Meet the New NAGT Leaders

Congratulations to all the newly elected officers. Thank you for your time and commitment to NAGT!

NAGT is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Alison Jolley, University of Waikato, as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Geoscience Education. Congratulations to Dr. Jolley on this distinguished appointment.

In Memoriam: Marilyn J. Suiter

NAGT is saddened to share the news of the passing of Marilyn J. Suiter, a longtime champion and advocate for geoscience education for all and for broadening access to the geosciences. Marilyn was most recently a program officer at the National Science Foundation, but that was only the most recent chapter in her career, which also included time at the USGS and leadership roles within the American Geosciences Institute. Donations in her memory can be made to the Broadening Participation Fund to honor her long commitment to diversifying the geosciences.

The NSF Directorate of STEM EDU will host a celebration of life for Marilyn from 12:00-1:00 p.m. ET, August 20, 2025. For those outside NSF who wish to attend in person, please email tedquist@nsf.gov before August 19 for a visitor badge. To attend this hybrid event online via Zoom, register at https://nsf.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/0vdGOSBPQ8SmG3utPlDtBQ.

Donate to the Broadening Participation Fund in Memory of Marilyn J. Suiter

NAGT Receives Donations from Maria Luisa and William Crawford

NAGT is grateful to have received a substantial contribution from the estates of Maria Luisa and William Crawford. The Crawfords had a long history of donating to support Scholarships for Field Study, administered by NAGT and the Association for Women Geoscientists. Much of the gift is designated for the endowed funds that support these scholarships, which will allow us to increase the number and amount of scholarships we can offer, starting in 2026.

You can create a lasting legacy for Earth educators, too. You can have a lasting impact on the programs you care about through a number of different planned giving options. Many of these options may have tax benefits for you, as well. If you are interested in discussing your options for planned giving, please reach out to Executive Director Anne Egger (exdir@nagt.org).

NAGT Endorses the 2027 NSSME+

The National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education (NSSME) began in 1977, led by Horizon Research, Inc. The survey monitors key elements of K-12 education in STEM by collecting valuable data on teacher preparation, course offerings, textbook usage, instructional strategies, and more. Preparation for the 7th iteration of the survey in 2027 is already underway. As an endorser of the survey, NAGT was given the opportunity to provide feedback and guidance on potential questions, and is committed to promoting the survey and results to its members. The NSSME+ results provide valuable insights into K-12 Earth science and related teaching, helping to motivate and guide our professional development and research.

Apply now for the Geo2YC Faculty Development Grant

The Geo2YC Division would like to support your efforts to promote geoscience education in two-year colleges. Towards this end, we will award:

• Mini grants up to $500 to support an activity (workshop, field trip, etc.) which benefits faculty from multiple institutions.
• Travel grants of $100 to help an individual attend a professional development activity.

The applicant must be a member of the Geo2YC Division of NAGT. The proposed activity must align with the goals of the Geo2YC Division, and if a mini-grant is awarded, the member must submit an article sharing their event to the Geo2YC "Foundations" newsletter. Preference will be given to members who have not previously received a Geo2YC grant.

Applications due Sept 15

2026 Earth Educators' Rendezvous

The 2026 Earth Educators' Rendezvous will take place July 20-23, 2026, at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC, and we're already starting to plan!

• Submit an EER Workshop Proposal by October 1: We invite you to share your work with colleagues in a rich professional learning environment by submitting a proposal to lead a workshop at the 2026 Earth Educators' Rendezvous in South Carolina. After the October 1 deadline, the planning committee will review proposals and create a balanced program that serves a diverse audience. Read more about the proposal process and sign up to receive timely updates as the program and deadlines become available.
• Sign up to be an EER Exhibitor: Share your products or services with the 200-300 geoscience educators by taking advantage of the University of South Carolina School of the Earth, Ocean, and Environmental Sciences venue. There will be a dedicated space for exhibitors to showcase their products and services throughout the event. There will also be time set aside in the program for an exhibitor showcase, when each exhibitor will have dedicated time to share information.
• Sponsor EER2026: By sponsoring EER26 you will gain visibility for your organization, program, or institution with the 200-300 practitioners, educators, and researchers working in the Earth, ocean, and atmospheric sciences and allied fields at the full range of institution types and organizations around the country. Attendees include college and university faculty, graduate students, education professionals, K-12 teachers, and administrators, at a wide range of career stages.

GSA Connects 2025

San Antonio, Texas, 19-22 October 2025

GSA Connects is a fantastic opportunity to connect with geoscientists from around the world, present your work, and participate in critical conversations shaping the future of the geosciences.

