View online supplements for In the Trenches at http://nagt.org/nagt/publications/trenches/index.html.
In This Issue
News & Announcements
- NAGT Activities and Workshops at GSA
- NAGT Activities and Workshops at AGU
- Volunteer to Staff the NAGT Booth at GSA and/or AGU
- Celebrating the 2018 Outstanding Earth Science Teacher (OEST) Award Winners
- Renew Your NAGT Membership for 2019
- Exclusive NAGT Member Discount on Select Taylor & Francis Titles
- Call for InTeGrate Webinar Proposals
- AGI Announces new Earth Science Week Online Toolkit
- AGI Announces GeoSource--An Expanded Collection of Earth Science Teaching Resources
- Teaching Climate Science? Leading Teachers and Scientists Explain NSTA's New Position Statement and Answer Your Questions
Upcoming Webinars
- InTeGrate Webinar: Using Context Diversity to help students thrive while broadening diversity in the geosciences
- InTeGrate Webinar: Sustaining Your Interdisciplinary Environmental and Sustainability Program
- NGSS Webinar: Quickly Increasing Anthropogenic Global Warming Acceptance
Deadlines
- Register to be a Reviewer for the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program by Oct 31
- Apply to be an Associate Editor of JGE by Nov 10
- Register now for the AGU Heads and Chairs Workshop
- AGI Seeking Nominations for Officers and Awards
Section and Division Highlights
NAGT Career Hub
- NAGT Executive Director Search
- Lecturer, Department of Geosciences, Boise State University
- Research Assistant/Associate in Geosciences and/or Geoscience Educational Research, Concord Consortium
- Tenure-track Assistant Professor of Geology, Cornell College
- Assistant Professor of Geology, Utah Valley University
- Assistant Professor of Geology, Carleton College
- Paleontology and Historical Geology Full-Time Lecturer (non-tenure-track), Tufts University
Rock and Mineral Exchange
1. NAGT Activities and Workshops at GSA
The Geological Society of America Annual Meeting is right around the corner, taking place in Indianapolis, Indiana, from November 4-7. Be sure to check out all of the NAGT and education activities (workshops, field trips, topical sessions, meetings and events) going on at GSA. NAGT is cosponsoring a number of events on a wide array of important education topics. You can see all the NAGT sponsored events at GSA on NAGT's GSA webpage.
Don't forget to stop by our booth (#314) in the exhibit hall to learn about recent NAGT activities, learn about sponsored projects, and connect with other NAGT members and staff working the booth.
2. NAGT Activities and Workshops at AGU
Following GSA, NAGT is proud to sponsor several workshops and events as part of the AGU Fall Meeting, taking place December 10-16 in Washington, D.C. Be sure to check out the NAGT workshops and related educational sessions going on at AGU. You can see all the NAGT programming and associated sessions happening at AGU's Fall Meeting on NAGT's AGU webpage.
Don't forget to stop by our booth (#811) for the most up-to-date information on upcoming NAGT workshops, educational resources, and teaching activities. We hope to see you there!
3. Volunteer to staff the NAGT booth at GSA and/or AGU
Seeking Volunteers for the NAGT Booth at GSA and AGU - We are actively soliciting NAGT members to help staff the booth during the GSA and AGU annual meetings. This is a great way to meet other NAGT members from around the country and share your excitement about geoscience education. Your commitment and enthusiasm are critical to helping bring new members on board. If you've never volunteered at the booth before, it's so easy! And there will be experienced NAGT officers and staff on-hand to offer guidance and assistance across your shift. If you have even a little time you can share to represent NAGT, please contact Amy Collette (acollette at carleton dot edu) in the Executive Director's Office and she can get you on the schedule. Remember, volunteering at the booth is also an excellent way to increase awareness of your own work and efforts--we're so proud of all that NAGT members accomplish!
4. Celebrating the 2018 Outstanding Earth Science Teacher (OEST) Award Winners
The winners of the 2018 Outstanding Earth Science Teacher Awards have been announced on the NAGT website. Please join us in congratulating this year's winners for their incredible efforts toward advancing Earth science education.
