Experiential Learning in Geography
2025-10-18 10:00 - 10:45 (America/Chicago) | Conference Room: Nebraska
Summary
Experiential Learning has been an impactful and important part of Geography Education for years. There are many different types of EL that we use and encourage our students to participate in, and each one serves an important purpose in developing students for future careers. This session will review this topic and assist you in thinking where and how you could use EL in and out of your classrooms.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | Curriculum and Instruction | Overview, Reflective, Exciting Transformative Learning
Conference Room
Nebraska
Meet the Presenters
Jonathan Wessell

(Sea) Lions, (Bengal) Tigers, & (Polar) Bears: Climate Vulnerability and our Changing Landscape
2025-10-18 10:00 - 10:45 | Conference Room: Iowa
Summary
Experiential Learning has been an impactful and important part of Geography Education for years. There are many different types of EL that we use and encourage our students to participate in, and each one serves an important purpose in developing students for future careers. This session will review this topic and assist you in thinking where and how you could use EL in and out of your classrooms.
Session Focus
Secondary/High School | World/International | Climate, Health, Biomes
Conference Room
Iowa
Meet the Presenters
Daniel Duncan is a high school social studies teacher at AC Flora High School in Forest Acres, SC. He teaches AP Human Geography, IB Geography, and South Carolina Geography. Daniel’s classroom focuses on experiential learning to promote student understanding through authentically engaging with their world. Focusing on understand the impacts of geographic phenomena at a local scale.

Geo-Literacy for the Countries of the Americas
2025-10-18 11:00 - 11:45 | Conference Room: Flannigan
Summary
The Pan-American Institute for Geography and History (IPGH) initiated a multi-year research and outreach effort to enhance geography education across the Americas through a charge given to its Commission on Geography’s Committee on Education. Through this endeavor, called ‘Geo Literacy for the Countries of the Americas’, researchers focused on four broad areas: geography teaching methods, connecting geography and education stakeholders, best practices in on-line geography teaching, and best practices in in-person teaching.
This presentation outlines the accomplishments of the Committee on Education and then provides specific examples of educational materials and best practices developed through the project, with a focus on those that are directly transferable to US classrooms and state-level curricular standards. As one example, the presenters will share bilingual (Spanish and English) materials that build off of the National Geographic Geo-Inquiry Process to incorporate the research or creative activities of National Geographic Explorers as well as educator/student guides that align the steps of Geo- Inquiry with select geographic themes in Chile and across the globe. Geography education/teacher education researchers at a Chilean university led the development of these materials with the support and expertise of teachers and teacher education students in the region.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | World/International | Geo-Literacy for the Countries of the Americas
Conference Room
Flannigan
Meet the Presenters
Alex Oberle (PhD Geography) is Professor of Geography at the University of Northern Iowa. His research specializes in geography education, specifically inquiry in geography, internationalizing teacher education, and GIS/geospatial technologies in geography education. Email: alex.oberle@uni.edu

Sandra Alvarez Barahona (PhD Education) is Professor of History and Geography in the Education Department at the University of La Serena (Chile). Her research specializes in geography education and the promotion of geographic thinking among teacher education students. email: salvarez@userena.cl Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5357-767X

Fabián Araya Palacios (PhD Geography) is Professor of Social Sciences and Dean of the College of Social Sciences, Business, and Law at the University of La Serena (Chile). His research specializes in geography education for civic engagement, sustainability, and the promotion of geographic thinking among teacher education students. email: faraya@userena.cl Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6083-1661

