Earth Science Week: Earth Science Everywhere
October 13-19, 2024
NAGT joins the American Geosciences Institute and many other Earth Science organizations to celebrate Earth Science Everywhere during this year's Earth Science Week with the resource-rich toolkit, contests, and webinars.
Each day there will be a specific theme and resources to support education and outreach efforts.
- Sunday, October 13: International Earthcache Day
- Monday, October 14: Minerals Day
- Tuesday, October 15: Earth Observation Day and No Child Left Inside Day
- Wednesday, October 16: National Fossil Day
- Thursday, October 17: Geoscience for Everyone Day
- Friday, October 18: Geologic Map Day
- Saturday, October 19: International Archaeology Day
Annual Business and Council Meeting
Friday, October 11, 2024 (Open to all current members; Online) 8:30-10:00am PT / 9:30-11:00am MT / 10:30am-12:00pm CT/ 11:30am-1:00pm ET
All members are invited to attend the NAGT Virtual Annual Business Meeting. This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with fellow members and learn about our exciting activities from the past year, as well as our plans for the future. Your voice matters, and we would love to have you with us as we reflect on our accomplishments and engage in meaningful discussions about our direction moving forward.
The Zoom connection link/information will be made available on the 2024 GSA Activities and Sessions page.
Nominate a Student for the NAGT/USGS Cooperative Summer Fellowship
Nominations due October 30, 2024
The NAGT/USGS Cooperative Summer Fellowship Program is an internship program that matches promising undergraduate students at or near the end of their degree with mentors and projects at the USGS across all mission areas. The USGS accesses an exceptional pool of student workers, and the NAGT furthers its goal of promoting high quality earth education. Student interns benefit from the mentorship of well-established scientists while gaining valuable experience as a member of a research team at an internationally acclaimed science agency.
Nominate a student by October 30
In The Trenches
Contribute your original content to the new In the Trenches (ITT). ITT provides the chance to contribute and start a professional conversation about successful strategies 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. Articles will be published online as they are finished, and each article will include a threaded discussion board, providing the community with 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 NAGT. Sign up to receive updates as new articles are released and browse by categories. You can still express your interest in contributing through a form, or contact the editor, Redina Finch, directly.
Suggest ITT ContentSubmit an Article
Journal of Geoscience Education
Join JGE's Associate Editor Team
Applications due November 1, 2024
Applications are due November 1, 2024 to be considered for our 2025-2027 team of Associate Editors at the Journal of Geoscience Education. If you enjoy being a part of the review process, serving as an AE is an opportunity to follow papers from submission through to publication. More information about the position can be found at NAGT.org.
Article of the Month
Each month, the editorial staff of JGE select a paper to be free to access. For October 2024, they selected Using observation protocols to reliably measure teaching practice in the classroom and advance the GER Community Framework by Katherine Ryker, Rachel Teasdale, and Kelsey Bitting published online June 3, 2024. Congratulations authors!
The Journal of Geoscience Education is always looking for submissions related to learning and teaching in the geosciences and related domains.
The Geological Mind: A joint effort between NAGT and GSA Today
GSA Today is featuring a year-long series of essays co-authored by members Basil Tikoff, a structural geologist, and Tim Shipley, a cognitive scientist, and edited by Executive Director Anne Egger. You may be familiar with Basil and Tim's work from the Spatial Thinking Workbook or their many other collaborative efforts to elucidate how geoscientists think. In the October issue of GSA Today, you can find the most recent essay, Shark Bay, Australia and the Centrality of Analogical Thinking.
Explore Exemplary Teach the Earth Activities 
Teach the Earth 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.
Teach the Earth activities are reviewed regularly. Exemplary Teaching Activities score very well on 5 review elements (scientific veracity; alignment of goals, activity, and assessment; pedagogical effectiveness; robustness; and completeness of the description). You can find high-quality activities by searching for subject, grade level, and online readiness.
October's Teach the Earth Featured Resource: Hurricane Impacts
Support students' understanding of recent events by leveraging the activities in this InTeGrate Natural Hazards & Risks Module.
Earth Educators' Rendezvous 2026
Hosting the Rendezvous is a great way to showcase your department, institution, and your geographical region. The Rendezvous brings the nation's leading Earth Educators to your school and opens up opportunities for your colleagues to participate. Another way to support EER is to become a sponsor and connect with hundreds of Earth Educators in Earth, ocean, atmospheric sciences and allied fields who are at a wide range of career stages and from a variety of institutions and organizations. EER26 will also offer spaces for exhibitors to showcase materials if your organization would like to connect with Earth educators.