5. Renew Your NAGT Membership for 2019
It's that time of year again--fall marks the beginning of NAGT's membership renewal period! We encourage you to renew now so that you receive uninterrupted membership benefits in 2019.
NAGT is deeply thankful for everyone whose commitment to geoscience education leads them to become a member and support the work of the Association. Now is the time to start thinking about renewing your membership for 2019, which you can do easily here.
Remember that you can sign-up for automatic renewals or multi-year memberships if you want to easily continue receiving membership benefits without worrying about letting them lapse. Please also consider an added donation this year--NAGT programs and activities are more innovative, far-reaching, and effective because of your support!
What makes NAGT? The answer is simple: our valued members. Whether you're interested in promoting Earth literacy, keen on joining a community of peers, passionate about teaching the sciences, or eager to learn about new teaching tools and resources, NAGT has so much to offer. Need a reminder of the great benefits of being an NAGT member? Check out the Member Benefits webpage.
6. Exclusive NAGT Member Discount on Select Taylor & Francis Titles
Taylor and Francis, the publisher of NAGT's Journal of Geoscience Education, also publishes resource and academic texts under a number of imprints. As part of NAGT's partnership with this publisher, NAGT members are offered an exclusive 30 percent discount on a list of titles from now until December 31. The full list of discounted topical books, and instructions on the discount code at the top of the webpage, can be located using this member-only link or by using the URL bit.ly/NAGTmembers.
Also, don't miss the opportunity to apply to be an Associate Editor for the Journal of Geoscience Education in the subsequent Deadlines section of this newsletter.
7. Call for InTeGrate Webinar Proposals
The InTeGrate project runs an approximately bi-weekly webinar series during the academic year. These webinars focus on topics related to using InTeGrate materials or conducting programming to forward the main InTeGrate themes. In Fall 2018, the focus will be on supporting new users of the materials, promoting learning about Earth for diverse audiences, incorporating InTeGrate themes in K-12 teacher preparation, and teaching sustainability across the curriculum. Leading an InTeGrate webinar offers presenters the unique opportunity to promote teaching materials and pedagogies, prominently share resources and ideas with peers, and increase involvement in InTeGrate's growing community of educators. Leading a webinar is also an excellent way to create an online-accessible, professional-quality resource related to your teaching practice that you can easily add to your portfolio or share as a representation of your pedagogy and/or work.
The InTeGrate project expects to welcome new webinars in Fall 2018, but space is limited, so don't delay if you have a webinar idea you wish to propose. Please use this form to share your suggestions for InTeGrate webinars. You may propose a topic, suggest a presenter, or express your interest in leading a webinar.
8. AGI Announces New Earth Science Week Online Toolkit
For the first time this year, AGI is excited to offer the Earth Science Week Online Toolkit, just in time to celebrate Earth Science Week 2018 (October 14-20), which focuses on the theme of "Earth as Inspiration."
As a digital complement to our popular Earth Science Week Toolkit, which annually ships to 14,000 teachers and geoscientists, the Online Toolkit provides a curated selection of materials from Earth Science Week Toolkits past and present.
The Online Toolkit currently offers over 30 classroom activities, posters, and calendars, including many of the items that shipped with this year's Toolkit. Additionally, the Online Toolkit contains resources going back to 2015, as well as several resources that are available exclusively online.
9. AGI Launches Education GeoSource--an Expanded Collection of Earth Science Teaching Resources
Education GeoScource provides Earth science educational activities, curricula, teacher professional development, education standards, virtual field trips, videos and animations, assessment materials, funding opportunities, award information, organization contacts, and additional resources. Education GeoSource (formerly the Education Resources Network) newly boasts enhanced functionality, offers more than 3,500 resources, and is growing week by week. The website makes it easer than ever to find what you're seeking, for example, allowing users to search for activities by a given standard of the Next Generation Science Standards.
