National Council for Geographic Education

Where it's at: Interpreting Marine Biological Research for Creating Geographic Education Activities
2024-10-19 16:45 - 17:15 (America/Phoenix) | Mission Palms Coference Room: Joshua Tree
Overview
Marine biological research activities provide a rich and engaging basis for geographic educational activities with a strong foundation in STEM content. In this presentation, learning activities based on marine biological research are described, as activities conducted in field and lab were documented and delivered to audiences from pre-K students to professionals. Multiple research activities conducted with scientists from NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego State University, State of California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and other organizations, provided the data and experiential content for engaging students in both passive and active, student-centered, learning activities. Research technologies applied included GIS, GPS, satellite, UAS/drone; piloted aircraft; small boat and ship platforms; and various observation and data collection techniques. Research subjects addressed included the presence and movements of dolphins, whales, sharks, tuna, and marine schooling fish. A centerpiece in the geographic narrative is, of course, the map. In addition, the richness of data and its use for inquiry and summary can lead aspiring geographers into statistics, charting, photographic and image analysis; photogrammetry, and other pursuits. The key thread among all these considerations is the geographic narrative with emphasis understanding our living Earth from a spatial perspective.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | STEM | Interpretation | Narrative | Technology
Conference Room
Joshua Tree
Meet the Presenter
Alex G. Kesaris, B.S., M.A., GISP, is a volunteer educator who loves presenting geographic knowledge
through narratives about the research with which he is most familiar. He has conducted field research
from shore, small boats, ships, and aircraft with scientists from SDSU, UCSD SIO, NOAA, and CDFW.
Along the way, he developed and delivered educational activities, posters, presentations, technical
memoranda, and peer-reviewed publications for diverse audiences. For the past 12 years, Alex has
provided GIS services with Sustenant, CDFW, GISinc, Axim Geospatial, and NV5 Geospatial.

GIS in the Community: Giving students practical experience while making meaningful community connect
2024-10-19 16:45 - 17:15 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Dolores
Overview
As part of the Department of Geography and Sustainability at UTK GIST curriculum, we offer an elective 400-level course titled GIS in the Community. This is a community engaged learning course in which students are exposed to challenges facing local community organizations. They then work collaboratively with the organizations, using their expertise and drawing on their collective understanding of interdisciplinary perspectives to plan, develop and implement a GIS project that satisfies the needs of a community organization. Our students have had the opportunity to collaborate with a variety of state and local agencies, as well as with non-profit organizations and research groups. This presentation will aim to explain the importance of community engaged learning as part of the educational experience of any student and how GIS software and products assist to achieve meaningful connections with local community organizations.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | Community Engaged Learning| GIS
Conference Room
Dolores
Meet the Parents
Mayra Román-Rivera is a coastal geomorphologist specializing in post-storm recovery and remote sensing and GIS applications of coastal environments. Her research focuses on understanding changes that occur in the coast over time (i.e. erosion, accretion, sea-level rise), how they change the landscapes, how they affect communities and people, and how, if possible, can those changes be mitigated. She also participates in community outreach and citizen science programs. She believes it is our responsibility as scientists to take what we have learned through research to the communities and help them become more resilient and better prepared to face changes happening in their communities. As part of that interest, She works in the incorporation of community-engaged learning in the courses she teaches.

How High Impact, Career, and Experiential Learning Opportunities Support Geography Students
2024-10-19 16:45 - 17:15 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Xavier
Overview
This project explores the ways in which faculty and undergraduate students at a midsize- regional comprehensive university in eastern Colorado have found ways to partner with U.S. parks and protected areas through firsthand, experiential learning and career-based workshops. We use data from ten years of partnerships with Colorado and Arizona parks to illustrate the ways in which our largely first-generation student population has benefited from community-engaged research with the park service and ultimately influenced their future career trajectories beyond graduation. We acknowledge that high, impact experiential learning opportunities may create more liability and risk for faculty and staff at resource-strapped institutions, but that they can also lead to follow-on synergies that benefit both campuses and students in unanticipated ways. We share ten years of qualitative data from program assessment as a tool for other institutions who want to create engaged experiences of their own.
Session Focus
Higher Education | Experiential education, high impact practices, field geography | Curriculum and Instruction
Conference Room
Xavier
Meet the Presenter
Karen Barton is a Professor of Geography, GIS, and Sustainability at the University of Northern Colorado. Her work focuses on community resilience in marine and agricultural communities in the wake of global environmental change. With support from Fulbright and NEH, she published, “Africa’s Joola Shipwreck: Causes and Consequences of a Humanitarian Disaster,” which investigates the second greatest maritime shipwreck in non-wartime history. She is a member of Homeward Bound, a global leadership initiative for women in science. Barton currently serves as a Fellow of the Explorers Club, the Royal Geographical Society, and past President of Fulbright Colorado.