Harnessing AI to Enhance Language Acquisition and Content Mastery in the Geography Classroom
2025-10-18 11:00 - 11:45 | Conference Room: Clark
Summary
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming education, offering powerful tools to help teachers support emergent bilingual students in acquiring language skills while mastering geographic concepts. This presentation explores innovative ways AI can enhance both language acquisition and content knowledge in the geography classroom. By integrating AI-driven adaptive learning technologies, educators can create inclusive, personalized learning experiences. AI-powered tools can provide real-time language support, scaffold academic vocabulary, and improve reading comprehension, allowing students to engage more deeply with geographic themes. Additionally, interactive AI applications enable students to analyze maps, interpret data, and engage with case studies through choose-
your-own-adventure experiences, fostering deeper exploration and critical thinking. These tools make content more accessible, engaging, and culturally relevant, empowering emergent bilingual students to take ownership of their
learning.
Beyond instructional benefits, this session will address best practices for implementing AI ethically and effectively while also addressing the underlying concerns with utilizing AI to support student learning. Participants will gain practical strategies for leveraging AI to foster multilingual engagement, critical thinking, and collaboration in geography education while also reducing teacher workload through automated language support, personalized feedback, and data-driven insights that help tailor instruction to student needs. By harnessing AI’s potential, educators can bridge language barriers, enhance content understanding, and empower emergent bilingual students to succeed. Attendees will leave with actionable insights and resources to integrate AI- driven language and content support into their geography classrooms.
Session Focus
Secondary/High School | English Language Learners/Bilingual Education | AI-Powered Learning, Language Acquisition, Geography Education
Conference Room
Clark
Meet the Presenter
Dawn Brimhall serves as an Instructional Specialist in Aldine ISD and is a current doctoral candidate at the University of Virginia focusing on Curriculum and Instruction. In 2020, Dawn was named the Secondary Teacher of the Year for Aldine ISD and was nominated as a Teacher of the Year for the Houston Area Alliance for Black School Educators (HAABSE). Prior to becoming an Instructional Specialist, Dawn spent 10 years teaching history in Texas and Utah. In her free time, Dawn loves to travel the world and explore new cultures.

William Danes serves as a World Geography Teacher and Department Chair in Aldine ISD. In 2012, William earned his Master’s in Education Technology from Lamar University. Prior to 2018 William served the district as a Technology Specialist. William has taught at both the middle school and high school levels as well. In his free time, William likes to hike and read.

People and their Environment: Human Geography Lessons for Young Learners
2025-10-18 11:00 - 11:45 | Conference Room: Nebraska
Summary
In this workshop, the presenter will engage participants in interdisciplinary,hands-on activities that introduce elementary students to human geography content and geographic skills, while also promoting global citizenship. After a brief overview of concepts and learning strategies, the presenter will engage participants in several hands-on activities that explore human geography topics including: human changes to the environment, such as land use patterns, natural resource patterns and pollution. Participants will also consider issues surrounding human well-being, including education, health and social equity. The presented activities build skills in communication, social interaction and cooperation, listening, role-playing, data gathering and more. Participants will receive lesson plans in an electronic format, all matched to state and national academic standards.
Session Focus
Early Childhood/Elementary | Curriculum and Instruction | Human Geography, Environment
Conference Room
Nebraska
Meet the Presenter
Amanda Steiner

Traversing the Historical Religious Geography of India and Nepal
2025-10-18 11:00 - 11:45 | Conference Room: Iowa
Summary
Attendees at this session will gain an understanding of India’s and Nepal’s religious geography from the birth of Hinduism through the modern era, based on a historical approach, as experienced through an educational trip to these countries during 2024. Travel participants participated in Hindu and Buddhist religious ceremonies, interacted with other religious groups, and visited multiple religious sites during the two-week trip. This session will show how South Asian religions developed cultural landscapes, human-environmental interactions, and their role in shaping society. Religious sites emphasized in the presentation include Varanasi, Lumbini, and Pashupatinath. Additionally, the presentation examines religion’s role in developing distinct cultural artifacts and architecture, as well as art and rituals, during the region’s Medieval era. This session examines primary and minority Indian/Nepali religions and their impact on non-native religions in the two countries, shaping modern-day religious practices.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | World History | Hinduism, Buddhism, Geography
Conference Room
Iowa
Meet the Presenter
Wyndham Whynot