Host EER26 Sponsor EER26 Exhibit at EER26
Join the EER Email list to stay in the loop!
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, GSA GER, & CUR Joint Virtual Awards Ceremony
Friday, October 18, 2024 8:30-9:30am PT / 9:30-10:30am MT / 10:30-11:30am CT / 11:30am-12:30pm ET
We are thrilled to invite you to the upcoming NAGT, GSA GER, & CUR Virtual Joint Awards Ceremony 2024 where we'll celebrate the incredible achievements of our awardees and welcome our new officers. This virtual event is open to everyone, so invite your friends, family, and colleagues to join in the celebration! We look forward to seeing you there!
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!
Teaching with Investigation & Design in the Undergraduate Science Classroom
October 21, 2024 12-1 PM Pacific | 1-2 PM Mountain | 2-3 PM Central | 3-4 PM Eastern
Learn about and explore new materials for teaching with investigation and design in introductory undergraduate Earth and physical science courses through the NSF-funded TIDeS project. Led by Anne Egger, Mark Abolins, Natalie Bursztyn, Sandra Penny, and Karen Viskupic.
NAGT at AGU24
December 9-13, 2024 in Washington, D.C.
NAGT is co-sponsoring several sessions at the American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting of 2024 in Washington, D.C. from December 9 to 13. Find us at the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) booth! Registration opens in mid-August.
Traveling Workshops: Bring Our Experienced Leaders to You
Requests accepted anytime
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.
Learn more about the history of the Traveling Workshop Program in April's In the Trenches and in AGU's June 2024 Eos.
Geo2YC Division
Geo2YC Division Fireside Chats return for Fall 2024
The Geo2YC Division Executive Committee is back with another semester of "fireside" chats on Zoom. These sessions are open to Geo2YC members, as well as anyone you want to bring along - invite your colleagues to attend. Days and times will vary to allow participation from coast to coast. Our goal is to have an hour-long, informal discussion on topics of interest to the membership - we'll provide a starting topic, and see where conversation takes us. We hope these sessions will serve as a opportunity to connect, build community, and share ideas in real time. So, pour yourself a cup of coffee, grab a snack, and join us!
Friday, October 11 - 3PM Eastern/12PM Pacific - Teaching in Shortened Sessions: As more 2YCs push toward abbreviated academic sessions (5, 7, or 8-week terms) let's talk about how to overcome challenges of "covering all the content" and keeping the value-added extras (e.g. field work, career exploration, and more).
Geo2YC is looking for Volunteers
Come be part of the NAGT-Geo2YC community! The Geo2YC Division is looking for volunteers to serve on our Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award committee. Committee members are responsible for reviewing nominations on a quarterly basis, communicating with awardees, and preparing a short write-up about the awardees for the quarterly Geo2YC newsletter, Foundations. We are also looking for a volunteer to support the efforts of the NAGT webinar committee. This committee meets virtually several times a year to plan and recruit for the NAGT webinar series. Having a 2YC voice on the committee helps to ensure topics of interest to our community are included in the webinar offerings.
If interested in these positions, email Karen Layou (Geo2YC newsletter editor) at klayou@reynolds.edu for more info.
Geoscience Education Research (GER) Division
The Geoscience Education Research Division (GER) is committed to the promotion of high quality, scholarly research in geoscience education that improves teaching and learning in K-12, higher education, and informal learning environments.
Teacher Education (TED) Division 
The NAGT Teacher Education Division (TED) seeks to improve geoscience teaching by improving teacher content and pedagogical knowledge and by encouraging research on best teaching practices. You can find us on facebook!
Nominate Yourself or Your Colleagues for an NAGT Committee
Much of NAGT's work is accomplished through the work of members who volunteer their time and effort on our committees. Many of the committees are seeking new members to help to guide the work of our organization. For more information about each committee and to nominate yourself or a colleague, please visit NAGT's Get Involved in NAGT Leadership web page.
Nominate Yourself or a Colleague Now!
ADVANCEing FieldSafety Training Program Launch
ADVANCEing FieldSafety is excited to share the official launch of the ADVANCEing FieldSafety training program! The training program was developed to help the field-going community in creating and building safe and welcoming field environments. The training program consists of an asynchronous online course, a virtually facilitated debrief workshop, and an accompanying toolkit full of resources and templates for you and your team to use in the field. Visit our website to learn more!
Sign up for the brand new ADVANCING FieldSafety online course, the synchronous debrief workshop, and check out our toolkit to support field teams in planning welcoming, inclusive, and safe field campaigns.