Lessons Learned from Creating a Local Atlas
2024-10-19 16:00 - 16:30 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Colonnade, 60 E 5th St., Tempe, Arizona, 85281
Overview
A resource geographer, a cartographer, and an educator collaborated to make an atlas of a local watershed as a tool for geographic education. This project addresses declining geographic literacy and the homogenization of geographic products and school curricula. The fifteen maps help illustrate key terms of geographic literacy and prompt discussion of compelling dilemmas of managing resources and human needs in the complex dynamic of culture, environment, and physical systems. The companion narratives promote critical thinking about local issues. Written at grade 10 literacy level, the atlas is meant to function as both a geographic education tool in secondary education venues, but also to provide basic watershed-scale geographic information that is accessible to citizens, local government and resource managers within the watershed. Of interest to educators and civic groups is the template to generate similar products for place-based education in other locations.
Session Focus
Higher Education | Place-based | Literacy/STEM
Conference Room
Colonnade
Presenters
Gina Bloodsworth and Naomi Petersen, Professor, Central Washington University

Tales & Travels: First Chapter Friday
2024-10-19 16:00 - 16:30 | Mission Palms Conference Room: San Pedro, 60 E 5th St., Tempe, Arizona, 85281
Overview
Embark on a global storytelling journey! World Geography meets middle grade books through First Chapter Friday. Students make real-world connections through weekly reads that have a setting in a current region of study. The World Geography curriculum shines through weekly read-alouds while fostering inclusivity and a love for books.
Session Focus
Middle School/Junior High | World Geography | Literature | World/International
Conference Room
San Pedro
Meet the Presenter
Kelly Zander Patterson, is in her tenth year of teaching at Charlotte Country Day School, however she has been teaching for a total of thirteen years. She was born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina. She is a graduate of the College of Charleston, where she received her History and Secondary Education degrees. She is a wife, mother, and sister, who enjoys spending time with family. She loves to read, bake, and she also has a passion for entertaining, whether it’s organizing a small impromptu get-together, or hosting a large social gathering. She enjoy the details of personalized stationery, beautiful gift wrap, and a handwritten note. She is currently teaching and advising seventh grade students, while also serving as the chair of the Social Studies Department at the Middle School.

Unite the APHG Curriculum with Six Place Processes
2024-10-19 16:00 - 16:30 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Covetto, 60 E 5th St., Arizona, 85281
Overview
Human geography courses tend to be compartmentalized into distinct topics, such as the geography of migration, religion, linguistics, politics, land use, agriculture, urbanization, and economics. This segmented approach, akin to a “grand tour,” can hinder learners’ abilities to recognize overlaps among geographic phenomena. Spatial thinking is frequently cited as a key tool for making connections in Advanced Placement Human Geography (APHG). While spatial thinking is useful for discerning patterns across space, it falls short in helping to explain the diverse processes that underlie people-place relations. I propose incorporating David Seamon’s six place processes–interaction, identity, release, realization, intensification, and creation–into the APHG curriculum. Specifically, I illustrate how each APHG unit can be framed according to the six place processes, offering a holistic understanding of human geography.
Session Focus
APHG | Place | Spatial Thinking | Curriculum and Instruction
Conference Room
Covetto
Meet the Presenter
Thomas Larsen is 2024 President of the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE). He serves as Co-Coordinator of the Geographic Alliance of Iowa (GAI) and teaches geography at the University of Northern Iowa.

Group Testing in the AP Classroom
2024-10-19 16:00 - 16:30 | Mission Palms Coference Room: Joshua Tree
Overview
Enhance student learning through group testing in any classroom. The methodology in this session is geared toward the AP classroom but can be modified to fit the needs of any classroom where summative assessments take place. Group testing is student-centered and allows for a deeper understanding of the material as well as valuable test taking and communication skills.
Session Focus
Secondary/High School | Assessment | Collaboration | Student-Centered
Conference Room
Joshua Tree
Meet the Presenter
Over her 15-year career, Elizabeth Gonzalez has taught various courses in high school social studies, including US History, World History, Latino Studies, Holocaust Studies, AP World History, AP Human Geography and AP African American Studies. Elizabeth believes strongly in the importance of a global education and the need to consider one’s role in the larger community, encouraging students to seek and understand multiple perspectives. As a lifelong learner, Elizabeth has participated in various Professional Development opportunities, including the Qatar Foundation International & UT Austin’s Teacher Leadership Program; led an educational tour with the TransAtlantic Outreach Program & Goethe Institut; participated in a seminar with Echoes & Reflections at Yad Vashem; and most recently became a LEAD fellow with Notre Dame University; in an effort to promote a deeper understanding for her students in her classroom. Gonzalez currently teaches at Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas, Texas.

Beat the Heat: Making Heat Safety Fun
2024-10-19 16:00 - 16:30 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Dolores
Overview
Join us to discover initiatives aimed at educating students on the importance of heat safety. Our online game, developed in collaboration with Arizona State University’s Ask a Biologist team, presents a virtual world where students embark on exciting quests, collect items, and learn about organisms, all while navigating a scorching city and striving to keep cool. Additionally, we invite you to explore the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning’s interactive map, which empowers students to monitor and report heat conditions nationwide.
Session Focus
Middle School/Junior High | Interactive Mapping | Heat safety | Exploration | Technology
Conference Room
Dolores
Meet the Presenter
Dr. Heather Moll is the Co-Coordinator of the Arizona Geographic Alliance, whose mission is to advocate for geography education and geographic literacy. She is also an Instructional Professional at Arizona State University and guides the master's students through their final capstone projects. As a former high school physical and natural sciences teacher, she joined the first cohort class for ASU’s Master of Advanced Study Geography Education and graduated with her masters in 2009. Heather completed her Ph.D. with Dr. Ronald Dorn in Geography Education research in 2024 and loves helping students explore the world of Geography.

