10th Annual Earth Educators' Rendezvous - happening next week!
July 15-19, 2024, in Philadelphia, PA 
We look forward to seeing many of you next week at the Earth Educators' Rendezvous! If you haven't yet registered, come join fellow 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 interested in improving their teaching about Earth. Check out the program and register now to save your place for desired workshops. Order your T-shirt from the NAGT Store.
If you are presenting, please check out the Presenter Guidelines and upload your presentation materials. If you need to connect with other participants to coordinate a ride-share, find a roommate, or meet up to talk about a Rendezvous-related shared interest, use the Message Board to start the discussion. Sign up to receive updates on the 2024 EER.
Presenter Guidelines Upload Materials
Changes Coming to In The Trenches
We are excited to announce a transition in how we will be publishing our members' journal, In the Trenches (ITT). Since its first issue in 2011, ITT has been published in four issues per year, initially as a print journal with online content and more recently as a downloadable PDF. Starting in September 2024, we will transition to a new model in which articles will be published online as they are finished, and each article will include a threaded discussion board, providing the opportunity to comment on the article, ask the author(s) questions, and interact with other NAGT members. Access to the articles and interactive discussions is a benefit of your membership in the organization. Articles can be browsed by categories, and you will be able to sign up to receive updates as new articles are released.
This new format is also a great opportunity for you to contribute and start a professional conversation about a successful strategy you've used in your teaching, administration, mentoring, outreach, research, publishing, or any other venue that you think would be of interest to other NAGT members. You can still express your interest in contributing through a form, or contact the editor, Redina Finch, directly.
Journal of Geoscience Education Article of the Month
Each month, the editorial staff of JGE select a paper to be free to access. For July 2024, they selected Changing habits of mind: A phenomenological view of how a computational geology course affected students' geologic numeracy by Meghan L. Cook, Victor J. Ricchezza, Jeffrey G. Ryan, Sarah L. Sheffield, and H.L. Vacher. Congratulations!
Taylor & Francis Book Discount For NAGT Members!
As NAGT publishes with Taylor & Francis, members are entitled to a 30% books discount on any full-priced CRC Press or Routledge book. To acquire this discount and see other journals you have access to, visit your NAGT Member Homepage and select Journal Access. This is one of many of our membership perks!
NAGT at GSA Connects 2024
September 22-25, 2024 Anaheim, CA
Join NAGT at GSA Connects this year in Anaheim, California. Learn more about NAGT activities and sponsored sessions.
Pre-register for the GSA Connects 2024 field trip led by Callan Bentley and Edith Carolina Rojas Salazar, An Educator's Look at Southern California Geology. This field trip is designed to showcase amazing geology and serve as a "meta" level discussion of leading impactful field excursions for geoscience students. There is a limit of 28 participants, so you are encouraged to sign up now before the trip opens to the general public. Apply for one of the 20 spots reserved for educators by completing this form. Scholarships are available!
Preregister for the Field Trip Apply for the Field Trip Scholarship
NAGT at AGU24
December 9-13, 2024 in Washington, D.C.
NAGT is co-sponsoring several sessions at AGU24 in Washington, D.C. from December 9 to 13. Abstract submissions are due by July 31, 2024.
Faculty Travel Grants for AGU24
The Education Section of AGU has worked with NSF to fund a Faculty Travel Grant program. This award will support up to 50 early-to-mid career faculty from under-resourced U.S. undergraduate-focused institutions to attend, in-person, the AGU24 annual meeting in Washington, D.C. In addition to a $1700 travel stipend, the travel grant awardees will participate in professional development workshops, networking and social events, review student presentations through OSPA, and potentially co-chair sessions. Faculty at U.S. undergraduate institutions new to AGU are encouraged to apply! The application window is now open and the first review of applications began on July 9, 2024. If you have questions, please contact Kristen St John or Kusali Gamage.
Traveling Workshops: Bring Our Experienced Leaders to You
Rolling application deadline
Are you preparing for a program review or responding to 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!
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. Learn more about the history of the Traveling Workshop Program in April's In the Trenches.
