Initial Publication Date: March 12, 2020

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An archive of past NAGTNews messages and online supplements for In the Trenches are also available to NAGT members.
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News

Awards and Recognition

Upcoming Webinars and Workshops

Webinars

Workshops

Deadlines

Section and Division Highlights

From Our Members

NAGT Career Hub

Rock and Mineral Exchange

News

Get involved: NAGT Leadership Nominations Due March 15

Want to be more involved with NAGT's leadership? NAGT leadership role nominations are due March 15. We are seeking two new councilors-at-large to serve on the Executive Committee and a new 2nd Vice President. The councilors-at-large serve a three-year term; the 2nd Vice President spends four years in the presidential line (2nd, 1st VP, President, past President). You may nominate yourself or others. Nominees must be members of NAGT. Our open nomination process is designed to foster broad participation in NAGT's leadership and programming. Learn more and submit a nomination by March 15, 2020.

Seeking New Journal of Geoscience Education (JGE) Editor-in-Chief: Applications Due May 1

NAGT is seeking a new Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Geoscience Education (JGE). Interested applicants are encouraged to contact the search chair in advance of the application deadline with any questions. Requests for additional information, including a proposal for how the duties of the Editor-in-Chief will be incorporated into the existing workload with support from the home institution, will be made to qualified applicants by May 15. Interviews for finalists will be conducted July 13-15, 2020 at the Earth Educators' Rendezvous in Palo Alto, California. The new Editor-in-Chief will assume responsibility for the journal December 1, 2020. Questions? Contact the search committee chair, Margaret Crowder, margaret.crowder@wku.edu. Apply by May 1.

Check out the 2020 Earth Educators' Rendezvous Program and Upcoming Deadlines

The sixth annual Rendezvous will be held July 13-17 at the School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences at Stanford University. Check out the program. If your institution has limited resources to support your travel to Rendezvous, you may be eligible for assistance from NAGT's Professional Development Fund. Travel stipends are awarded to applicants based on financial need and the potential impact on their participation, and only to those who have met the application deadline. Learn more about travel stipends. Maximum stipends are $500 and are for travel expenses only. Recipients will be notified by April 26 (prior to the early bird registration deadline and the registration cancellation deadline). Submit stipend applications by April 6.

Register for Rendezvous now to get the best rates! Upcoming deadlines include:

Sign up to receive updates on deadlines, developments in the program, featured speakers, and more.

COVID-19 Statement: While we do not currently anticipate issues with COVID-19 by the start of this year's Rendezvous, we are keeping an eye on the COVID-19 virus and will keep you up to date with the latest. Updates will be sent through email and posted on the Rendezvous COVID-19 updates website.

There is Still Time to Nominate Your Colleagues for NAGT Awards: Miner and Shea Award Nominations Due April 1

Transitioning from Classroom to Online Courses? SERC and NAGT Can Help!

As educational institutions respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, many geoscience educators are finding themselves needing to quickly transition from an in-person course to online teaching. To support the geoscience education community in this process, SERC and NAGT are pulling together an evolving set of resources available here:

As we're all acutely aware, this situation and our response to it are evolving rapidly. The geoscience education community has a strong history of sharing our best work in support of moving the community forward. We hope this email list and the associated collections can help all of us support each other as we navigate through the challenge of the moment.

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Do you have good news related to your geoscience education work that you would like to share with your NAGT Community? Would you like to call attention to a presentation or resource you developed or helped develop to share with your fellow Earth educators? Submit to NAGT's Community Kudos!

Caitlin 3-9-20.jpg Caitlin Callahan
 Congratulations to NAGT member, Caitlin Callahan of Grand Valley State University, who was awarded the Distinguished Early-career Scholar Award, presented by Grand Valley State's Center for Scholarly and Creative Excellence. This award honors remarkable investigators at Grand Valley State University who have made major contributions to theory, research, and creative practice, and have earned national recognition for their outstanding achievements. Callahan was the co-convener of the 2018 and 2019 Earth Educators' Rendezvous and currently serves on NAGT's Professional Development Planning Committee.