The Imagery of Geography: Using Satellite Imagery and GIS to Enhance Learning in the Classroom
2024-10-19 16:00 - 16:30 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Xavier
Overview
This workshop will focus on leveraging satellite and aerial imagery to illuminate geographic concepts in the K-12 classroom. By delving into the realm of remote sensing and satellite imagery, we aim to offer educators a fresh perspective on the geographical features and phenomena under study. Participants will explore numerous data sources, lesson plans, and resources available from NASA, USGS, Esri, National Geographic MapMaker, AmericaView, and others. Attendees can anticipate gaining innovative approaches to captivate and motivate students in their exploration of geography.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | Visualization | GIS | Remote Sensing | Technology
Conference Room
Xavier
Meet the Presenter

Amy Logan is passionate about helping K-12 teachers incorporate more geospatial technology into their classrooms. She has presented at state and national education conferences and has co-hosted a two-day workshop for the past 3 summers introducing teachers to a variety of geospatial tools that they can integrate into their current curriculum and lessons. For the past 13 years, Amy has worked at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, in the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Support and Research Facility, as a GIS Research Scientist, helping with GIS education and outreach efforts. She is the IowaView state coordinator for AmericaView, whose mission is to empower earth observation education. Over the past 5 years, Amy has been working to share GIS and remote sensing knowledge with more educators and students. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, spending time in nature, and going on bike rides with her husband and children.

Introduction to Google My Maps
2024-10-19 15:15 - 15:45 | Mission Palms Conference Room: San Pedro, 60 E 5th St., Tempe, Arizona, 85281
Overview
Easily create custom maps with the places that matter to you.
Draw: Add points or draw shapes anywhere. Search: Find places and save them to your map. Import: Instantly make maps from spreadsheets. Personalize: Show your style with icons and colors. Add photos and videos to any place. Get the word out: Share and send your maps to others. Make maps together: Work together on building your map, just like Google Docs. Works with Drive: Easily organize all your maps alongside your other documents in Google Drive.
The following student examples will be highlighted:

Shark Spotter Sites and Sightings Map using a Google Tutorial
1854 Soho Cholera Epidemic

Session Focus
Middle School/Junior High | Mapping, Student-Centered | Technology
Conference Room
San Pedro
Meet the Presenter
Brian Smith is a full-time middle school teacher in Oak Ridge, TN where he teaches World History and Geospatial Technologies. He is also the Tennessee Geographic Alliance Executive Director.

Siloed AI and the Creative Commons: Supporting Teachers in Lesson Adaptation for Geography Education
2024-10-19 15:15 - 15:45 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Covetto, 60 E 5th St., Arizona, 85281
Overview
Virtual field trips highlight topics of importance in field-based and place-based education and help students learn physical geography concepts. To ensure effective and intentional Virtual Learning Experiences (VLEs) rich in concepts relative to space and place, VLE development should follow a process to ensure both theory and learning objectives are well matched for the targeted learning outcomes. Using the TECCUPD process, VLE architects initially identify theory and lesson objectives at the start of this process; however, identifying and using both can be a challenge for a teacher who may not have the time, extensive geography background, or subject matter expertise. To address this, a siloed AI Assistant named Strabo is employed, drawing from lessons featured in archives from the Arizona Geographic Alliance, the Gamification Academy, and GeoEPIC under Creative Commons 4.0 Share and Share Alike. Strabo enhances lesson development by buffering against misinformation and hallucinations while aiding in object identification, adaptation, and translation, including between Spanish and English. This advancement expedites geographic science communication and enriches learners’ understanding of physical environments and associated phenomena. Through improved didactical tools and workflows, teachers can broaden the learner’s perception of physical environments with their associated features, patterns, and processes at the landscape scale.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | AI | Virtual Learning Experiences | Didactical Tools | Technology
Conference Room
Covetto
Meet the Presenter
Dianna Gielstra is an Associate Faculty of the Masters of Science in Environmental Studies program at Prescott College in Arizona. Their research interests are in biogeography and geodiversity, geoheritage, and developing immersive virtual learning experiences and technologies for spatial storytelling for geography and environmental education. Dianna is a United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Open Pedagogy Fellow.

Niccole Cerveny is a Professor of Geography and Sustainability at Mesa Community College in Arizona. Her research interests are in geomorphology, landscape evolution, Native American rock art conservation, and sustainable heritage management. She is a member of the U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Geosciences.

Heather Moll, Ph.D. is the Co-Coordinator of the Arizona Geographic Alliance, whose mission is to advocate for geography education and geographic literacy. She is also an Instructional Professional at Arizona State University and guides the master's students through their final capstone projects. As a former high school physical and natural sciences teacher, she joined the first cohort class for ASU’s Master of Advanced Study Geography Education and graduated with her masters in 2009. Heather completed her Ph.D. with Dr. Ronald Dorn in Geography Education research in 2024 and loves helping students explore the world of Geography.

Karen Guerrero is an educator with 20 years of K-12 classroom experience, 16 years of teaching future educators at local colleges and universities, and 20 years of conducting teacher professional development. She has worked with a variety of students from inner-city children to urban adults. Her research focus is teaching integrated geography content across all curricular
areas to diverse learners. She is a National Geographic explorer with research on STEMSS (STEM + Social Studies with an emphasis of geography across the STEMSS fields) teaching and learning and continually looks for opportunities to collaborate globally.

