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In This Issue

News & Announcements

Awards and Recognition

Upcoming Webinars and Workshops

Deadlines

Section and Division Highlights

Geoscience Education Research (GER) Division

  • Nominate a colleague for the GER Transformation and Collaboration Award

Teacher Education (TED) Division

  • Announcing the TED Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
  • Have TED sponsor your professional development activity!
  • Post to the Division Facebook page

From Our Members

NAGT Career Hub

  • Visiting position: Assistant Professor, Sedimentary Geology, Colorado College
  • IRIS Undergraduate Internships in Seismology Program
  • Teaching Professor - Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences, The University of North Dakota
  • Science Education PhD Graduate Assistantship with Oklahoma State University and NASA
  • Assistant Professor - Geology / Geoscience Education at SUNY Oneonta
  • Assistant Professor in Earth Science Discipline-Based Education Research at the University of British Columbia
  • Visiting Assistant Professor - Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of North Carolina Wilmington
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate in Earth and Environmental Sciences at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)

Rock and Mineral Exchange

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Geoscience Field Camps: Find or contribute a course

In an effort to help faculty and students find options for Summer 2021 offerings, we are 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. Please share this list with students who may be interested in participating in these programs.

Are you a field camp director with space for additional enrollment in your summer 2021 course? We invite you to add your program to the list.

Students: Apply for Field Study Scholarships Offered by NAGT and AWG

Each year, NAGT makes several $750 in 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.

Learn more and apply

Prospective graduate students invited to apply for AGU's Bridge Program

The AGU Bridge Program, part of the Inclusive Graduate Education Network, is an effort to develop, adopt, and share inclusive practices for recruiting, admitting, and advancing women and historically underrepresented students in geoscience graduate programs. The AGU Bridge program provides students, who have not previously applied, or have applied but were unsuccessful, an alternative pathway to graduate school admission by giving them access to a common application system.

Submitted applications will be circulated to AGU Bridge Partners, who have committed to increasing diversity in their departments. For questions about the program or the student application process, contact: bridge@agu.org. The student application can be accessed by visiting the Interested Students section of the AGU Bridge Program website. Apply by March 31, 2021.

An earlier version of this news item had the due date for applications incorrectly listed as April 15, 2021. The date has been corrected to reflect the correct due date of March 31, 2021.

AGI Accepting Applications for the Roy Award for K-8 Earth Science Teaching

The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) invites science educators to enter its upcoming award competition, the 2021 Edward C. Roy Jr. Award for Excellence in K-8 Earth Science Teaching. Given annually, this award is presented to one kindergarten through grade eight teacher in the United States or Key stage 1-3 teacher in the United Kingdom. The award recognizes leadership and innovation in Earth science education.

The winner of the Roy Award will receive a monetary prize and a travel grant to attend the upcoming National Science Teaching Association National Conference in Chicago, April 8-11, 2021. To be eligible, applications must be submitted by January 20, 2021.

The award is given in honor of Dr. Edward C. Roy Jr., a strong and dedicated supporter of Earth science education. For more information on requirements, application procedures, and deadlines, please visit https://www.americangeosciences.org/education/awards/roy and/or view a brief webcast. Questions may be directed to awards@americangeosciences.org.

Have your photography featured in NAGTNews!

NAGT is seeking fresh photography featuring the most important aspect of the NAGT community: You, our members! We invite you to submit photos of you, your colleagues, and your students (with their permission; please click the link below for photography requirements) in the classroom, the lab, the field, or wherever you work! Submissions may be used in future NAGT online or print marketing materials (like NAGTNews).

Submit a photo

Read the NAGT 2020 Annual Report

We welcome you to read our 2020 Annual Report, which details our program activities, accomplishments, challenges, and new endeavors from the past year. 2020 was undoubtedly an exciting year, and we hope our programming and resources have provided you with the support you needed and we hope we continue to bring you value as we navigate the unique challenges and opportunities that arise.

Read the report

Last chance to fill out the NAGT Member Survey

We have extended the deadline to fill out the NAGT Member Survey. This survey is essential for determining whether NAGT is fulfilling its mission to advance geoscience education. How well are we accomplishing our mission? Let us know before January 17, 2021.

