Summary In his book, Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time (2012), Jeff Speck offers ten planning steps for creating American downtowns that are useful, safe, comfortable, and interesting. While the ten steps emphasize walkability, they include improvements to land use, public transit, bicycle use, and traffic flow. In this […]
Summary Teaching political geography can be an especially complicated task as foreign relations issues are now flash points for cultural and academic debate. This session is designed to connect educators with high-quality non-partisan materials to help teach foreign relations, and how to connect to the content and practices of political geography. Using practice-based methodologies to […]
Summary The International Scholars Program is an innovative, student-centered initiative designed to extend geographic education beyond the traditional classroom. Grounded in inquiry-based and interdisciplinary learning, the program immerses students in the study of global geographies, cultures, governments, economies, and histories through sustained, experiential engagement. Participants engage in structured book studies, cultural analyses, collaborative inquiry sessions, […]
Summary With the support of an NSF IUSE: ITYC collaborative planning grant, the presenters are looking to invigorate the teaching of undergraduate introductory geography courses, which define the discipline for thousands of undergraduates. They can also be the spark to draw students to major in geography and related fields. We wonder whether the standard survey […]
Summary Revolutionary Crossroads is a poster session that shows how geography shaped key events of the American Revolution. Developed through the Revolutionary Crossroads field experience with the Virginia Geographic Alliance, the presentation focuses on how rivers, terrain, and transportation routes in the Hudson and Mohawk River Valleys influenced movement, settlement, and military strategy. The poster […]
Summary This case study investigates how a high school geography teacher implemented blended and personalized learning (BLPL) in a World Geography course to support student learning within a BLPL framework. The instructional design integrated structured classroom routines, flexible pacing, and digital supports, including a progress-monitoring tool, to create multiple pathways for student engagement with geographic […]
Summary 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 as an author, […]
Summary Recent calls from geographers, including AAG President William Moseley—notably in his 2025 NCGE address—emphasize strengthening the vital bridge between K-12 and college geography educators. Despite robust AP Human Geography (APHG) enrollment, geography remains a "discovery degree" with students rarely considering it beyond high school. This presentation addresses this pipeline challenge through a model for […]
Summary OpenStreetMap is the world's largest crowdsourced geospatial database, powering thousands of applications across corporate, government, nonprofit, and academic sectors. As a free and community-driven project, anyone can contribute and anyone can use the data. As a tool for teaching geography, OpenStreetMap (OSM) is unparalleled. Mapping, as a classroom activity, fosters spatial awareness and locational […]
Summary How do we find tomorrow’s geospatial professionals today? The answer lies in "backwards mapping" industry requirements directly into our K-12 classrooms. Join the author and presenter for a deep dive into Geospatial Approaches and Careers, a curriculum passion project designed to bridge the gap between foundational education and professional practice. This session demonstrates how […]
The Geospatial Room located in the Halsey Family Hall, offers a full day of sessions dedicated to bringing the power of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) into today’s classrooms. Designed for geography educators at all levels, these sessions will showcase innovative tools, instructional strategies, and real-world applications that help students analyze patterns, solve problems, and better […]
Summary Imagine a free, comprehensive digital atlas designed specifically for K–12 educators — one that connects geography, history, science, ELA, and math in a single resource. The Virginia Geographic Alliance has built exactly that with An Atlas of Virginia, offering 40 full-page maps, interactive online resources, nonfiction text, charts, and a teacher guide aligned to […]