3.jpg Sarah Johnson

Sarah Johnson of Wild Rose Education has been selected to be a 2020 PolarTREC educator for the International Arctic Buoy Program expedition to Utqiagvik, Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. Beginning in early April, Sarah will participate as a research team member (research assistant and public relations officer) during an authentic scientific expedition in the Arctic. She invites you to follow the expedition and learn a bit more about the importance of the data collected by the International Arctic Buoy Program through her blog: www.ArcticRuminations.us


Congratulations, Caitlin and Sarah!


Workshops and Webinars

Webinars

  • March 20: Supporting and Advancing Geoscience Education at Two-year Colleges (SAGE 2YC) in the San Francisco Bay Area: Building Bridges and Creating a Regional Network
    • 10:00am PT | 11:00am MT | 12:00pm CT | 1:00pm ET.
      This webinar will present efforts to develop a regional network of 2-year college geoscience faculty in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. This work was part of the national SAGE 2YC project and began building a synergistic collaboration focused on improving instruction, supporting transfer, and expanding the inclusion of underrepresented groups in the geosciences. This model of network building may be useful in other regions of the country. The webinar offers experience and lessons learned in building bridges and regional networks between 2-YC geoscience faculty, students and 4-year universities. Register by March 18, 2020.
  • March 26: How to "NGSS-ify" the Question Formulation Technique: A Deep Dive
    • 1:00pm PT | 2:00pm MT | 3:00pm CT | 4:00pm ET.
      In this webinar, veteran Middle School science teacher, Nicole Bolduc, covers how to design an NGSS unit (or modify an existing NGSS storyline), and best practices for helping students channel their wonderings into rigorous, relevant investigations, and next steps for student questions that you can't answer. Participants will be provided with a specially-curated set of resources and templates. Register by March 24, 2020.
  • March 27: Using Course-level Data in a Spirit of Inquiry: Addressing Enrollment, Equity, and Student Success
    • 8:00am PT | 9:00am MT | 10:00am CT | 11:00am ET.
      This webinar will provide examples of using data to investigate questions related to participation and success of different populations of students, explore strategies for addressing issues raised by the data (e.g. enrollment concerns, courses that are barriers for students), and share effective strategies on working with institutional research offices while maintaining student privacy. This data-centered approach can be useful in considering how to attract students to geoscience and help them thrive, particularly those from groups underrepresented in the geosciences. Register by March 25, 2020.
  • April 16: Instructor Story: An Instructor Discusses Their Experience Adapting and Implementing an EDDIE Module
    • 12:00pm PT | 1:00pm MT | 2:00pm CT | 3:00pm ET.
      This webinar will discuss an instructor's experience adopting and adapting the EDDIE Climate Change Module at CUNY Queens. Elizabeth Farrell will discuss how she prepared to use the module and how she modified the module to fit the course context. Other discussion topics will cover student feedback, assessing student work, and potential modifications for future use. Register by April 14, 2020.
  • April 27: Educational Modules for Teaching Topics in Computer Science, Earth or Environmental Science, Economics, Physics, or Physical Chemistry Using Polar Research and Data
    • 11:00am PT | 12:00pm MT | 1:00pm CT | 2:00pm ET.
      This webinar introduces instructors to education modules created as part of the Polar ENgagement through GUided INquiry (PENGUIN) project. In each module, disciplinary topics and techniques are applied to polar research or data to improve students understanding of course topics, while improving climate and computational literacy. Through the modules, students conduct inquiry, scaffolded by Excel spreadsheets or Jupyter Notebooks in Python. Register by April 24, 2020.
  • April 29: Lessons Learned from Integrating EDDIE Modules into a Semester-long Undergraduate Environmental Data Science Course
    • 10:00am PT | 11:00am MT | 12:00 CT | 1:00pm ET.
      Webinar participants will learn how diverse EDDIE modules and other resources (NEON QUBES modules and Data Carpentry Lessons) were harmonized into a course plan that builds data science skills using the R language. The webinar will share instructor lessons learned from teaching data science to assist other instructors who wish to integrate EDDIE modules into their curriculum. Register by April 27, 2020.