Take the survey

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Congratulations to the NAGT Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award Recipients

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 to NAGT, which includes an online subscription to the Journal of Geoscience Education and our In The Trenches quarterly magazine. The following students were recognized for their achievements as teaching assistants:

  • Katie Andrews, Kansas State University
  • Sara Binet, Mercer University
  • Ian Castro, University of Cincinnati
  • Lisa Duong, Georgia State University
  • Angel Jimenez-Arroyo, Mississippi State University
  • Scott Miller, University of Florida
  • Franziska Schwarzenbach, Universitat Zurich
  • Brandon Yokeley, Kansas State University

We invite you to learn more about the NAGT Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award and keep an eye out for the next round of nominations, due in June.

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


Workshops and Webinars

Project EDDIE Webinar: RStudio for everyone - How to teach and use RStudio Cloud in the Classroom - January 22, 2021

11 am PT | 12 pm MT | 1 pm CT | 2 pm ET

This webinar will focus on how to use R-Studio Cloud in the classroom. We will discuss uses of R in general, how it has been implemented into online EDDIE Modules, and what use looks like in the classroom. Finally, we will also go through some example activities within the webinar. Register by January 20, 2021

NAGT Webinar: Creating compelling and effective teaching activities for Teach the Earth - January 28, 2021

9 am PT | 10 am MT | 11 am CT | 12 pm ET

Join presenter Kyle Fredrick (California University of Pennsylvania), for this webinar, which focuses on two major themes: developing effective classroom activities that challenge and excite your students and optimizing those activities for the review process for contributed activities to Teach the Earth. Participants will use the review rubric and best practices established from thousands of previous activities to create their best, most transferrable teaching activities. You will gain insights into what other teachers value in content and pedagogy, as well as learn about the review process and how to get more involved in the community of geoscience educators. Register by January 26, 2021.

GETSI Mini short course: Teaching about Our Changing Climate: Data Behind Melting Ice and Changing Sea Level - January 28, 2021

12-2 pm PT | 1-3 pm MT | 2-4 pm CT | 3-5 pm ET | 8-10 pm UTC

This mini short-course will give instructors a chance to learn about the Understanding Our Changing Climate: Data Behind Melting Ice and Changing Sea Level majors-level GETSI module.

Climate change is a defining challenge of the current age, and sea-level rise is one of the greatest effects. This module helps students to learn about primary stakeholders in sea-level change and explore a wide variety of climate-related data. The module opens with a stakeholder analysis for residents of a small island nation (Maldives), a coastal developing nation (Bangladesh), and a major coastal urban area (southern California). Students then gain considerable spreadsheet analysis skills through analyzing sea surface temperature, sea-level altimetry, GRACE, InSAR, and GPS data to better understand the factors influencing sea level, including thermal expansion, ice mass loss, and changes in land water storage. Students also consider how much more sea levels will rise this century. The final project is a report to a relevant stakeholder group that synthesizes the current knowledge.

Learn more and register for the short course here. Register by January 26, 2021. This course is part of the GETSI Virtual Mini Short Course Series.

NAGT Webinar: The NAGT Draft Position Statement on Climate Change Learning - February 4, 2021

11 am PT | 12 pm MT | 1 pm CT | 2 pm ET

NAGT's Position Statement, "Teaching Climate Change" was adopted in 2009. While the basic ideas of that statement hold up well, it was overdue for an update. The Advocacy Committee has drafted both a new position statement on this particular issue, and crafted new processes for adopting position statements and keeping them current. This session will introduce the statement, seek feedback on it, discuss the utility of professional organizations' position statements, and both share and seek insights on improving the processes of developing, disseminating, and leveraging position statements for improving educational outcomes. Register by February 2, 2021.

NAGT NGSS Webinar: Soil Biology, Chemistry, and Physics... Oh My! - February 11, 2021

1 pm PT | 2 pm MT | 3 pm CT | 4 pm ET

Soil is so much more than what food is grown in, we walk on, or move out of the way to build houses or buildings on. It's complex, life-giving, and is critical for a balanced ecosystem. Our three presenters will provide a background on each (what it is, why it's important, and ideas for classroom activities). We'll wrap-up with additional resources and learn a bit about careers in these three areas. This webinar is presented by members of the Soil Science Society of America. Register by February 9, 2021.

NAGT Webinar: Getting Started with NASA Data: Mapping Hazards from Space - February 23, 2021

10 am PT | 11 am MT | 12 pm CT | 1 pm ET

NASA's Earth science data collections provide a wealth of information to aid in our understanding of Earth's processes, in the development of innovative solutions for real-world challenges, and in making data-based decisions. Specifically, NASA data are being used by researchers and decision makers in forecasting hazards, understanding community risk and response, and in assessing post-hazard impacts. The data are all freely and openly available.