Beyond the Hype: Critical AI Literacy for Geography and Social Studies Educators
2025-10-18 11:00 - 11:45 | Conference Room: Winnebago
Summary
The rapid emergence of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has sparked both optimism and unease within education. For geography and the broader social sciences, GenAI tools such as ChatGPT promise efficiencies in curriculum design, data analysis, and feedback, yet they also produce errors, false citations, and cultural oversimplifications. The use of large language models poses ethical dilemmas that risk undermining core disciplinary practices in the social sciences. This session situates geography educators within this tension, emphasizing the need for AI and data literacy that is critical rather than uncritical. Drawing on recent research in geography and social studies education, I propose a framework of “error typologies” that reveal how GenAI can reshape knowledge production and interpretation of curricular content. The session will engage participants in considering ways to integrate AI that fosters critical inquiry and civic literacy, without outsourcing essential human judgment to machines. Rather than treating GenAI as a shortcut for assessment or content delivery, educators are invited to explore how it can serve as a tool for critique, revealing questions of bias, representation, and the implications for its use in the social studies classroom. Attendees will leave with some practical strategies for guiding classrooms to critically evaluate GenAI outputs and apply disciplinary thinking to AI-generated claims. Bring your questions and comments!
Session Focus
All Audiences | Digital Literacy | AI | Technology
Conference Room
Winnebago
Meet the Presenters
Samantha Serrano is a high school social science teacher at James B. Conant High School in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. She has a Master’s degree in Geography and Environmental Studies from Northeastern Illinois University and is currently working on her Ph.D. in Geography Education. Samantha carries professional interests in APHG, equity and access in education, creating curricular tools for teachers, and learning about ethical concerns in technology. When not teaching and running the school’s geography club, you can find her at the gym, in an airport, or at Target with her son, Matteo at the video game demo kiosk.

The Fate of Research in Geography Education: A Look Back to Plan Forward
2025-10-18 11:00 - 11:45 | Conference Room: Lewis
Summary
Research in geography education – Where are we now? This session begins a dialog to evaluate the current state of geography education and to determine concrete steps for the future. Guided by published research agendas and The Roadmap for 21st Century Geography Education project, we will examine the geography education community’s progress tackling issues and conducting meaningful research. Come join us explore challenges and success as we discuss practical plans for the future.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | Research | Geography Education
Conference Room
Lewis
Meet the Presenter
Mary Curtis

Beyond the Map: Organizing a GIS-Focused Study Abroad Experience
2025-10-18 13:15 - 13:45 | Conference Room: Flannigan
Summary
Integrating Geographic Information Systems (GIS) into study abroad programs offers students an immersive, hands-on learning experience that bridges classroom concepts with real-world applications. This presentation will provide a practical guide to designing and implementing a GIS-focused study abroad program, from selecting a destination and identifying local partnerships to navigating logistics, budgeting, and curriculum integration. Drawing from firsthand experience, I will share insights on structuring field activities, ensuring access to necessary software and equipment, and leveraging interdisciplinary collaborations. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies, common pitfalls to avoid, and ideas for fostering meaningful student engagement in international geospatial education. Whether you’re considering launching a new program or refining an existing one, this session will equip you with the tools to create a transformative learning experience for students through GIS study abroad.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | Technology | Study Abroad, GIS, Class Development
Conference Room
Flannigan
Meet the Presenter
Mayra Román-Rivera

Borchert Teacher Fellowship: Letting Teachers Loose in a Map Library
2025-10-18 13:15 - 13:45 | Conference Room: Winnebago
Summary
The Borchert Map Library at the University of Minnesota started a summer Teacher Fellowship in 2023, bringing five teachers per summer together for a two-month deep dive into the resources of the library. Teachers have time to connect with other teachers, research in the Map Library, learn new technologies, connect with UMN faculty and staff, and find content for their classrooms. The session will showcase participating teachers, activities they’ve developed and logistics for other organizations to start their own fellowship program.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | Curriculum and Instruction | Maps
Conference Room
Winnebago
Meet the Presenters
Shana Crosson is a former Social Studies teacher turned geospatial technology consultant at the University of Minnesota, now focusing on integrating geospatial technologies and spatial thinking across the curriculum in higher education and in K-12.