Active and Experiential Learning in Geography through the Lens of a Local Urban Development Project
2024-10-19 15:15 - 15:45 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Colonnade, 60 E 5th St., Tempe, Arizona, 85281
Overview
Metropolitan regions require innovative strategies for rapidly changing populations. One example is the Atlanta BeltLine, a major urban redevelopment program. With an estimated cost of $4.8 billion and projected economic impact of $10 billion, the Atlanta BeltLine is a nearly complete 22-mile loop of multi-use trails and planned transit on a former railway corridor encircling Atlanta, Georgia, one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the United States. Not only is the BeltLine a catalyst for economic growth and redevelopment of Atlanta’s Intown neighborhoods, but it is also a driver of gentrification and displacement. Additionally, the BeltLine has had local environmental impacts while also incorporating sustainable urban design practices. There are intersections of both human and physical geography on the Atlanta BeltLine landscape, including an ever-changing collection of public art and murals that link to broader societal changes, current events, and public discourse around such topics as gentrification, neighborhood change, diversity, equity, inclusion, sustainability, water, and ecology, all with broader implications. In this case study, we highlight an example of integrating a local urban development project such as the Atlanta BeltLine into geography education, fostering active and experiential learning and promoting high-impact practices such as undergraduate research.
Session Focus
Higher Education | Active Learning |Experiential Learning | Undergraduate Research | Curriculum and Instruction
Conference Room
Colonnade
Meet the Presenter
Paul N. McDaniel is an Associate Professor of Geography in the Department of Geography and Anthropology in the Norman J. Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Kennesaw State University in metro Atlanta, Georgia. He conducts research on the geography of inclusive place-branding practices, particularly in metro areas in the southeastern United States. He regularly teaches introduction to human geography, world regional geography, health geography, population geography, urban geography, cultural geography, geography of Europe, and geography of North America, in a variety of formats, including face-to-face, online, and study abroad.

Purposeful Problems: Using Problem-Based Gameplay to Promote Geo-Capabilities
2024-10-19 15:15 - 15:45 | Mission Palms Coference Room: Joshua Tree
Overview
By immersing students in scenarios or problems reflective of real world scenarios, educators can promote deeper geographic understanding, independent decision-making skills, and the ability to transfer powerful geography knowledge to novel situations. Introducing Geo-Strat: A thrilling geo-political game that supports geography education through scenario-based and problem-based learning (S/PBL) adventures! Geo-Strat is an online gameplay app designed to emphasize and make use of geography’s powerful disciplinary knowledge. Initially a research tool for finding effective means in promoting Geo-Capabilities, 75 high school students readily volunteered to play Geo-Strat throughout a semester and participate in a mixed methods study. Results showed students who connected geographic content knowledge to their cooperation in S/PBL gameplay expressed increased awareness of global citizenship, problem-solving skills, and confidence in applying geographic knowledge and perspectives.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | Gameplay | Geo-Capabilities | Scenario/Problem-Based Learning | Curriculum and Instruction
Conference Room
Joshua Tree
Meet the Presenter
Hello! I’m Dr. Penir, a geography and teacher educator out of California. I have a passion for teaching the power of geography and building geographic thinkers. With over 15 years of teaching geography in high school and at California State University, Fresno, I am convinced geography is essential to our curriculum and have dedicated my studies to exploring ways to understand and teach geography’s use and purpose. Through my research in geography education, which received the NCGE’s 2023 Dissertation Award! Yay!, I’ve had the opportunity to practice and build varying approaches which focus on promoting geo-capabilities and global citizens. I am grateful to the NCGE for providing opportunities for educators to share our ideas and learn new strategies!

The Case for Case Studies: Using Truffle Farming to Promote Inquiry and Mapping Skills
2024-10-19 15:15 - 15:45 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Dolores
Overview
Geography is inherently a visual social studies that requires students to practice a new literacy and observation skill set with maps, charts, visuals and data sets. Case studies can be extremely useful in the classroom to bridge critical thinking and problem solving with mapping and modeling skills progressions. Students move from identifying and describing data points on maps to interpreting distribution patterns and constructing maps through the inquiry process. Participants of this session will engage with materials regarding the implementation of case studies in the geography classroom. Participants will take a deep dive into the conditions required for truffle farming and use various maps to identify optimal locations for existing and potential truffle farms. This particular case study looks at the impacts of human-environment interaction and the use of maps and models to interpret and predict agricultural development and land use patterns through map construction.
Session Focus
Secondary/High School |Mapping | Inquiry | Application
Conference Room
Dolores
Meet the Presenter
Bethany Sanders is a Secondary social studies teacher at Dutch Fork High School in Irmo, SC. She teaches Human Geography and AP Comparative Politics. Bethany’s classroom focuses on guided inquiry and promoting student literacy to understand the impacts of globalization on politics, population, economic development, culture, and urbanization.

Our National Parks as Classrooms of Geography
2024-10-19 15:15 - 15:45 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Xavier
Overview
‘National Parks’ and protected areas around the world serve as classrooms at large, providing spaces and places that are conducive to enriching education for students. No matter the subject matter, whether physical, environmental, social, cultural, or technical, our parks provide case studies and applied lessons that educators should consider taking advantage of. By integrating parks and protected areas into our curriculum, whether by assignment, field trip, or digital medium, we can open our student’s eyes to the world and ground our lessons in ways that students will remember and carry on with them. Geography as the discipline of synthesis is particularly well-suited to benefit from this interdisciplinary setting opportunity, although all disciplines can benefit as well.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | Parks and Geography | Curriculum and Instruction
Conference Room
Xavier
The Presenter
Seth Kannarr

Implementing Powerful Geography: Teacher and Student Attitudes
2024-10-19 14:15 - 15:00 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Covetto, 60 E 5th St., Arizona, 85281
Overview
Powerful Geography is a new approach to teaching and learning geography which aims to help students find connections between powerful geographic knowledge and students’ future career goals. It is based on related research in STEM fields, and it hopes to provide teachers with avenues to increase motivation and participation in their geography classrooms. Based upon my doctoral dissertation research, this presentation will highlight findings from a one semester implementation of Powerful Geography in several classrooms across Texas. This project included teachers from three separate high schools and students in on-level, PreAP and AP level high school geography courses. We will discuss teacher and student reactions to different implementation strategies, as well as suggestions and advice from participating teachers for teachers considering this new approach. Lessons, activities, and strategies for implementation will be provided.
Session Focus
Secondary/High School | Engagement, Real-world Connections, STEM | Curriculum and Instruction
Conference Room
Covetto
Meet the Presenter
Michelle Crane is a geography educator in Texarkana, Texas. She teaches geography, philosophy, sociology and diplomacy at Texas High School. She also sponsors Texas High’s Philosophy Club and Model UN team. She is a professor of geography at Texas A&M University at Texarkana and is currently completing a PhD at Texas State University in Geography Education. She loves to read, travel, cook and discuss philosophy.

