NAGTNews - Vol 15 - No 4 - April 2016

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1. Upcoming NAGT Award Program Deadlines

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. Section deadlines continue until mid-May.

Dorothy LaLonde Stout Professional Development Grants

In honor of Dottie Stout's outstanding work and lifelong dedication to Earth science education, NAGT awards grants supporting Earth science professional development in three categories: Community College Faculty, Community College Student, and K-12 Educator. Deadline for applications is April 15, 2016.

Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award

NAGT recognizes outstanding teaching assistants in geoscience education twice a year with up to 30 awards annually. Both undergraduate and graduate teaching assistants are eligible for the award. Award winners receive a one year membership in NAGT, which includes an online subscription to the Journal of Geoscience Education and our In The Trenches quarterly magazine. Nominations for the Summer 2016 Awards are due by June 15, 2016.

2. Geoscience Education Research Survey

One of the outcomes of the 2015 geoscience education workshop at the Earth Educators' Rendezvous last summer was the identification of several areas of need to support geoscience education researchers - this includes support for those new to GER and current active geo ed researchers. Kim Kasten, Karen McNeal, Heather Macdonald, and I took information from the workshop discussions and developed a COMMUNITY NEEDS SURVEY that will be used to gain broader input and prioritize the highest needs. Steps to address needs will then start this summer as part of the same NSF grant that is funding the survey and funding the 2016 GER workshop.

I have two requests of you:

1. Please take ~15 minutes complete the survey yourself.
2. Share the survey link and encourage your colleagues to complete the survey. We recognize that geoscience education research should be responsive to the broader geo ed practitioner community, so all geoscience educators are welcome to share their opinions in this survey.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you,

Kristen St. John, PhD
James Madison University
stjohnke@jmu.edu

3. 2016 NGSS Webinar Series

NAGT continues to collaborate with AGI on a series of webinars relating to issues surrounding the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Upcoming events include:

• Supporting Elementary Teachers with the NGSS
  Kim Cheek (Assistant Professor of Science Education, University of North Florida) and Heather Petcovic (Associate Professor of Geosciences, Western Michigan University)
  April 14, 2016
  1:00 PM Pacific | 2:00 PM Mountain | 3:00 PM Central | 4:00 PM Eastern
  Registration Deadline: Tuesday, April 12, 2016
• Building a State Coalition for NGSS-ESS
  Ed Geary ( Western Washington University)
  May 12, 2016
  1:00 PM Pacific | 2:00 PM Mountain | 3:00 PM Central | 4:00 PM Eastern 
  Registration Deadline: Tuesday, May 10, 2016

4. Survey of TA Training Needs and Practices in the Geosciences

Dear colleagues,

Researchers at California State University, Chico, Eastern Michigan University, and Northeastern University are conducting a survey about TA training. We aim to better understand geoscience faculty opinions about TA training needs, as well as current practices in training geoscience TAs. The survey will take less than 10 minutes to complete, and we appreciate input from all faculty members in the geosciences (broadly defined). To complete the survey, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GeosciGTAtraining. Deadline for completion: May 16, 2016.

Dr. Katherine Ryker
Eastern Michigan University

5. Earth Educators' Rendezvous 2016: News and Announcing Pre-Rendezvous Review Camp

Join us in Madison for the 2016 Earth Educators' Rendezvous!

On the website, you can now find full information on the 29 workshops, 8 panel discussions, 2 plenaries, one concluding town hall and more than 130 contributed presentations/teaching demonstrations. Program themes are fleshed out, and it is now easy to tell which days are the ones that best match your interests. We hope that everyone who teaches about the Earth from across the sciences, social sciences, humanities and engineering will find ideas and activities of interest. You will find tracks to help you in your role as a instructor or program leader or department chair, to improve your ability to work with diverse students and to support the success of all, and to learn from research on teaching and learning. 
http://serc.carleton.edu/earth_rendezvous/2016/program/index.html

If the contributed program inspires you, it is not too late to submit an abstract for a poster or teaching demonstrations that will show how your work contributes to the discussion. Oral and poster sessions alike are designed to support discussion, interaction and synthesis. 
http://serc.carleton.edu/earth_rendezvous/2016/program/contributed_program.html

Newly announced is an InTeGrate sponsored review camp on the Sunday prior to the Rendezvous (July 17). If you are interested in helping to peer review activities that are part of the InTeGrate project you are invited to apply to be a reviewer. We have space for 25 reviewers each of whom will receive a $500 stipend in exchange for 5 reviews in advance of and 20 reviews during the camp. 
http://serc.carleton.edu/earth_rendezvous/2016/review_camp.html

The Early Registration deadline is May 2. This is the moment to sign up. We hope to see you in Madison!
http://serc.carleton.edu/earth_rendezvous/2016/registration.html

6. 2016 InTeGrate Professional Development Webinar Series Continues

The InTeGrate spring 2016 webinar series is a free and public webinar series aimed at helping faculty teach about the Earth in the context of societal issues. The series is aimed at promoting broad adoption of teaching aligned with InTeGrate principles, using InTeGrate-developed materials such as courses and teaching modules as tools. The series also highlights examples from departments and programs that are implementing InTeGrate teaching modules across the country.