In this session, we will showcase resources at earthdata.nasa.gov to help in data access, retrieval, and use, as well as highlight three use cases of data in action: sea level change, urban heat islands, and earthquake deformation. Register by February 21, 2021.

The 2021 Earth Educators' Rendezvous (EER) - July 12-16, 2021 (Online)

Mark your calendars for the seventh annual Earth Educators' Rendezvous, July 12-16, 2021! EER is a five day conference designed for everyone from instructors and graduate students to experienced STEM educators, educations researchers, and administrators. Sign up here to receive timely updates about the Rendezvous as the 2021 program, deadlines, and speakers become available.

Early Career Workshop - July 25-29, 2021 (Online)

The Early Career Workshop: Teaching, Research, and Managing Your Career will be held online July 25-29, 2021, (with an optional visit to NSF - date TBA). This annual workshop is designed for those in their first three years of a tenure-track or equivalent faculty position. The workshop is part the On the Cutting Edge professional development program for current and future geoscience faculty, and is sponsored by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers with funding provided by NAGT, and a grant from the National Science Foundation - Division of Undergraduate Education and other contributing sponsors. Apply to attend the Early Career Workshop by March 26, 2021.

Section and Division Highlights

Geoscience Education Research (GER) Division

Nominate a colleague for the GER Transformation and Collaborations Award

Nominations for the GER Transformation and Collaborations Awards are now open! These awards recognize those who have made significant contributions to the development of and capacity for geoscience education research, including non-GER colleagues (e.g. geophysicists, educational psychologists, education researchers, etc.) who have infused the GER community with new ideas. Find out more about both awards and make your nominations by June 15, 2021!

Teacher Education (TED) Division

Announcing the TED Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The TED Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is looking for diverse members of the teacher education community to help make their efforts more equitable and inclusive. Please reach out Suzanne Metlay (suzanne.metlay@wgu.edu) to be connected to the committee chair. This is pursuant to Article VII, Section D, of the recently updated TED Bylaws.

Have TED sponsor your professional development activity!

If you or your organization would like TED sponsorship for your workshop, technical session, roundtable or other professional development activity, please fill out the NAGT Session Sponsorship Request form and mention TED specifically. While sponsorship does not include financial or material support, you may submit a written request to the TED Executive Committee for consideration at the next ExComm meeting. Please attend that meeting to make your case directly. TED will advertise your event in newsletter updates, emails to division members, and social media.

Post to the TED Division Facebook Page

Members are invited to post time-critical information on the TED Division Facebook page.

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Announcing the GEO REU Handbook: A Guide for Running Inclusive and Engaging Geoscience Research Internship Programs

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Provenance: Valerie Sloan
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

The first edition of the GEO REU Handbook is now available online. The GEO REU Handbook provides easily accessible information on the steps involved in creating and running an engaging Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. We thank the many people who have generously shared their thoughts and materials over the last decade, and whose insights are reflected in this handbook. We aim to update this handbook regularly with new editions. If you are interested in contributing, please contact us at georeu@ucar.edu. We would love to hear from you!

The content of this handbook reflects years of shared experience, materials, advice, and input from the community of REU sites funded by the National Science Foundation Geosciences (GEO) Directorate, as well as managers of internships hosted by scientific societies, governmental agencies, and non-profit organizations. This community of practice is truly a remarkable one and we thank the many people who have generously shared their thoughts and materials over the last decade. Many of the materials can be found at the website of the GEO REU Resource Center.

Call for Proposals The Undergraduate Field Experience Research Network (UFERN)

The Undergraduate Field Experience Research Network (UFERN) has an open call for proposals for their next UFERN network meeting entitled Envisioning the Future of Undergraduate Field Education. Proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis until January 22nd, 2021.

The goal of the third annual network meeting is to advance research and practice of undergraduate field education through interdisciplinary collaborations. In addition to the future of UFERN, themes of the meeting will include virtual field learning experiences, affective outcomes from undergraduate field experiences, and defining the field.

There will be an Interdisciplinary Research Lightning Session and Share Fair. Please see the Call for Proposals page on the UFERN website for more information and to submit a proposal.