Tool to Assess Student Understanding of the Five Themes of Human Geography
2024-10-19 14:15 - 15:00 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Colonnade, 60 E 5th St., Tempe, Arizona, 85281
Overview
Human geography acquaints students with a geographic perspective on topics such as culture, environment, population, migration, political systems, language, religion, ethnicity, urban challenges, and economic structures. The topics covered are closely connected to many events that dominate today’s news. A learning objective of Geographic education is to facilitate students in making the connection between the concepts and principles presented in the book with the actual world around them During the term, students are assigned to research recent current events and relate that event to course material. The assessment tool is a matrix that supports student observation and analysis of current events to identify and discuss course topics and the Five Themes of Geography: Movement, Region, Location, Human-Environment Interaction, and Place.
Session Focus
Higher Education | Assessment | Tool | 5 Themes | Curriculum and Instruction
Conference Room
Colonnade
Meet the Presenter
Serena Ota St. Clair, Ph.D., has been a faculty member at RCC since 1989. While retired from full time work, she still teaches Geography classes in the Social Science Departments at Southern Oregon University (Ashland Oregon) and Rogue Community College (Medford-Grants Pass, OR). She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geography from Oregon State University (OSU). A Master’s degree in Liberal Studies from Dartmouth, and her Doctorate in Educational Leadership from OSU. Throughout her career she has taught Human and World Regional Geography. With a focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts at her college, she branched out to develop and teach other courses in Social Science: International Studies, Intercultural Communication, Multicultural Education, and Women’s Studies. St. Clair has coordinated professional development for K-12 teachers and community college instructors for her entire career. She also designed student support programs and cohort structures. She conducted education research on applied math, stackable credentials, and systems thinking in organizations.

What Sports Leagues can tell us about Globalization
2024-10-19 14:15 - 15:00 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Dolores
Overview
Global Sports Leagues can be the perfect way to draw students’ attention to the geographic phenomena of globalization and glocalization. Using case studies from European Soccer Leagues, we will examine a spectrum of reactions to global forces; from Athletico Bilbao (the club resisting globalization through the adoption of unique local identity) to Manchester City (the club thriving through global networks including foreign investment and global player pools). Parallels to Major League Baseball will also be discussed with relationship to neo-imperial efforts of American sports businesses in Latin America and East Asia.
Session Focus
APHG | Globalization | Sports | Culture | World/International
Conference Room
Dolores
The Presenter
Daniel Duncan

Redlining is Only Part of the Story
2024-10-19 14:15 - 15:00 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Xavier
Overview
Redlining, some scholars contend, has become a “narrative crutch” that obscures a much longer history of housing discrimination. Redlining didn’t create systemic racism in American housing patterns – it sanctioned it. Vulnerable communities still feel the impacts of this profitable disinvestment in vast and far-reaching ways. The perpetuation of racist residential patterns far exceeds the reach of government actors. Public and private actors are, in many ways, equally responsible for the spaces we do and do not inhabit to this day. This session will include a deep dive into new maps and resources added to “Mapping Inequality” and other related digital humanities projects from the University of Richmond’s Digital Scholarship Lab and New American History. Participants will have an opportunity to unpack, understand, and explore OER resources designed to help seek solutions in the modern era.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | Redlining | Housing | Environment | Curriculum and Instruction
Conference Room
Xavier
Meet the Presenter
Annie Evans is the Director of Education and Outreach for New American History at the University of Richmond. Annie is a National Geographic Society Grosvenor Teacher Fellow, a NatGeo Certified Educator and Trainer, and Co-Coordinator of the Virginia Geographic Alliance. With over 30 years of classroom and educational leadership experience, she designs digital humanities curricula, and facilitates professional learning for K-16 teachers and museum educators, focusing on Historical Thinking Skills, GeoLiteracy, Instructional Coaching, Project-Based Learning, and Performance Assessments. She hopes New American History will inspire the next generation of public historians, history educators, and civic leaders.

"Sorting" out AP Human Geography - Low-fi, Old school, hands on learning activities
2024-10-19 14:15 - 15:00 | Mission Palms Coference Room: Joshua Tree
Overview
Stop on in and participate in old school activities for AP Human Geography students. These fun, engaging, comprehensive activities are designed to immerse students in the Human Geography content without being on their screen! (We love tech, but we also know that there is a place to get students away from it!). Students work in groups “sorting” out terms, concepts and data. Throughout the process students will be actively involved in categorizing and organizing information based on thematic connections, spatial relationships, and analytical frameworks inherent in human geography. These activities aim to promote collaboration, communication, and active engagement among students as they work together to identify patterns, make connections, and draw conclusions about the diverse ways in which human societies interact with their environments across the globe.
Session Focus
Secondary/High School | Engaging | Student focused | Collaborative | Old school hands-on technology
Conference Room
Joshua Tree
Meet the Presenters
Greg Sherwin has taught AP ® Human Geography from its origins in 2000-2001 at Stevenson High School in Chicago’s northern suburbs. Recently, he recently coauthored Human Geography for the AP ® Course with Erin Fouberg, Alec Murphy and Paul Gray (March 2020). Additionally, he has teamed up other expert AP® Human Geography teachers to create an app (iScore5) to prepare students for the exam.