10. Teaching Climate Science? Leading Teachers and Scientists Explain NSTA's New Position Statement and Answer Your Questions
NSTA recently issued a position statement calling for greater support for science educators in teaching evidence-based science, including climate science and climate change. The statement promotes the teaching of climate science as any other established field of science and calls on teachers to reject pressures to eliminate or de-emphasize climate-based science concepts in science instruction. The statement acknowledges the decades of research and overwhelming scientific consensus indicating with increasing certainty that Earth's climate is changing, largely due to human impacts. It also establishes that any controversies regarding climate change and its causes that are based on social, economic, or political arguments--and not scientific evidence--should not be part of a science curriculum. Read more about the statement and access climate resources here.
NSTA asked a few members of the position statement panel to give science teachers further insights on important issues related to the teaching of climate science. Read their responses here.
1. InTeGrate Webinar--Beyond Teaching: Using context diversity to help students thrive while broadening diversity in the geosciences
On October 22 at 12pm CT, presenters Gary Weissmann and Roberto Ibarra (University of New Mexico) will lead a webinar on the subject of using context diversity to help students thrive while broadening diversity in the geosciences as part of a series supporting teaching with InTeGrate principles, using InTeGrate-developed and curated materials as tools. This webinar will describe how multicontext theory offers a new understanding of diversity in ways of knowing and doing.
Presently, the culture of STEM tends to value "low context" approaches to scientific inquiry (e.g., individuated, task-oriented, compartmentalized task and concept orientation, and linear and logical thought processes) while "high context" approaches are often less valued (e.g., integrated, process-oriented, holistic, and systems thinking). Multicontext theory allows us to articulate these cultural contexts and apply them to reframe our approaches to scientific inquiry and teaching, thus activating the full strengths of diverse populations.
At the end of this webinar, participants will be introduced to Multicontext Theory and Context Diversity; be able to see how Context Diversity may influence their teaching, research, and academic careers; and be provided with examples of how to activate Context Diversity concepts in their departments and classrooms.
Participants must register for this webinar by October 18.
2. InTeGrate Webinar--Sustaining Your Interdisciplinary Environmental and Sustainability Program: Opportunities and Resources
On October 31 at 11am CT, presenters David Blockstein (Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences), Sue Ebanks (Savannah State University), and Walter Robinson (North Carolina State University) will lead a webinar on the subject of sustaining your interdisciplinary environmental and sustainability program as part of a series supporting teaching with InTeGrate principles, using InTeGrate-developed and curated materials as tools. This webinar is designed for leaders or faculty in existing or developing interdisciplinary environmental and sustainability programs that extend beyond a single department. We will discuss challenges and opportunities for these programs, and describe resources including the NAGT Traveling Workshop Program, content on the website of the Science Education Resource Center (SERC), the Association for Environmental Sciences and Studies (AESS) and the scholarship of Dr. Shirley Vincent, formerly of the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE). Participants will be encouraged to share their own experiences.
At the end of this webinar, participants will learn approaches for meeting the challenges and opportunities of interdisciplinary programs; learn about resources for interdisciplinary environmental and sustainability programs; and have opportunities to share their own situations and provide suggestions and raise questions.
Participants must register for this webinar by October 29.
3. NGSS-ESS Working Group Webinar--Quickly Increasing Anthropogenic Global Warming Acceptance
On November 8 at 3pm CT, presenter Michael Ranney (UC Berkeley) will lead a webinar on the subject of quickly increasing anthropogenic global warming acceptance as part of a webinar series on implementing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Professor Ranney and colleagues repeatedly showed that conservatives and liberals alike increase their acceptance that climate change is human-caused after viewing brief, highly-crafted, "bits" of scientific information (e.g., Ranney & Clark, 2016). These micro-curricula (i.e., mostly under six minutes) include compelling statistics, temperature graphs, inundation maps, and mechanism-explaining texts and videos (see the multi-language HowGlobalWarmingWorks.org for examples). Information about scientists' non-bias, and how global warming can be inexpensively inhibited, may prove similarly compelling. Ranney's research group's convincing interventions, perhaps even a haiku he wrote (Ranney, et al., 2016), may even improve students'/parents' decisions about which policies and candidates to support.
Participants must register for this webinar by November 6.
1.Register to be a Reviewer for the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program by Oct 31
The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship (AEF) Program provides a unique opportunity for accomplished K - 12 educators in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to serve in the national education arena in Washington, DC. Fellows spend 11 months working in a Federal agency or U.S. Congressional office, bringing their extensive classroom knowledge and experiences to STEM education programs and/or education policy efforts.