Applicants will be notified of the status of their proposal by February 8th, 2021. Check out the 2021 Network Meeting event website for more information.

Survey opportunity for college Geoscience instructors and professors

I am a doctoral graduate student at St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia (living and teaching in the U.S), researching how we understand and teach geologic time and related topics (theory of evolution and plate tectonics). Your input is needed.

Please click on the link below, which will take you to the secure Qualtrics Geoscience Educator Survey. Your responses are confidential, as detailed in the on-line Invitation to Participate and Consent Form at the beginning of the survey. If you agree to participate after reading those materials, click "Submit" to continue to the survey.

https://stfx.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bEhoVlRxIA0CPCB

The survey is the first phase of my study. The second phase involves a subset of interested Geoscience instructors and professors working with me on one of three experiential laboratory experiences. These are hands-on, engaging, on-line or face-to-face labs that have been developed to augment teaching geologic time and other foundational geologic topics. I would mentor you through the labs and ask for your feedback from teaching them. If you would like to be included in this part of the research, please provide your name and email where indicated at the end of the survey.

Thank you for your interest. Any questions may be sent to me at x2018vmt@stfx.ca

Elisabeth Ervin-Blankenheim

The Journal of Student Research is seeking faculty reviewers

The Journal of Student Research (JSR) invites new faculty reviewers. Since 2012, JSR has published over 1200 student authors from 309 universities, colleges, and high schools globally! JSR recently updated their journal platform (www.jofsr.org) and would like you to explore recent issues and the "For Reviewers" page for more information. Please use thelink below to sign up if you are interested in serving as a referee for JSR student authors. Sign up to become a reviewer.

Submit to special issue of Copernicus (EGU) journals entitled: Virtual Geoscience Education Resources

Contributions are invited for a special issue of the Copernicus (EGU) journals Solid Earth and Geoscience Communication entitled Virtual Geoscience Education Resources

Submissions will be accepted from 1 Dec 2020 - 31 May 2021, and can be made using the online submission system of either journal. Please contact one of the Topical/Associate Editors for advice if you are unsure which of these two to select: Solid Earth or Geoscience Communication.

This joint special issue between Solid Earth and Geoscience Communication aims to present the highlights of recent efforts of a global community of educators and researchers to develop virtual field activities to enhance student learning, research, and broader outreach. These resilient, non-traditional solutions to field-focused investigations ensure that students achieve intended learning outcomes and curricular requirements even when physical contact and travel are restricted. The special issue will ensure that the virtual field experiences initially developed as short-term solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic will become valuable longer-term resources that will increase the accessibility of field experiences for students and society.

We invite contributions that describe, discuss, and evaluate aspects of virtual field experiences, trips, and exercises, including, but not limited to: Intended learning outcomes, Methods employed in exercise design and construction, Outreach / communication to broader society, and How the field excursion enhances relevant previous research on the topic or location.

We have made special provisions to publish supplementary datasets that could include: photographs, videos, and 3D models, Geographical Annotation Files, such as Google Earth presentations and/or KML/KMZ files, ESRI shapefiles, etc., educational materials, such as exercise descriptions, rubrics, background literature, etc., and links to datasets hosted in external repositories, preferably via doi, but if necessary as hyperlinks to material hosted on websites, such as the NAGT Teaching with Online Field Experiences site and V3Geo 3D models.

If you have other ideas, please do not hesitate to contact the special issue Topical/Associate Editors prior to submission to discuss whether they can be included.

Thanks for considering this opportunity,

Topical/Associate Editors, Prof. Dr. Virginia Toy (Universitat Mainz; virginia.toy@uni-mainz.de), Prof. Simon Buckley (NORCE; sibu@norceresearch.no), Prof. Marlene Villeneuve (Universitat Leoben; marlene.villeneuve@unileoben.ac.at), Prof. Steven Whitmeyer (James Madison University; whitmesj@jmu.edu)

Apply for Global Sustainability Scholars program

The GSS Fellows Program offers a 10-week paid professional training experience with a Sustainability Organization for graduate students from underrepresented groups in STEM fields. This program aims to bridge young professionals to career or graduate school. GSS Fellows are embedded within an international sustainability research project for 10 weeks during the summer months. Fellows are paid a stipend of $8000 for their full participation in the program. Apply on the GSS website by January 31, 2021.

NAGT does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of information contained on an externally-linked website. NAGT does not necessarily endorse the organizations sponsoring linked websites, nor endorse the views they express or the products/services they offer.