Currently scheduled webinars are listed below, but keep an eye on the InTeGrate Workshops and Webinars page for additional information and registration materials as they become available.

[link /integrate/workshops/webinars/2015_2016/soils/index.html 'Teaching about Soils as a Critical Resource']
Thursday, April 21, 2016 
12:00 pm Pacific | 1:00 pm Mountain | 2:00 pm Central | 3:00 pm Eastern 
Registration Deadline: Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Working with Diverse Students on Societally Relevant Geoscience Issues 
Wednesday, May 11, 2016 
11:00 am Pacific | 12:00 pm Mountain | 1:00 pm Central | 2:00 pm Eastern 
Registration deadline: Monday, May 9, 2016

Making Change Happen at your Institution: How to Overcome Practical Challenges and Build Momentum
Friday, May 27, 2016
10:00 am Pacific | 11:00 am Mountain | 12:00 pm Central | 1:00 pm Eastern 
Registration deadline: Wednesday, May 25, 2016

7. Workshop: Service Learning in Undergraduate Geosciences

The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine is hosting a workshop in April on Service Learning in Undergraduate Geosciences: Information about the workshop and a pre-registration link to indicate your interest in participating is available at http://sites.nationalacademies.org/DBASSE/BOSE/CurrentProjects/DBASSE_169060.

One of the goals for the workshop is to better understand the types of service learning activities that are currently being implemented across the full spectrum of the geosciences (atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, solid earth, geography, environmental, etc.) We are using a broad definition of service learning as activities that engage students in addressing real community problems in ways that are connected to course learning goals.

In order to broaden our understanding of service learning in our community, we invite you to submit descriptions of the ways that you use service learning in your teaching to the Cutting Edge Service Learning Activity Collection.

As part of the preparation for the workshop, a paper describing the breadth of service learning activities in the geosciences will be created in late March informed by this collection and other resources.

Please submit your descriptions here: http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/servicelearning/contrib_act.html
If you use service learning in different ways in different courses, please submit multiple descriptions.

Many thanks in advance for your contributions. Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments.

Sincerely,

Cathy Manduca,
Chair of the Organizing Committee for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Workshop on Service-Learning in Undergraduate Geosciences
Member of the Board on Science Education of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

and

Kerry Brenner,
Study Director, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Workshop on Service-Learning in Undergraduate Geosciences
Senior Program Officer, Board on Science Education of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

8. Call for Nominations - GeoCUR Undergraduate Research Mentor Award

The Geosciences Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research (GeoCUR) is now accepting nominations for its annual award that highlights the importance of mentoring undergraduate research activities. The award annually recognizes an individual who serves as a role model for productive and transformative student-faculty mentoring relationships and for maintaining a sustained and innovative approach to the enterprise of undergraduate research.

Application information, as well as audio interviews with past recipients, can be found online at: http://geocur.org/awards/faculty-mentors/

Application deadline is June 1. Inquiries and/or nominations may be sent to Laura Guertin (guertin@psu.edu) and Erin Kraal (kraal@kutztown.edu).

9. National Center for Science Education Grand Canyon River Run

From June 30 to July 8, 2016, the National Center for Science Education will again explore the wonders of creation and evolution on a Grand Canyon river run conducted by NCSE's Josh Rosenau and Steven Newton. To get a glimpse of the fun, watch the short videos filmed in 2011 posted on NCSE's YouTube channel, and explore photographs in the 2014 expedition's Flickr group. The cost of the excursion is $2760; a deposit of $500 will hold your spot. Seats are limited: call, write, or e-mail now to reserve a spot. For more information, visit our website at http://ncse.com/about/excursions

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Rock and Mineral Exchange

Available Samples

• Petrology Samples

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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Community Advertisements

Director of Education, Earth Lab - CU Boulder

Posted: Apr 4 2016

Key to Earth Lab's mission is training a new generation of data scientists who can apply their knowledge to addressing outstanding Earth Science questions. The Director of Education will take a leadership role in developing this new education initiative.

Graduate Assistantship in Water Resources Education/Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER) - University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Posted: Mar 24 2016

12-month (renewable) graduate assistantship in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources. The position involves water resources education and education research through a new project (recommended for funding by the National Science Foundation) focused on fostering undergraduate students' science literacy about water.

Full-time Geology Faculty - Lane Community College

Posted: Mar 24 2016

Geology faculty (full-time), Lane Community College, Eugene, Oregon

Professor of Practice - University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Posted: Mar 2 2016

Assistant Professor of Practice, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (non-tenure track, Atmospheric Sciences)

Need help getting the word out about your position opening, event, or field trip? Advertise with NAGT!