Events

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 […]

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 […]

Summary AP Human Geography students often possess strong content knowledge but struggle to translate that understanding into effective Free-Response Question (FRQ) responses. This interactive workshop focuses on practical, classroom-tested strategies for scaffolding FRQs while maintaining AP-level rigor and alignment with the APHG Course and Exam Description. Participants will analyze common student breakdown points, unpack FRQ […]

Summary Rivers flood and change over time which can cause major issues regarding political boundaries between nations. What happens when this directly impacts people’s homes, cultural beliefs, and economic zones. This session focuses on the shifting Rio Grande border with Mexico due to significant flooding in the 19th century and the changes that resulted in […]

Summary Explore the profound social, historical, and political meanings behind the names attached to places. Far from simple labels, place names, or toponyms, are power-laden expressions of a community’s identity, values, and ongoing struggles for recognition.   Session Focus All Grade Levels | Human and Cultural Geography | Inquiry Conference Room Cullen Meet the Presenter Brian Smith is […]

Summary In this session, we'll explore how Survey123 can be used to design authentic, student-generated content experiences across a range of subjects — from World Languages and Geography to History and Psychology — in both K–12 and higher education settings. Participants will walk away with concrete examples of classroom-ready Survey123 projects that challenge students to […]

Summary In the early 2000s, integrating geography and literacy at the elementary level garnered attention (Gandy, 2006; Holloway, 2015) in the wake of NCLB and the College and Career Readiness Standards. The need for such calls further intensified in the wake of recent nationwide science of reading initiatives and persistent standardized testing. Consequently, elementary teachers' […]

Summary National cemeteries are powerful geographic places, yet they are rarely used as instructional anchors in the classroom. This session presents a place based inquiry model that uses national cemeteries to help students explore space, movement, scale, and human impact through the study of Korean War veterans. Through the Korean War Legacy Foundation’s Veterans Legacy […]

Summary Explore the history and background of the Arab-Israeli conflict through primary source documents and teaching strategies that support critical analysis of texts. Major historical developments in the Arab-Israeli conflict will be discussed. Participants will develop content knowledge, experience student activities, and receive ready-to-use resources and links to digital resources with detailed lesson plans including […]