Jess Winkelaar

Box, Box, Box! Fostering pre-service elementary teachers’ geographic lens through global F1 and STEM
2025-10-18 13:15 - 13:45 | Conference Room: Lewis
Summary
In this session, we share experiences of our collaborative, three-year pedagogical project that focuses on building elementary pre-service teachers’ geographic awareness and geographic lens with a purposeful eye towards connecting social studies, geography, science and STEM engineering processes that contribute to geographic thinking. Engaging the most popular global sport on the planet, Formula 1, a high-speed and thrilling racing series that encompasses 21 countries and 5 continents over the course of a year, we will share with participants how we foster an inquiry-based, experiential, and curiosity-driven “race week” experience that showcases vast geographical locations, diverse cultures, elements of human-environment interaction, a geography-informed student built foldable, codable Ozobot robots, and integrated STEM learning standards for our students and the young learners they will teach. Participants will leave the session with materials, handouts, examples, and resources to help them consider their own Formula 1 exploration connected to global sport and popular culture for both young learners and pre-service teachers. While we worked from an elementary viewpoint, we think there are opportunities for all grade levels and related disciplines given the spatial, ecological, historical, economic, and technological perspectives possible.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | Curriculum and Instruction | Pre-Service Teachers, Elementary, Formula1
Conference Room
Lewis
Meet the Presenters
Lori Meier is a Professor in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at ETSU. Her teaching and research interests include elementary social studies education with a specific focus on elementary geography and building pedagogically innovative moments of “global connections” with pre-service teachers. She also leads the M. Ed. In Curriculum and Instruction graduate program with an eye towards incorporating curriculum studies and foundations.

Laura Robertson is an Associate Professor of Science Education at East Tennessee State University. Her teaching and research interests include integrating science with other content areas, STEM education, and collaboration between pre-service and in-service teachers. She has 11 years of experience as a middle school math and science teacher and 11 years of experience teaching science and STEM education courses in higher education.

Localizing Global Challenges: A Case Study on constructing EcoBricks in Intro Geography courses
2025-10-18 13:15 - 13:45 | Conference Room: Clark
Summary
This session will share information on the construction of an EcoBrick together with results of a case study evaluating the pedagogical outcomes of incorporating EcoBrick construction into undergraduate geography and sustainability curricula. Drawing on submitted student documents and EcoBrick events over the past four years, the project investigates how hands-on EcoBrick construction fosters appreciation of global sustainability issues and geographic concepts while addressing implementation challenges. Lesson plans will be provided from three intro college level courses: Human Geography, Physical Geography, and Introduction to Sustainability Studies.
Session Focus
Higher Education | Curriculum and Instruction | EcoBricks, Global Citizenship, Sustainability
Conference Room
Clark
Meet the Presenter
Tracey Edwards

Exploring South Asia Through Literature: Using Award-Winning Books to Enrich Geography Education
2025-10-18 13:15 - 13:45 | Conference Room: Nebraska
Summary
The South Asia Book Award (SABA) celebrates outstanding literature that authentically portrays the cultures, histories, and lived experiences of South Asians, both in South Asia and across the globe. This session introduces geography educators to the wealth of award-winning books that can enhance students’ understanding of the diverse countries and cultures that make up the South Asian region. Through a curated selection of books, from picture books to young adult novels, participants will discover how to integrate compelling literature into geography curricula to bring South Asia to life in the classroom. Whether you’re teaching about historical events, contemporary cultural issues, or geographical landscapes, these books offer valuable perspectives that will engage students and deepen their global awareness.
Session Focus
Early Childhood/Elementary | Literacy | Geography, Literature, Culture
Conference Room
Nebraska
Meet the Presenter
Julie Wakefield is a retired high school teacher now teaching in the higher education system. She volunteers with the South Asia Book Award Committee to choose books annually that are worthy of recognition. She regularly integrates cultural stories, poetry, literature and other print options into her teaching.