Exclusive 15% Discount for GSA Connects 2025 Registration

As a member of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, you are eligible for an exclusive 15% discount on registration for GSA Connects 2025, taking place 19-22 October 2025 in San Antonio, Texas! To redeem your discount, use the unique discount code: 25CONNECT_NAGT

Learn More about GSA Connects

Journal of Geoscience Education

Article of the Month

Each month, the editorial staff of JGE selects a paper to be free to access. For August 2025, they selected "Supporting secondary teachers' interest in adopting climate-related curricular resources" by Silvia-Jessica Mostacedo-Marasovic, Brenda Costello, Amanda A. Olsen, & Cory T. Forbes and published online 23 May 2025. Congratulations authors!

The Journal of Geoscience Education is always looking for submissions related to learning and teaching in the geosciences and related domains.

Submit a paper to JGE

In The Trenches

In the Trenches (ITT) is an interactive online publication designed to provide a venue for NAGT members to learn about and discuss teaching strategies and resources, the work of NAGT committees, sections, and divisions, and other ideas relevant to Earth educators and education researchers. Share your work through ITT!

Check out ITT's July Articles

Finding the Feedback Loop in the Field, by Logan D. Brenner, Thomas F. Shipley, Kim A. Kastens, and Alexandra Davatzes. This article outlines a set of easy-to-deploy field-based activities, in which students connect the feedback loops they observe in the field to concepts introduced in the classroom.

We announced the 2025 OEST Section and State Winners in June's NAGTNews. You can learn more about these outstanding Earth Science Teachers in the ITT two-part series.

Suggest ITT Content Submit an Article

Teach the Earth

Teach the Earth (TTE) is a portal to thousands of resources from dozens of Earth Education websites. Managed by NAGT, this portal supports teaching and learning about the Earth by providing online resources for K-12 and undergraduate educators in the geosciences and related fields. Resources include classroom activities, course descriptions and syllabi, information about pedagogical strategies, topical collections, and more.

Featured Exemplary Resource: Hurricanes and Heat Transfer

It is hurricane season after all! In this activity, students investigate how hurricanes transfer heat by conducting hands-on experiments on adiabatic expansion, convection cells, and dew point measurements. Students use maps to calculate energy transfer, then relate what they have learned to scientific findings published in articles. While this resource was designed for upper high school courses, it can be easily adapted for use in college courses.

Help update valuable teaching resources - contribute resource updates to the Community Contribution Tool

Have you made modifications to resources on SERC sites? Use the Community Contribution Tool (CCT) to share with others and keep these valued online resources current. Many data-rich InTeGrate and GETSI modules were recently updated. CCT is now available on all SERC-host activities.

NAGT celebrates our 2025 Association Awardees!

Stephen R. Lindberg - Bob Christman Distinguished Service Award

Congratulations to Dr. Stephen R. Lindberg, recipient of NAGT's Bob Christman Distinguished Service Award. As a geologist and geoscience educator; Steve maintains a strong commitment to bring geoscience education to both students and others. He considers the geosciences an extremely valid part of scientific literacy and educating citizens about the importance of understanding earth systems, natural processes and the impact they have on our daily lives.

Laura Guertin - Neil Miner Stimulation of Interest in the Earth Sciences Award

NAGT celebrates Dr. Laura Guertin who has been named the Neil Miner Award winner. Guertin is a passionate geoscience educator at Penn State Brandywine and also connects with non-STEM audiences outside of the classroom through science communication events in-person and online. Since 2018, she has been creating quilts as tools for science storytelling, generating thematic collections on the Louisiana coast and her time at sea on JOIDES Resolution. She is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Rachel Phillips - Jim H. Shea Excellence in Earth Science Writing & Editing Award

NAGT applauds the selection of Dr. Rachel Phillips as the James Shea Awardee. As a science communicator, Rachel has created a YouTube channel, @GeoGirl with over 330 videos that have been viewed more than 5.5 million times by people from around the globe. Rachel has made significant progress toward improving the accessibility and perceptions of geoscience and is currently a Science Communication Fellow for the Geological Society of America.

Samuel Cornelius Nyarko - Excellence in JEDI Award

NAGT congratulates Dr. Samuel Cornelius Nyarko of Indiana University Indianapolis. Through his service to NAGT's DEI Committee, AGI's Inter-Society DEI Committee, and the ICON framework, Sammy has demonstrated exceptional leadership in advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in geoscience education. In his research, Dr. Nyarko has developed inclusive practices for use by departments and in classrooms to support the belonging of people who are often marginalized.