Kolleen Madeck
Jim Dzialo

Introduction to using StoryMaps in your classroom
2024-10-19 14:15 - 15:00 | Mission Palms Conference Room: San Pedro, 60 E 5th St., Tempe, Arizona, 85281
Summary
There are tens of thousands of storymaps created by domain experts from around the world. This workshop will explore how to find, use, and evaluate student work related to existing storymaps in ArcGIS Online. The session will include discussion of national standards, readability, and elements of storymaps that may require special consideration (such as augmented or virtual reality). At the end of the session, participants will know how to locate and use a wide range of storymaps. This session does not require an ArcGIS Online login of software.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | STEM | Mapping
Room
San Pedro
Meet the Presenters
Dr. Thomas R Baker is an education manager at Esri and serves the K12 and higher education communities. Prior to joining Esri, he was at the University of Kansas in the Center for Research on Learning where he co-wrote and managed federal education grant programs and assisted in the teacher training program at the university. Tom was originally trained as a middle school science teacher. Tom’s latest technical and academic work can be found online at https://tbaker.com

Thriving in an Academic Career: A new resource for early career geography faculty and mentors.
2024-10-19 13:15 - 14:00 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Covetto, 60 E 5th St., Arizona, 85281
Overview
This session provides an overview and sample chapters from Thriving in an Academic Career: An International and Interdisciplinary Guide for Early Career Faculty, a book that will be published by Taylor & Francis in late 2024 or early 2025. Edited by geographers Michael Solem, Ken Foote, Shannon O’Lear, LaToya Eaves, and Jong Won Lee, the book is aimed at helping graduate students and early career faculty get a quick, successful start in an academic career. Even the best graduate training can leave faculty with questions as they start new jobs: What are the expectations for research, teaching, and service; and what are effective strategies for meeting and exceeding these expectations? This book helps answer these questions with concise, to-the-point chapters focusing especially on the issues that are often the greatest source of stress for new faculty, including the ways academic responsibilities sometimes intersect with their personal lives. The book encourages faculty to adopt a healthy and balanced perspective in their life and career that accounts for the interconnections between teaching, research, and service. This session will overview the book, provide sample chapters, and discuss ways it can be used in workshops, classes, and seminars.
Session Focus
Higher Education | College and University Faculty at All Career Stages | Career Guide
Conference Room
Covetto
Meet the Presenter

Dr. Ken Foote is a professor in the Department of Geography, Sustainability, Community and Urban Studies at the University of Connecticut. Much of his work focuses on improving professional development for early-career academics and department leaders. His research focuses on historic preservation, heritage tourism, and the commemorative landscapes of the U.S. and Europe, especially the way events of violence and tragedy are interpreted and memorialized. Ken is a past president of the NCGE (2006) and a past president and fellow of the AAG (2010-11). He has received awards from the NCGE, AAG, University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS), and the Royal Geographical Society. He has taught at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Colorado Boulder and holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Chicago. Among his books are Shadowed Ground: America’s Landscapes of Violence and Tragedy, Teaching GIScience and Technology in Higher Education, and Aspiring Academics: A Resource Book for Graduate Students and Early Career Faculty.

NASA GLOBE ... Connecting Global Issues Through a STEM Lens
2024-10-19 13:15 - 14:00 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Colonnade, 60 E 5th St., Tempe, Arizona, 85281
Overview
This session will share a cross-cutting perspective connecting geographic skills with STEM through the NASA GLOBE program. We will focus on how GLOBE is being used to develop STEM understandings through geographic skills and a C3 focus.
Session Focus
Middle School/Junior High | STEM | Geospatial | Global
Conference Room
Colonnade
Meet the Presenter
Mike Jabot is SUNY Distinguished Professor of Science Education at the State University of New York at Fredonia. He is the Education Deputy for the NASA GLOBE Program as well as the Director of the Institute for Research in Science Teaching at the State University of New York at Fredonia. His research investigates students’ conceptions of the natural world and how these conceptions shape their interactions in the sciences. In particular, his work is increasingly focusing on how “place-based” conceptions of the natural world and sciences generally through the development of spatial visualization. This research looks at the role that spatial reasoning plays in students’ conceptual frameworks and the interplay of these frameworks with frameworks based on larger scales.

Reversed Vocabulary: Flip Pre-Teaching Vocabulary on Its Head!
2024-10-19 13:15 - 14:00 | Mission Palms Coference Room: Joshua Tree
Overview
Discover a new way to pre-teach vocabulary with a strategy that combines image analysis, building language connections, and making predictions about the content right at the beginning of each unit.
Session Focus
Middle School/Junior High | Vocabulary, Image Analysis | ELLs | Curriculum and Instruction
Conference Room
Joshua Tree
Meet the Presenter
Dylan Kane is a Social Studies Instructional Specialist and Department Chair at Mead Middle School in Aldine ISD. He graduated with his Bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas at Austin in 2013 and earned a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Sam Houston State University in 2020. In addition to leading his department at the campus and district level, he also acts as Mead Middle School’s campus sponsor for National History Day. This is his ninth year working in public education.

Publishing in NCGE Journals
2024-10-19 13:15 - 14:00 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Dolores
Overview
The editors of the two NCGE journals – the Geography Teacher and the Journal of Geography – invite you to learn about the publication process for the journals and how you can become a successful author. Take half an hour to learn about preparing and submitting manuscripts, completing the publishing process, and supporting the discipline as a reviewer. Attendees will be able to ask questions and solicit publication advice for the rest of the session.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | Publishing | Geography Education Journals
Conference Room
Dolores
Meet the Presenters
Injeong Jo is an Associate Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies and the Faculty Coordinator of the Online Master of Applied Geography in Geographic Education at Texas State University. Her research focuses on geography and spatial thinking education, geospatial technologies for teaching and learning, as well as teacher education.