Restricting the Mercator Map Projection Usage in Public School Classrooms
2025-10-18 13:15 - 13:45 | Conference Room: Iowa
Summary
The Nebraska State Legislature passed a law in 2024, prohibiting public school classrooms from using the Mercator map projection, in favor of Gall-Peters and AuthaGraph. Although there are exceptions described in this statute when it is permissible to use projections outside of Gall-Peters and AuthaGraph, it has led to confusion among public school educators. This session will describe how peoples’ mental maps could be shaped by map projections and common map layouts, which could serve as rationale for such a law. In addition, this session will explain how educators facing a ban on the Mercator map projection can still use web GIS and map projections other than Gall-Peters.
Session Focus
Secondary/High School | Curriculum and Instruction | Mercator, Map Projection, Mental Maps
Conference Room
Iowa
Meet the Presenter
Lesli Rawlings is Professor of Geography in the Department of History, Politics, and Geography at Wayne State College (Nebraska). Her research interests include geographic information systems (GIS) applied to study local housing markets, public education issues, and population decline in rural Nebraska. Her teaching interests are GIS and computer mapping, urban geography, economic geography, and world regional geography.

Promoting Critical Perspectives in a Geography Methods Course
2025-10-18 14:00 - 14:30 | Conference Room: Winnebago
Summary
This session shares ongoing efforts by the presenter to promote critical perspectives in a geography methods course for pre-service teachers. This presentation explores how interdisciplinary connections have raised student consciousness about the utility of the field of geography to frame issues of power and inequality. Drawing from decolonial thought, ethnic studies, and media literacy, instruction in this course has centered critical approaches to geography education. More specifically, students have examined the power and politics of naming places/things, Indigenous experiences with colonialism, climate migration, and mis(dis)information about the recent conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. These critical approaches have resulted in high student engagement and an increased focus on issues of global justice. Supporting data, collected over the past three years, will be shared. Lastly, this session will be planned so that there is time for participants to discuss their thoughts on the presenter’s practices and/or share their own efforts to promote critical perspectives in geographic education.
Session Focus
Higher Education | Curriculum and Instruction | Critical Geography, Media Literacy, Decolonial Pedagogies
Conference Room
Winnebago
Meet the Presenter
Sean Corrigan

Geography Teaching for the Future: Leveraging New Ideas
2025-10-18 14:00 - 14:30 | Conference Room: Lewis
Summary
In a rapidly changing educational world filled with AI, social media, loosening teacher requirements, and curriculum concerns across states, what can we do in geography education to ensure our existence beyond all the unnecessary noise? In this presentation we will share ways to keep geography relevant and get students engaged in the classroom. We will discuss the tools needed to motivate students through the creation of transformational educational experiences. This begins with getting to know who our students are, what they are interested in, and what they aspire to become. Geography is in everything that we do, and what better opportunity than in the classroom to showcase to students all the things they can do with an understanding in geography? We will talk about how to leverage AI and social media to create everlasting learning opportunities that will shape the future generation of geographers! After this, your principal will see the value of investing in geography and in you!
Session Focus
Secondary/High School | Curriculum and Instruction | Pedagogy, Student Motivation, Authentic Learning
Conference Room
Lewis
Meet the Presenters
Joann Zadrozny, PhD. is the senior research associate for the Gilbert M. Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education at Texas State University. Her research agenda involves tracking the status of geography and social studies standards across every state, including analyzing the alignment among national and state geography standards. She also focuses on improving K-12 geography curriculum through the implementation of Powerful Geography, and empowering teachers by leading professional development opportunities with the Texas Alliance for Geographic Education.

Named a top modern-day explorer by Canadian Geographic and a top innovator in education by The Science Coalition, Dr. Aaron Doering is an online learning, design, and adventure-learning pioneer. He has skied, trekked, and dogsledded the most remote regions of the world while delivering unique online learning experiences to students worldwide. Aaron is a laureate of the prestigious Tech Awards that honors innovators applying technology to benefit humanity, a fellow for the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, as well as the International Explorers Club. Aaron’s work and adventure learning projects have been featured on CNN International, the Weather Channel, CBC, CBS, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and more.

Place Representation and Music Geography: Australia and Midnight Oil
2025-10-18 14:00 - 14:30 | Conference Room: Clark
Summary
This session explores the lyrical content of the music of Midnight Oil, an Australian rock band active for more than 40 years, as a strategy to illuminate the varied political, social, and environmental landscapes of Australia. The band’s lyrics use place names, evocative place description, and Australian vernacular terms to create for the listener an understanding of Australia, that though still limited to the experience of the band themselves, is fuller and more complete than portrayed in much popular culture. A simple mapping exercise of Aboriginal population is included as part of the inquiry. The content of this session follows from a recent paper published in the Journal of Cultural Geography.
Session Focus
Middle School/Junior High | World/International| Music Geography, Australia
Conference Room
Clark
Meet the Presenter
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.