NAGT Career Hub

Visiting position - Assistant Professor, Sedimentary Geology, Colorado College

The position entails the teaching of upper-level sedimentology/stratigraphy and mentoring for undergraduates doing research in that field. The successful applicant should demonstrate an ability to utilize innovative teaching methods, illuminate connections between earth sciences and society, and maximize on inquiry-based teaching opportunities afforded by the Colorado College Block Plan (one course at a time format: see https://www.coloradocollege.edu/basics/welcome/index.html for description). Experience with Rocky Mountain/western United States geology, and acquaintance with the geologic evolution of the Colorado region, are valued, as are the ability to employ instrumentation and/or analytical or modeling approaches as components of undergraduate courses. Applications due February 16, 2021.

IRIS Undergraduate Internships in Seismology Program

Are you an undergraduate interested in working on a seismological research project this summer? If so, consider applying for an a PAID summer internship through the IRIS Summer Internship Program. Applications due February 1, 2021.

Teaching Professor - Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences, The University of North Dakota

The University of North Dakota is seeking qualified applicants, for a non-tenured teaching faculty position, with a focus on forecasting and synoptic meteorology. The candidate will also manage our combined degree program, and up to 20% effort may be used to conduct research.

Science Education PhD Graduate Assistantship with Oklahoma State University and NASA

The School of Teaching, Learning and Education Sciences and the School of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Aviation are pleased to announce openings for up to five graduate research associates (GRAs). GRAs will be supported by a new cooperative agreement between OSU and NASA through NASA's Science Activation Program.

Assistant Professor - Geology / Geoscience Education at SUNY Oneonta

The Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the State University of New York College at Oneonta invites applications for a tenure-track position as an Assistant Professor with broad experience in geology and ability to contribute to a nationally recognized program in Earth Science teacher preparation beginning Fall 2021. The professional obligation is for a ten-month academic year. Expectations include teaching, research, student advisement, college service, and continuing professional development. Candidates for this position must have a doctorate in geology or geoscience education. They will teach undergraduate courses in areas related to geology and be involved with science teacher preparation.

Assistant Professor in Earth Science Discipline-Based Education Research at the University of British Columbia

The Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (EOAS) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) invites applicants for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professorship in Earth Science Discipline-Based Education Research. We seek an innovative researcher and educator who will conduct internationally-recognized research on the development, application, and assessment of best-practices in Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER), with a focus on experiential learning in the Earth Sciences (e.g., Geology, Geological Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Oceanography, Atmospheric Sciences, Geophysics, Hydrogeology). Experiential learning is defined here as an educational process that engages students with authentic situations and applications in classroom, laboratory or field settings, and includes experiences that occur outside of a traditional university learning space. Applications due January 31, 2021.

Visiting Assistant Professor - Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of North Carolina Wilmington

The University of North Carolina Wilmington is seeking two nine-month non-tenure track visiting assistant professors in Earth and Ocean Sciences. This is a two year, fixed-term appointment opportunity starting August 2021 and ending May 2023. The UNCW Earth and Ocean Sciences Department seeks to hire earth and ocean scientists to teach introductory courses in weather and climate, natural hazards, and/or oceanography and courses in their specialty that align with existing department programs in geography, geology, geosciences, and oceanography. This position carries a teaching load of 12 contact hours per semester. Selected candidates will engage in departmental meetings, committees, and special project work to further goals of the department. Applications due January 15, 2021.

Postdoctoral Research Associate in Earth and Environmental Sciences at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)

The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) invites applications for a Bridge to the Faculty Postdoctoral Research Associate in Earth and Environmental Sciences, beginning August 16, 2021. The Bridge to the Faculty program is a University-level initiative to increase the pipeline toward faculty diversity at UIC by attracting and retaining promising scholars from different backgrounds, with an emphasis on individuals from groups who are underrepresented in their discipline. The two-year post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, which may culminate in the opportunity to transition to a tenure-track assistant professorship starting in the 2023-2024 academic year. The position is open to all disciplines in the Geosciences. Applications due January 22, 2021.

Need help getting the word out about your position opening, event, or field trip? Submit an opportunity to the NAGT Career Hub!

Rock and Mineral Exchange

Available Samples

Desired Specimens

Are you looking for new specimens for your collection? Do you have extra samples to share with colleagues? Post in the Rock and Mineral Exchange.


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