JGE Outstanding Paper and Reviewer Awards

JGE Outstanding Paper Award 2025 Recipients

Ryker, K., Lukes, L., Klyce, A., Cheek, K., LaDue, N. D., & McNeal, P. (2024). The geoscience education research (GER) community of practice: a brief history and implications from a needs assessment survey. Journal of Geoscience Education, 73(2), 91-105. https://doi.org/10.1080/10899995.2024.2355821

JGE Outstanding Reviewer Award 2025 Recipient

Lindsay Mossa, American Geosciences Institute

Congratulations to our Member Awardees!

David W. Curry - AGI Ed Roy Award

Congratulations NAGT Member and 2024 OEST Awardee David W. Curry on being named the recipient of the American Geoscience Institute's (AGI) Edward C. Roy Jr. Award for Excellence in K-8 Earth Science Teaching. David is an Earth and space science teacher at Newtown Middle School in Newtown, Pennsylvania.

NAGTNews Community Kudos

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!

Workshops

NAGT at GSA Connects 2025

San Antonio, Texas, 19–22 October 2025

NAGT is pleased to sponsor a variety of sessions, workshops, short courses, field trips, and meetings at the upcoming Geological Society of America annual meeting, GSA Connects 2025. Please consider attending sessions highlighting key issues of importance to geoscience educators at all levels. For those who will be onsite in San Antonio, we will have some information at the NAGT booth. Be sure to check the NAGT at GSA Connects 2025 page for upcoming information about NAGT activities at GSA.

Visit us at Booth #716 in the exhibit hall! The NAGT booth will be open all week. If you are interested in helping staff the NAGT booth, please contact Brianna Douglas (bdouglas@carleton.edu). Meet up at the booth for NAGTeas, informal gatherings around a variety of topics! Hot water, tea, and mugs will be available--or bring your own! Gatherings will happen at the table at the NAGT booth or adjacent tables in the exhibit hall, as needed. These will be scheduled closer to the conference.

Association Business Meetings

NAGT meetings, including the annual business meeting of the association, and meetings for each Division, will be held virtually in advance of GSA. These meetings provide opportunities to hear about NAGT activities in the past year and plans for the future. Keep an eye out for scheduling details as they become available.

Geoscience Education Reception

Be sure to join us for the Geo-Ed Reception. The date and time will be announced soon.

Socials and Receptions

If you are you hosting a geoscience education-related reception, contact Brianna Douglas (bdouglas@carleton.edu) to have your reception listed on the NAGT at GSA Connects 2025 page.

AGU25 Faculty Travel Grants

Are you an early- to mid-career geoscience faculty member? Are you a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident? Do you work at a two-year college or four-year college/university? Are you interested in attending the American Geophysical Union annual conference in New Orleans? Do you need financial assistance to cover travel expenses in order to attend this conference?

If your answers are 'yes' please consider applying for the AGU-Education Section's travel grant through an NSF-funded pilot project. These grants will support up to 50 early-to-mid career faculty from under-resourced U.S. undergraduate-focused institutions to attend, in-person, the AGU25 annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. 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!

Applications due September 3

Traveling Workshops: Bring Our Experienced Leaders to You

The Traveling Workshops Program (TWP) brings NAGT's professional development program to you, working with you to customize a workshop to meet your group's needs. 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 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! Choose your workshop or learn more about the program.

Request a Traveling Workshop

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Webinars

NAGT Webinars are on YouTube!

Did you miss a webinar hosted by NAGT? Check out the NEW NAGT Webinar Series YouTube Channel! Find a selection of recordings from webinars in the series and sponsored projects at your fingertips. Remember to subscribe!

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Fireside Chats

Holding Ground: Navigating as a DEI Advocate in Hostile Climates

Virtual - Saturday, 13 September 2025, 11:00 AM PT/12:00 PM MT/1:00 PM CT/2:00 PM ET

Connect with fellow DEI advocates in geoscience. Share your story. Get support. Keep going.

DEI work in geoscience education is as urgent as it is exhausting, especially in increasingly hostile environments. Whether you're holding ground in your department, building coalitions, or just trying to make it through the semester, you're not alone. Join fellow geoscience educators, including past NAGT Excellence in JEDI award winners, for a community-centered conversation about the realities of advocating for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in today's climate.

Structure of the Chat

• First Hour - Structured yet relaxed.
Guided discussion on key themes, with plenty of space for reflection. This portion concludes with a soft stop, and participants can choose to leave or stay.
• Second Hour (Optional) - Open space, deeper connection. Participant-driven conversation. Bring your questions, your stories, or just your presence. Stay for deeper discussion, mutual support, and co-thinking.

Come as you are. Stay for as long as you need. Whether you're burned out, fired up, or somewhere in between, we're holding this space for you.

Register Online