NAGTNews - Vol 15 - No 2 - February 2016

An archive of past NAGTNews message is available to members at http://serc.carleton.edu/mailman/listinfo/nagt.
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1. Earth Educators' Rendezvous 2016—Important Deadlines Approaching

Interested in joining the 2016 Rendezvous but funding is a challenge? This year's Rendezvous includes addition funding for specific morning workshops. Stipend application deadlines for the following workshops are approaching:

• Preparing for an Academic Career - Early Decision, February 10
• Geoscience Education Research (GER) Community Planning - February 15
• GeoNeeds: Broadening Participating in the Geosciences Workforce - March 1

Don't forget that Contributed Program: Oral, Poster, and Teaching Demonstration Sessions application deadline is March 1.

Join us in Madison!

2. NAGT Award Program Deadlines

Scholarships for Field Study - February 14

Each year, NAGT makes several $750 awards to undergraduate students to facilitate their study of field geoscience. These awards, previously given to students who attend a traditional summer field camp, are now available for students attending field-based courses at any time of year. The intent of the awards is to support students' participation in intensive field courses in any aspects of geoscience (including geophysics, soil science, hydrology, etc.) that focus on students practicing skills of field observation, data collection, analysis and synthesis. Awardees are selected based on the importance of the field experience in meeting their educational and career goals, the quality of the field aspects of the course, and the importance of the financial award in allowing them to participate in the program. In addition, the committee endeavors to select awardees that expand the diversity of people studying geosciences in the field and a collaboration with the Association of Women Geoscientists (AWG) funds two additional awards specifically for women.

Outstanding Earth Science Teacher Awards

Outstanding Earth Science Teacher (OEST) awards are given for "exceptional contributions to the stimulation of interest in the Earth Sciences at the pre-college level." Any teacher or other K-12 educator who covers a significant amount of earth science content with their students is eligible. Ten national finalists are selected, one from each NAGT regional section. Some sections also recognize state winners. Individuals may apply themselves or nominate a colleague for the award.

The selection of award winners is conducted at the Section level and each Section sets its own deadline for nomination. A listing of the deadlines and contact people for each Section is listed on the program website. The earliest Section deadline is March 31 for the Pacific Northwest Section with other sections following until the middle of May. So check out your Section's deadline and get your nominations in via the website.

3. Traveling Workshop Program - Application Deadline: March 15

Want to strengthen your department or courses, but not sure where to start? Look no further - NAGT's Traveling Workshops Program brings national leaders in geoscience education to your campus or regional event. The Traveling Workshops Program consists of two different tracks—one for courses and one for departments. Colleges, universities, and other organizations can apply to host one or both kinds of workshop.

Building Stronger Geoscience Departments

These workshops bring two trained leaders to your institution to facilitate a working session with your department. The program focuses on lessons learned from other institutions, guides you through a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis for your department, and incorporates activities that address issues of specific interest to your department. After your application has been accepted, workshop leaders will work with you to design the exact parameters of the workshop you have in mind.

Applications

To apply to have a Traveling Workshop Program come to your department during spring of 2016, apply online by March 15.

Please forward this opportunity to any colleagues that you feel would benefit from this program.

Thank you for your consideration of these valuable workshops! We look forward to working with you and your departments.

4. Early Career Geoscience Faculty Workshop: Teaching, Research, and Managing Your Career

July 24-28, 2016 with optional visit to NSF on July 29
University of Maryland, College Park, MD

If you are in your first three years of a permanent academic position, please apply to join us for a multi-day workshop in a stimulating and resource-rich environment where you will participate in sessions on topics including effective teaching strategies, course design, establishing a research program in a new setting, working with research students, balancing professional and personal responsibilities, and time management.

Application Deadline: March 16

5. Time to Renew Your Membership for 2016

2015 was an incredible year for NAGT. We are deeply thankful for everyone whose commitment to geoscience education leads them to become a member and support what we do. If you haven't renewed your membership for 2016, there is still time. Renew today at http://nagt.org/nagt/membership/index.html.

Remember that you can sign up for automatic renewals or multi-year memberships if you want to make it easy to continue to receive the benefits of membership without having to worry about letting them lapse.

6. FREE Workshop: Transforming Geoscience Preparation for K-8 Pre-Service Teachers

Are you involved in K-8 pre-service science teacher preparation or in-service teacher professional development, or are you an in-service K-8 science teacher? Are you interested in exploring strategies for strengthening K-8 science teaching, through both science content knowledge and science teaching methods? If so, this workshop is for you. Join a group of like-minded science and education faculty and in-service science teachers at St. Norbert College, in De Pere, WI, April 8-9, 2016. Teams of science and education faculty from the same institution are particularly encouraged to apply, and will be given priority in acceptance. Participants' housing and meals will be paid for through a grant from the National Science Foundation.

See the workshop website to learn more and to fill out an application form. The application deadline is February 19.

Tim Flood, Geology and Scott Kirst, Education, St. Norbert College
Carol Ormand, SERC, Carleton College

7. AGU/AGI Heads and Chairs Webinars for 2016 announced

The first 2016 AGU/AGI webinar on Developing Successful Industry and Academia Partnerships: An Example from Florida is just around the corner. Please consider registering yourself or invite any of your faculty or colleagues who are interested in learning more about how to and the benefits of working with your alumni and local employers to help prepare your students for a successful start to their career in the geoscience industry. Join panelists Jeffrey Ryan (Professor, University of South Florida) and Michael Schackne (Senior Principal Geologist and Area Manager, S&ME, Inc.) to learn and share your thoughts about this topic on Friday, February 12, 2016 from 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST. Register here.

Learn more about the webinar series.

If you missed any of the 2015 webinars, you can view all the previous recordings.

8. AGU Virtual Poster Showcase 2016

A new and exciting opportunity for your undergraduate and graduate students to showcase their research is now available. Although many college students conduct research with faculty in organized summer programs or as part of their course work or their degree work, they often face barriers to traveling to present that research, especially at national conferences. The Virtual Poster Showcase will allow participation by students who can't travel. AGU is organizing three opportunities for undergraduate and graduate Virtual Poster Showcases in 2016. Sign up to get an email alert if you are interested in having your students participate next spring. Additionally, if you or any faculty members are interested in being judges for the showcases or in incorporating the showcases as part of a capstone experience for your students, email us or contact Pranoti Asher.

9. 2016 AAG Annual Meeting

March 29-April 2, 2016
Hilton San Francisco Union Square

Welcome to the 2016 American Association of Geographers' Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA! You will be joined by fellow geographers, GIS specialists, environmental scientists, and other leaders for the latest in research and applications in geography, sustainability, and GIScience. The meeting will be held from March 29 - April 2, 2016, and will feature over 6,600 presentations, posters, workshops, and field trips by leading scholars, experts, and researchers.

Featured Themes

Each year, the AAG identifies a few themes for its Annual Meeting to help focus discussion and provide a fresh and engaging structure to the conference program. Of course, attendees are also invited to develop themes relevant to the meeting's location or influenced by political and intellectual trends within the discipline. As always, any topic relevant to geography is welcome at the AAG annual meeting. Current themes include:

• International Geography and Urban Health Symposium
• Symposium on Physical Geography: Challenges of the "Anthropocene"
• Thriving in a Time of Disruption in Higher Education

10. January In the Trenches Available

The online supplement for In the Trenches is now available on the NAGT Website. NAGT members can access the full content of the articles.

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Rock and Mineral Exchange

• There are no current postings at this time.

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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