Food Geography
2025-10-18 14:00 - 14:30 | Conference Room: Nebraska
Summary
Given the complexity of our world today, it’s never too early to introduce students in the elementary grades to geographic thinking. While it’s not unusual for schools to include as part of their cultural programming an experience of “ethnic” foods, the subject of food can be used in a more substantive way, acquainting students with the concepts of place, location, space, scale, pattern and globalization.
This presentation will discuss how the celebration of foods and festivals can be taught in a more geographic way- from production to consumption-in conjunction with award winning picture books focused on the food cultures of East Asia, plus teaching suggestions and resources.
Session Focus
Early Childhood/Elementary | World/international | Foodways, Asia, Picture-books
Conference Room
Nebraska
Meet the Presenter
Nancy Hope, M.Ed., M.F.A., M.A., is the Executive Director of the Freeman Book Awards, which recognizes quality literature for young adults and children in East and Southeast Asia. She lived in Japan for 8+ years, first as a line officer in the United States Navy, and then as a designer and dyer of kimono. Later as the Associate Director of the Kansas Consortium for Teaching about Asia, she promoted international education at the K-12 level.

The Chesapeake Bay Climate Institute: Integrating Climate Literacy into Curriculum
2025-10-18 14:00 - 14:30 | Conference Room: Iowa
Summary
Studies indicate climate literacy remains low across the U.S. K–12 system. Funded by the Virginia and Maryland Geographic Alliances, the Chesapeake Bay Climate Institute has introduced educators to the issue of climate change since 2019. Using America’s Estuary as a place of learning, the immersive multi-day, professional development experience includes expert lectures constructed around the topic of climate change, highlighting the ways in which communities understand, respond, and address climate change. Institute participants utilize the Geo-Inquiry Process, combing a rapidly eroding barrier island and listening to the narratives of local watermen of Tangier Island. This presentation overviews the institute and highlights learning activities designed by participants. Integration is needed in science education, where standards of learning often compartmentalize topics without consideration for how other course material beyond single disciplines.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | Literacy | Climate Education, Chesapeake Bay, Experiential Learning
Conference Room
Iowa
Meet the Presenter
Dr. Michael Allen is an Associate Professor of Geography at Towson University. He previously served as a co-coordinator of the Virginia Geographic Alliance and Geography Program Director at Old Dominion University. For more than a decade, Dr. Allen has worked with formal and informal K-16 educators to promote geographic understanding and climate literacy. Since 2019, Michael has coordinated the Chesapeake Bay Climate Institute, a multi-day experiential professional development program that uses the Chesapeake Bay watershed as a place of learning, culminating with a field experience on Tangier Island. In 2023, Allen worked at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar, improving cross-cultural climate literacy. Exploring the Balkans, Allen reflects on his experience and highlights future professional development opportunities to explore both the human and environmental landscapes of the region. His local and international experience integrates cultural competence, geospatial technology, scientific understanding, and critical thinking into pedagogical approaches. A physical scientist, Michael has extensive experience working across academic disciplines to bridge mutual understanding between social and natural sciences.

How the Amazon Rainforest connects and supports your classroom curriculum and why it's important to teach about it.
2025-10-18 14:00 - 14:30 | Conference Room: Flannigan
Summary
This engaging workshop explores the vital role of the Amazon and its powerful connections to classroom curriculum at every grade level encompassing subjects as diverse as geography, social studies, science, language arts, math and global citizenship. Educators will discover how the Amazon influences global climate, biodiversity, indigenous cultures, and why its preservation is critical to all of us. Participants will leave with practical strategies and resources to bring the Amazon to life in their classrooms, fostering student awareness about environmental interdependence and encouraging critical thinking about sustainability and global responsibility.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | Amazon, Educator Travel
Conference Room
Flannigan
Meet the Presenter
Jackie McCann