All eligible applications are subject to merit-based peer review by external professionals experienced and knowledgeable in STEM education as part of the process to select the most outstanding, qualified applicants. Critical to the integrity and quality of the review process is the participation of volunteer experts as reviewers. Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) is managing the review of applications in collaboration with DOE, which includes the development of a pool of qualified educators, faculty, researchers and professionals in STEM education to serve as reviewers for the AEF Program.
Reviewers with expertise and experience in one or more of the following areas are needed:
- Advancing STEM education and teacher preparation
- Teaching and learning in STEM
- Reviewing education-related fellowship applications and/or grant proposals
- Management and/or execution of federally-sponsored STEM education programs
- STEM leadership at the regional, state and national levels
- Knowledge of STEM education policy at the federal and/or state level
Selected reviewers must be available to review up to 8 application packets between the end of November 2018 through early January 2019. Applications will be made available to reviewers through an online review system. Reviewers will be contacted in early November to confirm their selection as reviewers and to verify their availability to serve during the scheduled review period. To volunteer to be a reviewer, please register here by October 31.
2. Apply to serve as an Associate Editor for JGE by Nov 10
Do you enjoy reviewing manuscripts and providing constructive feedback to authors? Are you interested in engaging more deeply in the review process? Would you like to be more involved in the geoscience education community? If so, you might be interested in serving as an Associate Editor for NAGT's Journal of Geoscience Education. Associate editors (AEs) manage the peer review process for manuscripts submitted to JGE. When assigned a paper by an editor, they seek out and invite appropriate peer reviewers, provide guidance to authors about responding to reviewer comments, and make recommendations to the editors about how to proceed with the manuscript. AEs serve three-year terms, beginning in January and serving through December of the third year. Like reviewers, AEs are volunteers, and we greatly value their contributions to the journal; they are recognized on both the journal website and in the front matter of each print issue of the journal. Read more about this opportunity, and find instructions for applying by the November 10 deadline, here.
3. Register now for the AGU Heads and Chairs Workshop
The AGU Heads and Chairs Workshop will take place on December 9, just prior to the Fall Meeting in Washington, D.C. You do not have to be an AGU member to attend this workshop. The preliminary workshop program is now available. Please register now, as space is limited to the first 60 participants and is offered at no cost to the attendees.
4. AGI Seeking Nominations for Officers and Awards
AGI (American Geosciences Institute), of which NAGT is a member society, had its first Call for 2019 Nominations at last month's Member Society Council meeting in Salt Lake City. AGI is looking to expand its pool of candidates for AGI officers and awards for the 2019 nominations cycle. The strength of the Federation is dependent on having participation from Member Societies in the form of nominations from within their membership to serve on AGI's Executive Committee or receive AGI awards. More information about submitting nominations prior to the February 1 deadline is available here.
See Division award opportunities below!
Eastern Section
- Save the Date for the 2019 Eastern Section Meeting in Martinsburg, West Virginia, hosted by Blue Ridge Community and Technical Collage on Thursday to Saturday, June 6-8 2019.
GER Division
- Please join us for our business meeting on Sunday, Nov. 4th from 6-6:45pm in JW Marriott, White River Ballroom Sections GH. This will immediately follow the Geo2YC and TED business meetings in the same location.
- Please also join for the following sponsored sessions!
- T72. Integrating Active Learning Strategies into College-Level Geoscience Classrooms: Implementation, Effects, and "Lessons Learned" Jason P. Jones, Katherine Ryker, LeeAnna Young Chapman, C. Doug Czajka The integration of active learning strategies into college-level STEM courses has been shown to improve student outcomes. This session will explore the evidence behind incorporating active learning into geoscience courses.
- T76. Beyond the Road-Cut: Virtual, Local, and Nontraditional Field Teaching and Learning Experiences Lauren Neitzke Adamo, Julia Criscione, Jacob Setera, Kelsey S. Bitting Virtual exploration, museum-based assignments, and analysis of geoscience on campus can be more inclusive ways to enhance students' conceptual learning and motivation. This session welcomes presentations describing nontraditional field experiences and evidence of their effectiveness.