Workshops

  • June 22-26: Geoscience Career Ambassador Training (GeoCAT) Workshop
    • This workshop will be held at Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS. This workshop will focus on introducing and familiarizing educators with geoscience careers in an effort to increase interest and enrollment of diverse student populations in geosciences across the state of Kansas. The GeoCAT workshop is an NAGT sponsored project and is also supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant ICER-1911590 GP-IMPACT: GeoCAT Workshop: Geoscience Careers Ambassador Training Workshop. For more information contact geocat@k-state.edu. Apply by April 30, 2020.
  • July 13-15: Preparing for an Academic Career in the Geosciences
    • This workshop will be held at the 2020 Rendezvous at Stanford University and 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. Additional professional development is available through the afternoon workshops, roundtable discussions, panels, and plenary sessions that are part of the Earth Educators' Rendezvous. To register, visit the 2020 Earth Educators' Rendezvous website. A limited number of graduate student stipends are also available, by application. Apply for a stipend by April 6.
  • July 26-30: Workshop for Early Career Geoscience Faculty

Deadlines

March 15: Short Course: Change Detection with SfM and GPS: Teaching Undergraduates in the Field Applications

The GETSI short course, Change Detection with SfM and GPS: Teaching Undergraduates in the Field, will be held May 17-20, at Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID. Learn practical approaches for integrating field-based change detection into undergraduate courses. The emphasis will be structure from motion (SfM) and global positioning system (GPS) for change detection but information about terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and other field applications of the methods will also be included. Apply by March 15, 2020.

March 15: NAGT Leadership Nominations

NAGT leadership role nominations are due March 15! We are seeking two new councilors-at-large to serve on the Executive Committee and a new 2nd Vice President. The councilors-at-large serve a three-year term; the 2nd Vice President spends four years in the presidential line (2nd, 1st VP, President, past President). You may nominate yourself or others. Nominees must be members of NAGT. Our open nomination process is designed to foster broad participation in NAGT's leadership and programming. Learn more and nominate by March 15, 2020.

March 15: Fall Traveling Workshops Program Applications

The NAGT Traveling Workshops Program (TWP) brings national leaders in geoscience education to your campus or regional event. Designed for departments, institutions, or groups of institutions with shared interests, TWP offers workshops on strengthening cross-campus environmental and sustainability programs as well as supporting the success of all students. Apply to host a Fall 2020 workshop by March 15, 2020.

Next application deadlines for 2020/2021: June 15, 2020 for (for Fall 2020/Winter 2021 Workshops); October 15, 2020 (for Winter/Spring 2021 Workshops); January 15, 2021 (for Summer 2021 Workshops).

March 16: AGU Education Section Lecture Series Speaker Nominations

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) Education Section leadership team is canvassing the community for suggestions for a person in the field(s) of Earth and/or space science education and/or public outreach to honor via permanently naming a future yearly or bi-yearly education-themed lecture to be presented at a future AGU Fall Meeting. The individual for whom this Education lecture may be named must have made documented outstanding life-long contributions in the field(s) of Earth and/or space science education and/or public outreach. Submit lecture naming suggestions by March 16, 2020.

March 23: Early Career Geoscience Faculty Workshop Applications

The Workshop for Early Career Geoscience Faculty will be held July 26-30, 2020 (with an optional visit to NSF on July 31) at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. This annual workshop is designed for those in their first three years of a tenure-track or equivalent faculty position. Apply by March 23, 2020.

Beginning April 1: NAGT Miner, Shea, and Other NAGT Award Nominations

April 6: Preparing for an Academic Career in the Geosciences Workshop Stipend Applications

The Preparing for an Academic Career in the Geosciences workshop will be held July 13-15, at the 2020 Rendezvous at Stanford University. 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. Additional professional development is available through the afternoon workshops, roundtable discussions, panels, and plenary sessions that are part of the Earth Educators' Rendezvous. Apply for a workshop stipend by April 6.

April 6: Earth Educators' Rendezvous Travel Stipend Applications

If your institution has limited resources to support your travel to Rendezvous, you may be eligible for assistance from NAGT's Professional Development Fund. Stipends are awarded to applicants based on financial need and the potential impact on their participation. Maximum stipends are $500 and are for travel expenses only. Apply for a travel stipend by April 6, 2020.

