AGU Education Section News

AGU 2023 Honors 

We recognize excellence! The 2023 AGU Honors nomination cycle opens on 18 January––honors include the Union Awards, Medals, and Prizes, Union Fellows, and Section Honors programs. We are happy to announce that 2023 marks the third year of the Education Section’s Dorothy LaLonde Stout Education Lecture award, presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to Earth and space science education and outreach.

Review the complete list of Honors here, and consider nominating qualified colleagues, mentors, peers, early career individuals, and students! 

Please direct general questions to honors@agu.org, and questions about Education Section honors to Tanya Furman at furman@psu.edu.

Build a Bridge

The AGU Bridge Program seeks to recruit students from historically marginalized backgrounds into geoscience graduate programs. This program aims to support eligible students by providing access to a free common geosciences graduate school application shared between 45+ partner departments around the country. The Bridge Program and its partners are committed to creating an inclusive culture within the greater Earth and space sciences community, and to improving geoscience education experiences for all students.

The application portal and more information about the Bridge Program can be accessed by visiting the AGU Bridge Program website. The application deadline is 15 March 2023.

K-12 Working Group Survey

The K12 Working Group of the AGU Education Section serves the K-12 community (and its international equivalents) in the AGU Education Section, including those who teach in K-12 settings, and anyone interested in formal or informal K-12 education. To serve you effectively, we ask for your participation in this needs survey. The results of this survey will inform our plans on how best to serve our members. 

Please note that all responses are anonymous, unless you provide us with your contact information at the end of the survey. If you have questions about the survey or the AGU Education Section K-12 Working Group, please contact Missy Holzer at missy.holzer@gmail.com.  Thank you for your responses and your time!

Like Caves? U Rock!

Calling all undergraduates with a passion for caves and kars­t! For the second time, James Madison University holds the U-ROCKS program. This NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) is an opportunity for students to engage in independent, mentored research projects, professional development workshops, karst science seminars, and social events.

This REU is funded for just ten students this summer––apply by January 31!

School of Ice

School of Ice is an NSF-funded professional development program for faculty at Minority Serving Institutions. Hosted by Dartmouth College from June 18 to 23, this workshop aims to empower participants to communicate paleo-climate research practices, ice core data, and results to their students.

Registration is open now! Please find the application link here. Priority consideration will be given to applications received by the due date (February 17) but accepted on a rolling basis until the workshop is filled. 

Contact louise.t.huffman@dartmouth.edu with any questions.

Water: An Update

For the first time in over 20 years, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released an updated diagram of the water cycle that includes the impacts of human involvement in the movement of Earth’s water. This Eos article by Jenessa Duncombe (also available in audio format!) comments on the revised diagram and its significance as a teaching implement that acknowledges the potential for change in an otherwise “natural” process.

VOICES in Earth Science

In their recent article in the Journal of Geoscience Education, “Amplifying the voices of diverse scholars to integrate culture in the Earth sciences,” Wendy Todd, Christopher Atchison and Lisa White detail a collaborative program to integrate culture in the Earth sciences.

This VOICES program aims to foster the empowerment of Earth and space science scholars from underrepresented and diverse cultural, ethnic, and racial groups by sharing foundational knowledge of belonging, access, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (BA-JEDI). Read the article here!

Dear Colleague

In their recent Dear Colleague letter, the National Science Foundation (NSF) encourages those new to the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) program to submit proposals.

The IUSE program consists of three different funding levels and proposal tracks and funding levels. Level 1 proposals aim to engage student learning and foster institutional and community transformation––these proposals are due this Wednesday, 18 January. Funding levels 2 and 3 are for more advanced projects, and will be due on 19 July 2023. All IUSE: EDU projects are expected to increase knowledge about effective STEM education, and serve students through faculty professional development and related activities.

More information can be found in the IUSE: EDU program solicitation.

We’ve got mail!

The Education Section newsletter is now accepting member-suggested submissions! Contact us at edsectionnewsletter@gmail.com with timely events, articles, or programs relating to education in the Earth and space sciences. To be considered for inclusion in the newsletter of the month, please send items before 5:00PM EST on the second Tuesday. We look forward to hearing from you!