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Thank You for Your Support!
Thank you to all of our 2023 donors! Whether it was a contribution to the Education Section General Fund, to the Honor an Educator campaign, or to another AGU fund, these contributions enable us to support the participation and celebration of educations, students and early career professionals at the AGU annual meeting. We welcome feedback and suggestions for how to prioritize discretionary funding for Section activities in 2024.
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AGU Honors 2024
AGU has implemented several key changes to the Union Medals, Awards and Prizes (UMAP) components of the 2024 Honors Program. The program now permits self-nominations, and will transition from letters of support to form questions in alignment with the new rubric. We encourage both peer and self-nominations for the Education Section’s Stout Lecture Award, which annually recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to geoscience education. Please visit the UMAP page to view the complete list of updates, and visit the AGU Honors page for more information on nomination timelines.
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The Stout Lecture at AGU23
Congratulations and thanks to Dr. Katherine Ryker (University of South Carolina), the 2023 Dorothy LaLonde Stout Lecturer. Katherine gave an inspiring presentation on the concept of Community of Practice as a framework for supporting education initiatives and for creating a sense of purpose and belonging in our careers. If you missed it, the recording is available here (an AGU login is required to view)!
Photo: President Kristen St John (right) and President-Elect Laura Lukes (left) with Stout Lecture awardee Dr. Katherine Ryker (center). Photo credit: Denali Kincaid
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Congratulations to Travel Grant Awardees
Students Eunice David Adesua and Kaden Berkhahn each received $1000 from our section to support their participation in AGU23. Eunice is an undergraduate at Morgan State University and presented an empirical study on the impact of home-front factors on student-instructor interactions in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) education. Kaden is an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and presented research characterizing mantle-derived kimberlitic zircon megacrysts from several locations. Our section was also able to support students Anahi Carrera (Brown University), Luise Gleason (UCSB), and Jenny Su (Corpus Christi), who each received $250 to support their participation in AGU23. We would like to congratulate all Education Section Student Travel Grant Awardees on their hard work and wonderful presentations––well done!
Photo: Eunice Adesua (left) and Kaden Berkhahn (right)
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We Went to Town!
The first Section-organized Town Hall on Building Education Capacity was a great success! At AGU23, approximately 30 scientists and educators engaged in dialog and shared ideas on (1) building bridges between education research and teaching, (2) curriculum to foster workforce readiness and engaged citizenship, and (3) connecting educators to teaching resources and community partners. Visit our new page for images from the event, and more information on the Town Hall motivation and discussion topics. Stay tuned for a summary of key ideas that emerged from the discussion––to be included in a future newsletter!
Photo credit: Denali Kincaid
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Game Night at AGU23
A highlight of this year’s annual meeting was the first game night held after the AGU Education Section’s reception––we are pleased to report that over 80 people attended! The event was organized by AGU Education Section member Dr. Anne Gold and NOAA’s climate resilience program, and showcased several scenario-based games designed to teach players about climate resilience. Explore the links below for more information on the featured games!
Photo credit: Laura Lukes
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From Our K-12 Working Group
The K-12 Working Group thanks all those who participated in our oral and poster sessions during the Fall 2023 meeting! The presenters shared innovative ideas that motivate and inspire.
The learning workshop, "From Cutting-Edge Geoscience News to the Classroom: Using Eos’s ENGAGE resource to enlighten students about the latest news in the geosciences" scheduled to take place on January 20th will now take place later in the spring. Watch for an announcement!
A big thank-you to all for the support for Bright STaRS. Record numbers and great engagement from all! There are several sessions of Bright STaRS in late January during the extended events of AGU23––please join us and learn from our online presenters.
Photo credit: Denali Kincaid
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Social Media and Adolescent Health
To minimize the harm (and maximize the benefits) of social media use on adolescent health, a new report released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in December 2023 recommends setting industry-wide standards and new protections against harassment, offering nearly a dozen recommendations for social media companies, Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, and others. With respect to education, the report notes that teaching media literacy in grades K-12 has the potential to help adolescents more healthily interact with social media, but new curriculum standards and teacher training are needed. Read a summary of their findings and recommendations, or access the full report.
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GER Graduate Program Compilation
Interested in graduate programs in geocognition and geoscience education research? Dr. Julie Libarkin of Michigan State University generously maintains an alphabetical descriptive list of such programs that exist in the U.S., New Zealand, and Canada. Updated in November 2023, this is a great resource!
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Increasing Mindfulness: Deafness in the Geosciences
Improving access and inclusion in the geoscience requires both increased awareness and action. Read or listen to a November 2023 open access Journal of Geoscience Education article by Jennifer Mangan (James Madison University) on deafness in academia and the geosciences: challenges and solutions.
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Calling All Photographers
We would like to feature your photos of Earth and space science on our section website! Submit your original photos with your name and a caption. Photos can be of anything that represents Earth and space science or teaching and learning. If people are in your photo, please be sure to obtain their permission before submitting!
Submit your photos to: https://forms.gle/3Je8cZCqgc9y68Sw5. A big thank you to everyone who has already submitted––take a look at your pictures on our updated home page!
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Words of Advice
We know there are many educators with a wealth of lived experiences and advice to share! The Education Section invites you to submit your tips for effective teaching and learning, advice for early career instructors, or quotes that inspire your career. We would like to showcase your words and have prepared space for them on our section website.
Submit your teaching and learning tips, advice, and inspiration to: https://forms.gle/vQ7P9WNSYVPCYxm68. A big thank you to everyone who has already submitted––take a look at your words on our updated home page!
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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 monthly newsletter, please send items before 5:00pm EST on the second Monday of the preceding month. We look forward to hearing from you!
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