- T78. Barriers, Misconceptions, and Progress in Improving Climate Literacy and Strategies for Communicating about Climate Change Don Duggan-Haas, Patrick Chandler, Anne U. Gold This session will focus on research and evaluation of climate literacy efforts and effective ways of communicating about climate change in general but also in cultural relevant contexts.
- T84. Making Sense of Methodologies and Theoretical Frameworks in Geoscience Education Research Katherine Ryker, Karen S. McNeal, Anne Gold, Leilani Arthurs Methods and theoretical frameworks can come from multiple disciplines to shape the forefront of our field. Presenters are encouraged to highlight their decision-making process in research studies that advance the field. New approaches and applications of established methods/frameworks are welcome.
- Know a researcher worth spotlighting, have an article worth reading, or an opportunity worth sharing? Submit to the GER Exchange using this queue. Self nominations are welcomed. Check out the latest edition of the GER Exchange for even more division highlights.
Geo2YC Division
- Deadlines for future Foundations issues:
- Friday, December 8
- Friday, March 2
- Submit your stories, experiences, experiments, photos, awards, etc. to the editor sukismaglik@gmail.com any time prior to each deadline.
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 paper, presentation, or resource you developed or helped develop to share with your fellow Earth educators? Submit to NAGT's Community Kudos!
NAGT Executive Director Search
Read a Letter from Cathy Manduca, Executive Director of NAGT
NAGT is seeking a qualified person to serve as the Association's Executive Director to begin August 2019.
NAGT's mission is to support a diverse, inclusive, and thriving community of educators and education researchers to improve teaching and learning about the Earth. NAGT represents the collective voice of K-12 teachers, college and university faculty, and informal educators in museums and science centers who share a vision to build geoscience expertise and an Earth-literate society through high-quality education. We seek an exceptional Executive Director to build on past successes and to provide strategic leadership to guide NAGT toward new opportunities for growth.To learn more about the position and instructions to apply, visit this website.
Lecturer: Department of Geosciences, Boise State University
The Department of Geosciences at Boise State University invites applications for a permanent full-time Lectureship to begin summer, 2019. Our geoscience lecturers are responsible for delivery of critical lower-division courses (including labs) in geology, geography, and earth system science, and development and delivery of geosciences courses of broad interdisciplinary interest to the greater university community.
Research Assistant/Associate in Geosciences and/or Geoscience Education Research, Concord Consortium
The Concord Consortium (https://concord.org), a nonprofit research and development organization dedicated to transforming STEM education through technology, is looking for a Research Assistant or Research Associate, depending upon qualifications of the applicant. The applicant is expected to be either a geoscientist with geoscience education experience, or specialized in science education with strong geoscience expertise.
Tenure-Track Assistant Professor of Geology, Cornell College
The Cornell College Department of Geology seeks a "soft rock" geologist to serve as the third pillar of its geology faculty and to actively engage with the college's environmental studies, archaeology, and biology programs. The position will begin August 2019.
Assistant Professor of Geology, Utah Valley University
The Department of Earth Science at Utah Valley University (UVU) invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor position in geology, to begin August 2019. In our broad search of talented candidates, we seek a committed educator with expertise in geoscience education, a proven record of effective pedagogy, and a passion for teaching lower-division Earth science courses.
Assistant Professor of Geology, Carleton College
The Geology Department at Carleton College invites applications for a tenure-track position in Climate Science at the level of Assistant Professor to begin fall 2019. We seek applications from broadly trained paleoclimatologists with interdisciplinary backgrounds and expertise in analyzing climate archives, and who can foster already strong ties between Geology and Environmental Studies at Carleton.
Paleontology and Historical Geology Full-Time Lecturer (non-tenure-track), Tufts University
Tufts University invites applications for a full-time lecturer in the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences to begin September 1st 2019. This position is for a 1-year initial contract with possibility of continued renewal of multiyear contracts, and it is included in the union for full-time lecturers (Service Employees International Union).
Need help getting the word out about your position opening, event, or field trip? Submit your posting to the new NAGT Career Hub!
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.
