Find NAGT at GSA!
Attend Sessions, Short Courses, and a Field trip
NAGT is sponsoring several sessions in addition to two short courses and a field trip this year! Learn more at GSA Connects 2024.
Hang out at the Booth
Visit us at booth #703 in the exhibit hall! The NAGT booth will be open all week. We encourage 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.
Interested in helping staff the NAGT booth? Contact Mitchell Bender-Awalt (mawalt@carleton.edu) if you would like to volunteer.
Celebrate at the Geoscience Education Reception
Mon., 23 Sept., 6 p.m.-8 p.m. - Naples Ristorante E Bar
Join us at the annual GSA Geoscience Education Division Reception. This year's reception is sponsored by the GSA Geoscience Education Division, NAGT, NAGT-Far Western Section, American Geosciences Institute, Science Education Resource Center, GeoCUR, and EarthScope Consortium. If you have any questions, contact Larry Collins (collinslb@longwood.edu).
Lunch with the Executive Director
Tuesday, September 24, 2024, 12:00-1:00pm PT
We know you will all miss the awards luncheon this year, which was held on Tuesday in the past. Come have lunch with the Executive Director instead! Bring your own food and beverages and meet us at the NAGT Booth at noon.
NAGT Past Officers' Breakfast (& current officers too!)
Tuesday, September 24, 2024, 7 am PT - Mix Restaurant in the Anaheim Hilton
This is a pay-your-own-way event. We will not have a reservation, but will stake out a few big tables where we can gather. RSVP to Executive Director Anne Egger.
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
This year our annual business meeting will be held virtually after GSA. All members are invited to attend the NAGT Virtual Annual Business Meeting, held online on October 11. Keep an eye out for more information.
The New In The Trenches
Online and Engaged
The new In the Trenches (ITT) is ready for your contributions!
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. Now 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.
The new ITT format is 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.
Suggest ITT ContentSubmit an Article
Places that Reveal the Geological Mind
A joint effort between NAGT and GSA Today
The September issue of GSA Today marks the launch of 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. You can read the Introduction to the Series and first essay on the Lake Bonneville Shorelines in this month's GSA Today.
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.
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!
Journal of Geoscience Education: Article of the Month
Each month, the editorial staff of JGE select a paper to be free to access. For September 2024, they selected The Food-Energy-Water Nexus: Assessing undergraduate students' decision making about complex socio-hydrologic issues supported by Hydroviz, by Silvia-Jessica Mostacedo-Marasovic, Holly C. White, and Cory T. Forbes. Congratulations!
The Journal of Geoscience Education is always looking for submissions related to learning and teaching in the geosciences and related domains.
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!
Joint Virtual Awards Ceremony
Friday, October 18, 2024 (Open to all current members to invite friends/colleagues; Online) 8:30-9:30am PT / 9:30-10:30am MT / 10:30-11:30am CT / 11:30am-12:30pm ET
This year, in lieu of the traditional in-person awards luncheon at GSA, NAGT, the GSA Geoscience Education Division, and CUR are coming together to host a joint virtual awards ceremony. This new approach allows us to celebrate the achievements and contributions of our community in a way that's accessible to everyone, no matter where you are. We look forward to honoring our awardees and ensuring that their accomplishments are recognized by a broad audience. More details on how you can join us for this special event will be shared soon!
NAGT GER Division Early Career Award
Dr. Samuel "Sammy" Cornelius Nyarko has been named the 2024 recipient of the NAGT-GER Early Career Award, which recognizes professionals in the early stages of establishing their research focus. To qualify for this award, nominees must be active members of the NAGT-GER Division and either in the final two years of their PhD program or within the first three years of a GER position or career. Dr. Nyarko is an assistant professor of geoscience education and the principal investigator of the Earth Sciences Education Research Lab in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Indiana University Indianapolis. He earned his PhD in geoscience education from Western Michigan University. His research explores the nature of geoscience, teamwork process skills, inclusive practices, and climate change education. Through this work, he has developed materials introducing students to geoscience, created a team science training program to enhance teamwork skills, and crafted lessons on careers in the field. He has presented and published widely at notable conferences, workshops, and in scholarly journals. Dr. Nyarko was named the 2022 Outstanding Reviewer for JGE and currently serves as an associate editor.
NAGT Community Kudos
Kari Bisbee O'Connell
Dr. Kari Bisbee O'Connell, Associate Director of the STEM Research Center at Oregon State University, has been awarded the 2024 Eugene P. Odum Award for Excellence in Ecology Education. This award recognizes individuals who relate basic ecological principles to human affairs through teaching, outreach, and mentoring. O'Connell's innovative work promoting inclusion and belonging in field-based research has significantly impacted field science education. She leads the NSF-funded Undergraduate Field Experiences Research Network (UFERN) to create inclusive models of field education that advance equity and access, fostering collaboration across research stations and laboratories, and developing evidence-based teaching, assessment tools, and original research on student learning. O'Connell's other projects at Oregon State University include initiatives to enhance public engagement with science at Long-Term Ecological Research sites, connect middle and high school students with old-growth forests, and engage communities with wildfire research. Her work in developing data literacy and supporting professional development for middle and high school science teachers has been transformative. Overall, O'Connell's efforts have significantly shaped inclusive practices in field stations and marine laboratories, leaving a lasting impact on ecological education and public understanding of ecological science.