EER24 Student Workshops
Preparing for an Academic Career in the Geosciences
Monday, July 15 - Wednesday, July 17, 8:30-11:30; part of the Earth Educators' Rendezvous
This workshop is designed specifically for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and others who are interested in pursuing academic careers in the geosciences. Workshop leaders from a variety of institution types and career paths will provide guidance and information that will help participants to be stronger candidates for academic positions and to succeed in academic jobs. Workshop format will include presentations, discussions, small group activities such as application materials review and elevator pitch practice, and periods of informal Q & A with co-conveners, alumni of the workshop, and fellow participants. Each participant will develop or revise a plan for the next stage in their career and will cultivate ideas that they can immediately implement.
Getting the Most Out of Your Teaching Assistant (TA) Experience
Thursday, July 18 - Friday, July 19, 8:30-11:30; part of the Earth Educators' Rendezvous
In this workshop, we will help graduate students build their skills as teaching assistants (TAs) and articulate those skills in light of future careers. Participants will develop skills and confidence for facilitating data-rich learning activities, explore strategies for fostering inclusive and supportive learning environments, and recognize and communicate the important skills they develop as a TA. While the primary audience for the workshop is graduate students, senior undergraduates, post-docs, and faculty interested in providing professional development for TAs are also welcome.
See more Earth Educators' Rendezvous programming for graduate students and post docs.
Teacher Education (TED) Division
Members are invited to post time-critical information on the TED Division Facebook page.
Nominate Yourself or Your Colleagues for an NAGT Committee
Help to guide the work of the organization: NAGT committees are seeking new members. For more information about each committee and to nominate yourself or a colleague, please visit NAGT's Get Involved in NAGT Leadership web page. The following committees are seeking new members:
- Professional Development: Teach the Earth Website (TTE) Committee
- Programs: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee
- Award Committees:
- Grant and Scholarships Committees: Scholarships for Field Study Committee
- Management Committees: Development Committee
Nominate Yourself or a Colleague Now!
RUCOOL Trains US Professors on Key Climate Change Data Research Skills to Teach Undergraduates
49 professors from across the U.S. attended a four-day data literacy workshop hosted by members of Rutgers University Center for Ocean Observing Leadership (RUCOOL). The training was held June 2-5, at the University of North Carolina Wilmington's Center of Marine Sciences. Participants from community colleges, primarily undergraduate institutions and R1 universities gathered to share ideas on engaging students with messy, raw data collected by the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI). The professors practiced using data visualization tools to chunk raw data into workable teaching data sets and worked together to create teaching plans.
Representatives from UNC Wilmington led the participants through a tour of their Center of Marine Sciences laboratory and the UNC Wilmington pier, where researchers collected data on the intercoastal waters. Cape Fear Community College, another local host, led a tour of their facility, highlighting the growing trend of community colleges and traditional 4-year universities collaborating for the benefit of their students.
The OOI collects 10 to 12 terabytes of high-quality data each month and makes it publicly available for anyone to use. Also funded by the NSF, this long-term measuring network involves more than 900 instruments to track various geophysical processes throughout the ocean water column, from the air-sea exchange at the surface to the deep seafloor below. This data is currently being used by researchers to answer larger questions related to climate variability, ecosystem dynamics, ocean circulation, and plate-scale geodynamics.
Learn more at https://rucool.marine.rutgers.edu
Survey to Improve Geoscience Outreach & Communication Endeavors!
Calling all those who want to help improve geoscience communication and outreach efforts! We are collecting survey data to help us design more effective geoscience outreach activities. You can participate by completing a short, anonymous survey by August 31, 2024.
Thanks for considering,
Rachel Phillips, University of South Carolina
Complete the Survey
By August 31, 2024
UMass Amherst - Geosciences - Solid Earth Geology Lecturer
UMass Amherst is hiring a lecturer (one-year) with a strong commitment to geology-focused pedagogy and undergraduate education to begin on September 1, 2024. The position requires teaching two to three courses per semester including: Earth Materials (Fall) and Petrology (Spring) and other courses, such as Structural Geology, Geologic Mapping and large-enrollment introductory Geology courses.
Lab Coordinator - Geology and Geological Engineering - University of Mississippi
This position coordinates the daily functions of education and research labs in the department of Geology and Geological Engineering at the University of Mississippi. This position also acts as a technical resource person for students engaged in class laboratory projects.
Available Samples
Desired Specimens
- #50States50Rocks
- Precambrian chert. Stromatolites
- Deformation Microstructures
- Science Department Head/Earth Science Teacher
- Small rural school needs a classroom rock and mineral collection