Rebecca Theobald is Assistant Research Professor in the Geography and Environmental Studies Department at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. She directs GeoCivics, asking
geographic questions to address redistricting and emphasizing the role geospatial technology plays in drawing electoral districts. She is editor of the National Council for Geographic
Education’s journal, “The Geography Teacher” and earned doctoral and masters’ degrees in geography from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Middlebury College.

Dr. Gregory Chu, Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, will begin his three-year term as editor of The Geography Teacher in January 2025. Throughout his career, Dr. Chu has held key roles such as Department Chair and National Science Foundation Program Director for Geography and Regional Science. His work includes numerous publications on geographic information science, cartographic design, and educational strategies, as well as authorship of two middle school geography textbooks. Dr. Chu’s extensive experience in the field will guide The Geography Teacher in continuing to provide innovative resources and support for geography educators.

Indigenous Sacred Places - A GeoCivics Perspective
2024-10-19 13:15 - 14:00 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Xavier
Overview
Every human possesses a “sense of place,” subjective feelings and memories evoked by a geographic location. Both culture and experience influence people’s perceptions of places and regions. This is especially evident of sacred places where physical and human characteristics interact to give spiritual meaning and significance. This inquiry-based lesson explores sacred places from a global to local scale of analysis, examines the unique nature of indigenous sacred places, and culminates with an investigation of local indigenous sacred sites. Based upon the 5E Model of Inquiry, this culturally responsive lesson incorporates active learning strategies and numerous scaffolds for diverse learners. This lesson is the product of a 2022 Summer Academy field study of The GeoCivics Project: “Westward Expansion Through the Lens of Indigenous Communities.” The GeoCivics Project is funded by the US Department of Education and operates through the ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College.
Session Focus
Secondary/High School |Place-based | Indigenous | Cultures | Inquiry
Conference Room
Xavier
Meet the Presenter
A self-proclaimed “geofanatic” with 30+ years in education, Jeannine Kuropatkin teaches World History/Geography and Holocaust Studies at Red Mountain High School in Mesa, Arizona. As a coach for the Model UN Team and as the campus liaison with both the Sister Cities Mesa, Youth Ambassador Exchange Program and Global Ties Arizona, Jeannine promotes student awareness of global connections as well as opportunities for citizen diplomacy and travel abroad. Participation in two Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (Morocco and Indonesia) and teacher fellowships in Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, and the US Territories (Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands), have allowed Jeannine to share authentic cultural experiences in the classroom and at teacher workshops. An avid curriculum writer, Jeannine’s Geography and History lessons are published on websites such as PBS Learning Media, Arizona Geographic Alliance, University of Arizona’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Fred T Korematsu Institute, GeoCivics Project, as well as in the journal, “The Geography Teacher.” Jeannine actively embraces leadership roles in Social Studies Education, serving as the current Vice President of the Arizona Council for the Social Studies (ACSS), long-standing Teacher Consultant with the Arizona Geographic Alliance (AzGA), and member of the Holocaust Education Advisory Committee for the Arizona Jewish Historical Society. Jeannine has received the NCGE Distinguished Teaching Award, Herff-Jones/Nystrom & NCGE Lesson Plan Award, and NCGE/CRAM Award for Exemplary Classroom Lesson. She is also a three-time recipient of the Great Moments in Teaching Social Studies Award, as well as the Isidore Starr Distinguished Social Studies Teacher Award from the Arizona Council of Social Studies. Jeannine was selected for the City of Mesa, Martin Luther King Jr. “Educator of the Year" Award.

Explore world cultures and geography with the new National Geographic MapMaker
2024-10-19 13:15 - 14:00 | Mission Palms Conference Room: San Pedro, 60 E 5th St., Tempe, Arizona, 85281
Overview
Join us for an exploration of world culture and geography with the MapMaker. We’ll discover the new features and functions of MapMaker as well as the hundreds of maps and data layers available. Educational resources focused on world cultures will also be shared to enhance your start with MapMaker. We’ll also discuss broad pedagogical methods and ideas for teaching with digital atlases. This session will not require an ArcGIS Online account.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | STEM | Mapping
Conference Room
San Pedro
Meet the Presenters

Kylie Donia has worked at Esri for over twenty years, first developing the software and then supporting schools using GIS. On the software side, she worked on developer tools and field operations apps, with a focus on documentation and best practices. Since transitioning to support schools in 2020, Kylie uses her technical skills to translate GIS into simple, approachable ideas for the classroom. Still passionate about data collection, she helps teachers and students with project design and implementation. As a part of the National Geographic MapMaker team, Kylie uses her development expertise to help drive requirements and build an app that best serves teachers and students.

Anita Palmer is a past middle and high school technology and social studies, teacher. Mrs. Palmer is the CEO of the woman-owned business GISetc, which provides geospatial professional development, curriculum, and support to K-12 and higher education teachers and students. Over the past 25 years, she has authored and taught hundreds of geospatial technology institutes and classes for K-12 and post-secondary teachers focusing on the integration of GIS technologies throughout the curriculum both in the USA and globally.
Mrs. Palmer is the co-author of over a dozen books that provide activities for teachers and students to use geospatial technologies in which to teach and learn. She has created GIS StoryMaps for ten Cengage Publishing textbooks that are available to the public. She has been on the teaching staff of Esri, National Geographic, and the National GeoTech Center and has worked with multiple universities on teacher professional development. In her spare time, Anita works on their non-profit Geoporter which works to train communities around the world how to use geospatial technologies to examine resources and solve local issues.

