroom, strengthens students' knowledge of polar science, and builds student connections to polar places. PolarPASS materials are ready for you to use today!
Assistant Professor in Global Environmental Change - Roger Williams University
Ph.D. Position in Geoscience Education Research at Washington State University
Assistant Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences and Physics at Bates College