C-ChanGe Seeks First Cohort of Faculty Change Agents
The newly launched Cultural Change in Geoscience (C-ChanGe) project is seeking faculty members interested in working together to make impactful change for geoscience inclusion and equity, and to become part of a national community of practice dedicated to creating positive cultural change in their departments and the discipline. We are looking for teams of three from geoscience or closely related departments to become the first cohort of Change Agents in the program. Selected teams will work together in leadership and professional development activities through virtual and face-to-face formats and connect with a network of thought leaders while sharing their learning with their home departments. Stipends are available for participants.
For more information and to apply to be a part of the program, see the Call for Participation on the C-ChanGe website. Application deadline is November 22, 2024.
Survey Exploring Connections between University Field STEM & Outdoor Programming
If you are a university STEM instructor interested in field education OR if you are involved in outdoor experiential education (academic, co-curricular, private sector) and you have questions that keep you up at night, please consider completing this survey. It should take 15 minutes or less.
This survey study is being conducted to:
- Better understand the landscape of STEM (e.g., biology, ecology, geology, environmental studies, etc) and Outdoor Experiential Education and Recreation Program (academic and co-curricular) field activities
- Identify the current extent to which university STEM and Outdoor Experiential Education and/or Recreation programs are already collaborating across the higher education landscape in the United States,
- Identify potential opportunities and barriers to developing such collaborators, and
- Identify potential stakeholders (like you?) who would be interested in working further to develop such collaborations at their local institution(s).
Please share with anyone or group lists that you feel might be interested!
NSF Funds SERC-Hosted Workshop to Foster Cultural Change and Belonging in Geoscience Education
The Science Education Resource Center (SERC) has been awarded an NSF grant to host the "Belonging in Geoscience Education Workshop: Planning to Enact Cultural Change." Scheduled to take place following the AGU annual meeting, this workshop will convene invited geoscientists, educators, and change agents to explore strategies for fostering cultural change and a sense of belonging in geoscience education.
The workshop will focus on enhancing geoscience professional development programs by integrating perspectives from historically marginalized groups and experts in institutional change. Participants will engage in discussions centered on departmental culture, creating inclusive spaces, supporting change efforts, and sustaining these initiatives. The outcomes will guide future programming aimed at cultivating a thriving and diverse geoscience community.
Aligned with the goals of NAGT, this initiative seeks to ensure that professional development remains relevant and impactful. Recommendations from the workshop will be made publicly available to inform best practices across STEM education.
Order Your 2024 Earth Science Week Toolkit
The Earth Science Week Toolkit is available to be ordered now! Compiled by the American Geosciences Institute, the toolkit contains a wealth of resources to support Earth Science Week (October 13-19), celebrating the theme "Earth Science Everywhere."
NAGT is a proud contributor to the toolkit, which is free and available for just the cost of USPS domestic shipping and handling, $9.75 for the first toolkit and $2.75 for each additional. See the AGI Store for special pricing on a multi-pack of three years' toolkits addressing different topics. For special shipping, bulk orders, and more information, email jr@americangeosciences.org.
Middle and High School Teachers Opportunity
Western Washington University Geology Masters Student, Mattea Horn, is recruiting middle and high school Earth science, environmental science, general science, and biology teachers to participate in her thesis project, "Using Exploration-Based Activities and 3D-Modeled Fossils as Tools to Introduce Geoscience Concepts in the Classroom." This study aims to increase the accessibility of geology and paleontology education by making the geosciences more approachable and interesting to a wider variety of people through the use of a newly designed activity.
The activity uses exploration-based learning and 3D models of different fossils to encourage students to engage with the processes involved in scientific inquiry. Participating teachers will proctor an activity for their classroom that involves students interacting with the 3D models, answering questions on a worksheet, and completing brief pre- and post-test surveys to assess changes in their attitudes towards STEM and geoscience. Teachers will answer questions in an online survey prior to participation in the study and participate in virtual focus groups after data collection.
If participating in this project sounds interesting to you, please reach out to Mattie at hornem3@wwu.edu.
Vote Earth Campaign
You are invited to participate in the non-partisan Vote Earth Campaign, a collaboration between the EARTHDAY.ORG Campus Coalition, Student PIRG's New Voters Project, and Solve Climate by 2030 Project (Co-directed by NAGT member Dr. David E. Blockstein, Bard College). This initiative aims to empower students, faculty, and administrators to engage in the democratic process. The campaign focuses on making voter registration and education accessible and straightforward. We are committed to supporting you with the resources needed to integrate voter engagement into your classroom activities, and we would be honored to have your support.
Here's how the campaign can assist you:
- Non-Partisan Voter Registration Portal: Easy access for students to register to vote.