The Handbook of Geography Education: North American Perspectives
2024-10-19 11:00 - 11:45 | Mission Palms Conference Room: San Pedro, 60 E 5th St., Tempe, Arizona, 85281
Overview
The international community of geography educators has developed a Handbook for Geography Education. The book is intended to present a broad overview of research and practices in geography education at primary and secondary levels and to summarize the current state of knowledge in this sub-discipline of geography. The Handbook is organized around five components: the purposes of geography education—Why is it taught?; perspectives on geography education—What is taught?; practices of geography education—How is it organized and taught?; preparation of geography educators—How are geography educators prepared?; and possibilities for geography education—What are the futures of geography education from different national perspectives. In this proposed session, five authors of Handbook chapters from North America will present key ideas and findings from their chapter. Editors of the Handbook will moderate the session and summarize additional results.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | Geography Education | Teacher Preparation | Practices of Geography Education | Curriculum and Instruction
Conference Room
San Pedro
Meet the Presenters
Sarah Witham Bednarz is professor emerita of geography at Texas A&M University. Bednarz’s research interests are in the intersection of teaching and learning geospatial technologies and spatial and geographic thinking. She was PI on two major curriculum and educational research projects; co-authored the national geography standards, Geography for Life (1994 and 2012); participated in the National Research Council Learning to Think Spatially project, and helped to develop the National Assessment of Educational Performance (NAEP) framework in geography. In 2013 she co-chaired the Geography Education Research Committee (GERC) of the 21 st Century Road Map for 21 st Century Geography Education Project. She has been an AP Human Geography reader, table leader, question leader, exam leader, and served on the Test Development Committee.

Jerry T. Mitchell is Professor and Chair of the Department of Geography at the University of South Carolina. He holds a BS in History and MA in Geography from Towson University, and a PhD in Geography from the University of South Carolina where he returned to the faculty in 2004 after teaching for several years in Pennsylvania. Jerry’s research has focused on environmental hazards and geography education. He was the coordinator of the South Carolina Geographic Alliance for 17 years, providing geography learning opportunities for more than 40,000 teachers and students. Additionally, he served as the Editor of the Journal of Geography from 2010-2019, was President of the National Council for Geographic Education in 2020, and was awarded the 2022 Gilbert Grosvenor Honors in Geographic Education from the American Association of Geographers.

Importance of Narratives: Incorporating AAPI Voices into the Classroom
2024-10-19 11:00 - 11:45 | Mission Palms Conference Room: Colonnade, 60 E 5th St., Tempe, Arizona, 85281
Overview
According to the Pew Research Center, the Asian population in the United States nearly doubled from 2000 to 2019 and yet only about 24% of those surveyed felt well informed about AAPI history in this country. Many cite the internet or social media being the primary platform of information. Without a doubt, there is a need for more education on AAPI history in this country. This session will highlight the multiplicity and heterogeneity of “Asian American” as a social and political category through the use of maps. The maps will include specific information about populations identified as Indian, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese and how the geographic clustering of these groups changed over time as a result of social, economic, or political forces. The workshop will also incorporate use of the Galtung Triangle to provide educators a framework of how to discuss injustices that may occur over time.
Session Focus
Secondary/High School | AAPI history | Ethnic Studies | Inclusion | Curriculum and Instruction
Conference Room
Colonnade
Meet the Presenters
Jeanne Shin-Cooper has been a public high school educator for twenty years. Over the course of her career, she has taught multiple disciplines in the social sciences in addition to work within the field of EL. She is currently a consultant and exam reader for AP Human Geography and is a National Board Certified Teacher. She received her Masters in Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University and her Masters in Geography through the EDGE Program at University of Oregon. Currently, she serves on the Educator Advisory Committee for Harvard’s Religion and Public Life in conjunction with teaching College World Religions Dual Credit. Most recently, she was invited as a keynote speaker for Harvard University’s Global Studies Outreach Workshop.

Federalism and Geography
2024-10-19 11:00 - 11:45 | Mission Palms Coference Room: Joshua Tree
Overview
This session aims to explore the correlation between geography and federalism, shedding light on the impact of state diversity on local control in specific policy areas. The ultimate objective is to convene a gathering of researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and scholars to delve into the intricacies of federalism’s decentralized structure, discussing the challenges and opportunities that come with it. As a valuable takeaway, participants will have access to the Civic Literacy Curriculum – a free resource from the Center for American Civics – equipped with classroom-ready materials that can be implemented right away.
Session Focus
Secondary/High School | Federalism | Geography | Government and Civics
Conference Room
Joshua Tree
Meet the Presenters
Jeff Davis is one of the Program Directors of Civic Education at Arizona State University’s Center for American Civics. In this role, Jeff has been hosting professional development workshops for K-12 educators to learn how to strengthen civic education through inquiry approaches with primary sources. Before his current role, Jeff taught Social Studies for 18 years, with subjects including government, economics, American history, European history, and comparative politics at various grade levels, while also coaching his school’s Model United Nations team. He is currently a doctoral student at ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers’ College, seeking an Ed.D. in Educational Innovation and Leadership. His research focuses on methods to teach students the skills of civil dialogue through controversial topics in history and politics.

Liz Evans has over two decades of experience in civic education and has taught most of the social sciences in a public school setting, including middle and high school. She has a BS. Ed, Elementary, and an M. ED in secondary History from Northern Arizona University. She is currently a doctoral student studying Educational Leadership. She is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher in Social Studies/History and a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). She has worked with the Bill of Rights Institute as a Program Manager and is now a Program
Director for Civic Education and Outreach at Arizona State University. Liz believes that teachers are the experts in their classrooms and loves making connections to help all educators and students succeed!