May 1: Journal of Geoscience Education (JGE) Editor-in-Chief Position Applications

NAGT seeks new Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Geoscience Education (JGE). Interested applicants are encouraged to contact the search chair in advance of the application deadline with any questions. Requests for additional information, including a proposal for how the duties of the Editor-in-Chief will be incorporated into the existing workload with support from the home institution, will be made to qualified applicants by May 15. Interviews for finalists will be conducted at the Earth Educators' Rendezvous, July 13-17, 2020, in Palo Alto, California. The new Editor-in-Chief will assume responsibility for the journal beginning December 1, 2020. Questions? Contact the search committee chair, Margaret Crowder, margaret.crowder@wku.edu. Apply by May 1, 2020.

Section and Division Highlights

Geo2YC Division

Do you have stories, experiences, experiments, photos, or awards that you'd like to share in the next issue of the Geo2YC Foundations news? Email Editor Suki Smaglik at sukismaglik@gmail.com by Friday, June 1, 2020.

GER Division

GER Transformation and Collaborations 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 May 15, 2020 for both the Transformation and Collaboration Awards.

NAGT-GER provides monthly updates on professional opportunities, funding, articles of note, researcher profiles, and other content of interest to our membership. Please consider contributing items of interest for inclusion in future editions of the Exchange!

Pacific Northwest Section

The Pacific Northwest (PNW) Section 2020 Annual Conference will be hosted by Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, Oregon, from June 16-19, 2020. For more information, contact conference organizer Philip Schmitz, pschmitz@bluecc.edu.

Check out the PNW Section Winter 2020 Newsletter (Acrobat (PDF) 1.4MB Feb6 20).

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Geologist Turns to Paper Model Making to Help Students Think in 3D

Dr. Chris Lowry teaches advanced geology college courses at the University at Buffalo. But some of the tools he brings to class evoke the joy of grade school. Lowry is creator of the Foldable Aquifer Project - a series of 3D paper models of aquifers, which (in real life) consist of layers of permeable rock, sand and gravel that hold water underground... Read the full article.

Save the Date for GeoConvention 2020

The 2020 GeoConvention will be held at the University of Calgary from May 11-13, 2020. GeoConvention is an annual convention and exhibit produced by the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists (CSPG), Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysists (CSEG) and the Canadian Well Logging Society (CWLS). GeoConvention is a significant scientific meeting, an excellent opportunity to showcase technology, an efficient method to keep abreast of industry, and one of the best networking opportunities for geoscientists during the year. View the rates and register on the convention website. Geoscience Education sessions include:

  • Beyond the talk: Non-Lecture-based teaching strategies that really work, Glenn Dolphin
  • Diverse Post-Secondary Geoscience Course Offerings: Sparking Non-Science Students' Interest, Jennifer Cuthbertson, Robin Cuthbertson
  • Engaging 21st Century Geoscience Learners with Technology in the Classroom, Jennifer Cuthbertson, Annie Quinney
  • Geoscience Teaching & Learning: Application of Creative Teaching for Effective Learning, Rudi Meyer

Join the World's Largest Virtual Teach-in on Climate Solutions

Solve Climate by 2030 will be held on April 7, 2020, and will include 52 university-sponsored, state-level webinars on state-specific climate solutions, followed by hundreds of community dialogs and classroom discussions setting an agenda for participants to take concrete action in 2020 and beyond. Participate in the following ways: Host a Power Dialog; ask your colleagues to #MakeClimateAClass by assigning students to watch the webinar and then discuss in next class; reach out to high schools, community and faith organizations and others and invite them to your Power Dialog and to #MakeClimateAClass; register to host a Dialog at your campus or in your class, or just to watch your webinar at www.solveclimateby2030.org. View your state's dialog. Collaboration will occur with Earth Day Network; these dialogs will form a great basis for your institution's Earth Day activities.

50th Annual Earth Day to Focus on Climate Action

The first Earth Day took place on April 22, 1970. April 22, 2020 marks 50 years of Earth Day, whose mission is to build the world's largest environmental movement to drive transformative change for people and planet. The theme for this year's Earth Day is climate action. Discover the history of Earth Day. From teaching students or neighbors, to leading marches or movements, we can all take action on climate change. Find an Earth Day event near you, or register your own.

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

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


Rock and Mineral Exchange

Available Samples

Petrology Samples

Ophiolite, Tertiary sedimentary, misc metamorphic

Desired Specimens

Precambrian chert. Stromatolites

#50States50rocks

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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