The National Geographic Society has partnered with Lindblad Expeditions to send educators out into the field around the world to learn, create, connect, and explore!

The Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship is a professional development opportunity for pre-K–12 educators. Exemplary educators are selected to travel aboard Lindblad Expeditions’ voyages for a life-changing, field-based experience, exploring destinations like Antarctica, the Galápagos Islands, or Southeast Alaska. Grosvenor Teacher Fellows will transfer their onboard experience into new ways to teach students, engage colleagues, and bring new geographic awareness into their learning environments and communities.

Applicants must have the following eligibility:

• Current pre-K-12 classroom teacher or information educator from the 50 U.S. states, Canada, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Department of Defense Activity schools.
• A proven dedication to geographic education in their teaching field and show promise of continued active engagement in the future.
• Plans to return to a classroom or teaching environment the year following their assigned expedition and demonstrate the ability to incorporate what they learn into their teaching.

Submit your application today and share with us your teaching and leadership abilities and how this experience will positively impact you, your students, and your teaching environment.

Completed applications must be received in our online system
by January 7, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. EST.

The Where of Why: GIS in the Humanities Classroom

Greetings from Tempe, Arizona! We are seeking applicants for our grant-funded, place-based teacher summer academy! 

Applications accepted until Dec. 5, 2023

GeoCivics Summer Academy: Civic Engagement & Advocacy during an election year
June 13-22, 2024, Washington, DC

​ALL EXPENSES PAID + $2,500 stipend + PD Hours!

During the summer of 2024 we will be hosting an exciting place-based educational experience in Washington, DC to learn how to include diverse perspectives in the education space through civic engagement and advocacy in your American history, geography, civics, and government instruction. During the Academy, we will celebrate Juneteenth in our Capital, and meet with educators, historians, experts, and advocacy groups. We will also visit historic locations such as the White House, Capital, and museums to deepen content knowledge of civic engagement and advocacy and strengthen pedagogical knowledge and skills.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScrPKlwdhhsUsrBNWmLUA1KQeQNOlXbqFnnkl7xTtjipyOdzw/viewform

Johnny Finn’s exhibition on the on-going impacts of racist housing policies in the U.S. has just opened in the James Wise Gallery on the campus of Norfolk State University, where it will be on display until November 15. The exhibition features 12 original maps, a number of historical maps and documents, 50 participant-directed photographs, a 1,250-sq ft. wall-to-wall floor map made from high resolution aerial photography, and several interactive mapping displays. The show is free and open to the public 10am – 4pm M-F. We’ll have a public reception there in the gallery on Friday, October 27 from 5-8pm. I hope many of you can join us!

A call has just been issued for participants in the 2024 Hampton Roads Social Justice Conference, taking place April 9-10, 2024 on the campus of Christopher Newport University. The goal of the conference is to bring together researchers, policy makers, elected officials, non-profit organizations, community activists, business leaders, the faith community, and all others from across Virginia and around the country who are working on pressing social justice issues. More info here: https://cnu.edu/ccejrp/conference/

Join the Library of Congress ‘Professional Learning and Outreach Initiatives’ and ‘Geography & Maps Division’ for Maps in the Classroom! August 8, 2023 at 3 p.m. EST.

This virtual orientation will provide an introduction to the world’s largest map library, with a special focus on resources for teachers and educators. Explore a treasure trove of maps, atlases, and cartographic resources that you can use in your classroom. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session with map librarians and education specialists.

Register here

Using GIS to Enhance Classroom Instruction (One Day Workshop)

The Virginia Geographic Alliance is excited to offer the online 8-hour professional development workshop, #YouCanMapThat: Using GIS to Enhance the Classroom.  It is open to grades K-12 faculty and pre-service teachers and is limited to 35 participants.  Register here.

Location:  Online via Zoom

Dates:  Wednesday June 14th and Thursday June 15th 9:15 AM – 12:30 PM

Please share with your colleagues and/or enroll in the workshop yourself.

Angie Donner and Ginny Corbett are the most recent winners of the Esri K–12 Teacher Video Challenge. They teach middle school students in Chesapeake, Virginia. They use ArcGIS StoryMaps and GeoInquiries and their students participate in GIS treasure hunts during GIS Day each year. Watch the video to help you submit yours!

We’re looking for the May winner of the Esri K–12 Teacher Video Challenge. Create a video, up to 60 seconds long, of how you use ArcGIS Online in your classroom instruction (e.g., GeoInquiries, ArcGIS Survey123, ArcGIS Community Analyst). Entrants in the April video challenge must submit their video by April 30, 2023.

Esri K–12 Teacher Video Challenge winners receive the following:

• A cash prize of $500
• Acknowledgment on the Esri website
• An opportunity to produce a three-minute video of their story with an Esri staff member
• Submission guidelines are simple. Just visit the Esri K–12 Teacher Video Challenge page for detailed instructions.

Email k12schools@esri.com if you have questions about the challenge.

Our next Steering Committee meeting is on Saturday, April 1^st at Christopher Newport University’s Torggler Center. 

Breakfast is at 9:30 and the meeting will be from 10:00 to 12:30. There is an optional tour of Dr. Johnny Finn’s “Living Together Living Apart” exhibition after lunch. The first minute of this video is a great overview of the exhibit. 

Please complete this short survey about lunch and the Living Together/Living Part exhibit. Send proposals to Annie Evans (annie@bunkhistory.org), Chris Bunin (chris.bunin@gmail.com), and Frances Coffey (francesacoffey@gmail.com) no later than March 25^th. 

The agenda for our April 1st VGA Steering Committee meeting is here.  Please link your reports to the agenda.  For those unable to attend in-person, you can join via Zoom.  The Zoom link is at the top of the agenda.