Aditya Kar
Dr. Aditya Kar, Associate Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at Fort Valley State University, has been awarded the 2024 Randolph W. "Bill" and Cecile T. Bromery Award for his exceptional mentoring of minority students, particularly African Americans, in the geosciences. He has successfully recruited and mentored students, provided opportunities for research and study of geoscience, established a geology minor at an HBCU, and integrated environmental and social justice into the curriculum.
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!
Introduction to CLEAN Webinar
September 24, 2024, 6:30-7:00 PM ET/5:30-6 PM CT/4:30-5 PM MT/3:30-4 PM PT
Get a guided tour of the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network portal. Learn about the nearly 1000 resources that support high quality climate and energy education. Discover the range of other supporting materials that can help you teach about climate and energy topics more effectively and accurately.
NAGT Sessions & Short Courses at GSA Connects 2024
September 22-25, 2024 in Anaheim, CA
NAGT is sponsoring several sessions in addition to two short courses and a field trip this year! Learn more at GSA Connects 2024
Learn More About NAGT Activities and Sponsored Session
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
Faculty Professional Development Grants 
The Geo2YC Division is currently accepting applications for Faculty Professional Development Grants. We have mini-grants of up to $500 to support an activity (workshop, field trip, etc.) that benefits faculty from multiple institutions and travel grants of $100 to help an individual attend a professional development activity. Grant Applications due Sept. 15
How can Disciplinary Societies support you?
The Geo2YC is seeking the input and expertise of their Geoscience 2YC Colleagues to better understand how the teaching of geoscience at two-year colleges and how geoscience disciplinary societies, like the Geological Society of America, American Geophysical Union and the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, can create more supportive partnerships with 2YC faculty we are asking that you complete a short anonymous survey (10-15 minutes). We will share what we learn with the societies.
This survey was developed as a part of the 2023 workshop, Fostering Two-Year College Collaborations with Disciplinary Societies. You can read more about the results of the workshop here. If you have questions, reach out to David Voorhees.
Complete the Survey by Sept 30
2024 Geo2YC Division Annual Business Meeting
Tuesday, October 8, 2024 (Open to all current members; Online) 12:00pm-1:00pm PT / 1:00pm-2:00pm MT / 2:00pm-3:00pm CT / 3:00pm-4:00pm ET
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!
- Tuesday, September 10 - 8PM Eastern/5PM Pacific - Keeping classic content current: how do you keep geology relevant for today's society (we're thinking about mineral resources, all things water, climate change, and environmental justice)
- 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
2024 GER Division Annual Business Meeting
Friday, October 4, 2024 (Open to all current members; Online) 9:00am-10:00am PT / 10:00am-11:00pm MT / 11:00am-12:00pm CT / 12:00pm-1:00pm ET
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
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!
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 open for Round 2 of applications through September 15, 2024. If you have questions, please contact Kristen St John (stjohnke@jmu.edu) or Kusali Gamage (kgamage@austincc.edu).
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 me atjr@americangeosciences.org.
STEMSEAS Alaska 2024
NAGT member, Dr. Callan Bentley, Associate Professor of Geology at Piedmont Virginia Community College, co-led a group of 12 college students on a STEMSEAS expedition through coastal Alaska, alongside Georgia Tech biology professor Joseph Montoya. The federally funded STEMSEAS program, supported by the NSF, provides students with hands-on research experiences aboard academic vessels. This six-day journey took place aboard the research vessel Sikuliaq, covering 1300 nautical miles from Seward to Nome. Along the way, the group explored geological sites, observed wildlife, and conducted oceanographic research. The students examined zooplankton samples and observed whales, sea lions, and seabirds. Despite a delayed disembarkation in Nome, the trip was a success, with Bentley planning future participation.
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!
Faculty Position in Solid Earth Sciences at Boston College
The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Boston College invites applications for a faculty position in the field of Solid Earth Sciences. Faculty within the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences conduct research spanning all aspects of the Earth system to explore and elucidate the processes that shape our evolving planet and its environment. Their collective expertise and ongoing research efforts have led to a number of research strengths, particularly in the areas of (1) climate change, paleoclimate, and global biogeochemical cycles; (2) surficial processes, geomorphology, and ecosystems; (3) geophysics and earthquake seismology; and (4) geodynamics and tectonic processes. Boston College seeks qualified candidates whose research interests will complement these existing areas of strength and expand opportunities within the department in the broadly defined area of Solid-Earth Processes.
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
Questions? Comments? Reach out to the NAGT Media Editor, Cheryl Manning, at media-editor@nagt.org.