- Pledge to Vote Earth Portal: A tool for students to commit to voting with the Earth in mind.
- Federal Race and Candidate Lists: Up-to-date information on candidates and races.
- In-Class Voter Registration Guide and Slideshow: Step-by-step instructions and QR codes for guiding students through registration.
- Optional Virtual, Non-Partisan Voter Registration Training: Earth Day will be hosting a comprehensive registration training session.
If you are interested in incorporating these resources into your classroom, send a brief email to Libby Bunch, Campus Outreach Associate, letting the team know you plan to use the resources! This will help us keep track of the campuses that use our resources. If you would like to learn more or would like to explore future opportunities to collaborate with EARTHDAY.ORG, please schedule a zoom call with the Earth Day team. We are excited to work with you in fostering a more engaged and informed student body.
San Diego Mesa College seeks a Contract Earth Science Instructor
San Diego Mesa College Physical Sciences Department seeks energetic and dedicated candidates to apply for a position as an Earth Science Contract Instructor. The primary teaching duties for this position will be geology courses for non-majors; secondary assignments may include oceanography courses. Additional responsibilities will include supervising and instructing students, maintaining office hours for student help, advisement and counseling, participating with other college faculty on academic committees, assisting in the development of curriculum and a willingness to take on leadership responsibilities within the department. Qualifications Master's in geology, geophysics, earth sciences, meteorology, oceanography or paleontology OR Bachelor's in geology AND Master's in geography, physics, or geochemistry OR the equivalent.
Assistant Professor in Earth Surface Processes at California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) seeks an outstanding scholar and committed teacher who will establish an innovative and inclusive research and teaching program in Earth Surface Processes, complementing existing departmental strengths. Candidates should have experience working with various Earth Surface Processes approaches, including but not limited to geomorphic and subsurface investigations, GPS, and various field survey methods. The successful candidate should have experience in the processes that create and shape landscapes, the processes that modify stratigraphy, and connecting these processes to their drivers. In addition, the successful candidate may demonstrate knowledge in geologic hazards, remote sensing, or sediment dynamics. USUF expects candidates to show evidence of an existing or the potential to develop an active, externally-funded, student-centered research program and the ability and enthusiasm to teach introductory-level courses and upper-division/graduate courses related to Earth Surface Processes, emphasizing field and laboratory skills. The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to and participate in the life and development of the department, advise students from diverse ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, serve on committees, and participate in the broader university and disciplinary communities. Because many CSUF students enter the applied geology industry, the candidate will be expected to develop professional relationships within the broader environmental and engineering geology industry in Southern California.
Assistant Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences at Bates College
The Department of Earth and Climate Sciences at Bates College invites applications for a full time, tenure-track Assistant Professor in Earth Materials to begin August 1, 2025. They are seeking an outstanding scholar with strong commitments to excellent undergraduate teaching and mentorship in a liberal arts context. The successful candidate will have expertise in a field of solid earth geoscience, including, but not limited to: igneous or metamorphic petrology, high-temperature geochemistry, mineralogy, tectonics, geomechanics, volcanology, mineral exploration, or planetary geology.
The position carries a five-course unit annual teaching load. The duties of the position include the three main areas of faculty work: teaching, professional achievement, and governance and engagement. The standards of excellence for faculty at Bates are articulated in Article II of the faculty handbook, and include a commitment to inclusive and evidence-based pedagogy, impactful professional work, and contributions to the broader Bates community. The successful applicant will offer courses in plate tectonics, earth materials, and upper-level courses in their field of expertise each year, and will teach in the general education curriculum, provide academic advising, and mentor student theses. Successful candidates will also be expected to develop an independent research program that includes undergraduates.
Assistant Professor of Critical Minerals Geology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville
The Department of Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, invites applications for a nine-month, tenure-line faculty position in Critical Mineral Geology. The successful applicant will be hired at the rank of Assistant Professor, with an anticipated start date of August 1st, 2025.
We seek to hire a geoscientist whose expertise in critical minerals complements the existing strengths of the Department of Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences, including sedimentary and structural geology, experimental petrology, trace element and isotope geochemistry, environmental science, and planetary geoscience. The Knoxville campus of the University of Tennessee is seeking candidates who can contribute in meaningful ways to the diversity and intercultural goals of the University.
Available Samples 
Desired Specimens
- Small rural school needs a classroom rock and mineral collection
- Science Department Head/Earth Science Teacher
- Deformation Microstructures
- #50States50Rocks
- Precambrian chert. Stromatolites
Post in the Rock and Mineral Exchange
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Questions? Comments? Reach out to the NAGT Media Editor, Cheryl Manning, at media-editor@nagt.org.
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