Omaha Redlining: How the hotel we are in divided Omaha
2025-10-18 14:45 - 15:15 | Conference Room: Flannigan
Summary
This session will cover redlining in Omaha as well as the opportunity for highway diets to reconnect a city. It will cover the economics of redlining in Omaha and how the hotel we are in divided the city. The session will end with an uplifting message of entrepreneurship and how teens across Omaha have worked with history to bring life back to forgotten corridors across the city.
Session Focus
Secondary/High School | Political Geography, Redlining, Transportation
Conference Room
Flannigan
Meet the Presenter

Matthew Pierson is the Associate Director of the Nebraska Council on Economic Education. He is a 13-year veteran of the classroom, spending that time teaching social studies and economics at Omaha Bryan High School. He holds Master’s degrees in both History Education and Economic Education. He was a co-author of NAEE Silver
Curriculum Award Winning, Entrepreneurship in our Community, The Ethics, Economics, and Social Issues Curriculum, and Beyond the Bet: Economics of Gambling. Matthew has a passion for bringing new and odd resources and topics into economics classrooms and loves inserting his own passions into economics.

Context, Input, and Implementation Challenges on Learning Outcomes in Geography
2025-10-18 14:45 - 15:15 | Conference Room: Winnebago
Summary
Geography has laudable goals that could make students become responsible citizens. However, students’ achievement in geography is generally low, and this is caused by map reading. Previous studies on map reading concentrated largely on teaching strategies with little attention to factors that could hinder effective learning of geography. This study, therefore, investigated self-efficacy and locus of control as predictors of students’ achievement in map reading among secondary school students in Ibadan, Nigeria. A descriptive research design of survey type was adopted for the study. Simple random sampling techniques were adopted to select ten senior secondary schools from Ibadan North and Akinyele Local Government Areas of Oyo state, while a total number of three hundred students participated in the study. The instruments used were validated and reliable.
Results showed that there was a positive relationship between self-efficacy and academic achievement, while locus of control was found to have a negative relationship with academic achievement. It was also found out that achievement in map reading was jointly predicted by self-efficacy and locus of control. Self-efficacy and locus of control influenced secondary school students’ achievement in map reading. Teachers should work on the self-efficacy and locus of control of students.
Session Focus
Secondary/High School | Curriculum and Instruction | Geography, map reading, psychological variables
Conference Room
Winnebago
Meet the Presenter
Peter A. Amosun, Ph.D is a Professor of Social Studies Education and Geography Education at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Prof. Amosun’s research interests cut across Social Studies and Civic Education, Environmental Education, Climate Change Education, Geography Education, Internet Crime Prevention, and Curriculum and Instruction. He has made tremendous impact in promoting geography education within and outside the University community through scholarly work with local and international benefits. To his credits are several local and international journal articles, chapters in books and books. Professor Amosun is currently the Director, Centre for General Studies in the University of Ibadan. He was the immediate past Head, Department of Arts and Social Sciences Education, University of Ibadan. He has supervised tens of undergraduate and Postgraduate students. He has acted as external examiners within and outside Nigeria. He has mentored many students who are now occupying strategic places and position in academia both within and outside Nigeria.

How Do We Define Regions?
2025-10-18 14:45 - 15:15 | Conference Room: Lewis
Summary
In this presentation, I demonstrate a mini-lecture and in-class activity I use in my undergraduate World Regional Geography course to introduce students to the concept of a region. On an outline map of U.S. states, they draw the boundaries of “the Southwest” and list physical and/or human characteristics that define the region. They compare their results with those of classmates in a follow-up discussion and learn that the boundaries and characteristics of perceptual regions can vary. This lesson becomes the foundation for asking what characteristics the textbook authors used to draw the boundaries of each world region that we study throughout the course. It challenges students to think about “Why?” rather than just accepting world regional boundaries. The lesson is a thought-provoking way to begin the semester. I have also used it in a high school world geography classroom with similar success
Session Focus
Higher Education | World Geography | Engaging, Strategies
Conference Room
Lewis
Meet the Presenter
Dr. Susan Hume is a Professor in the Department of Geography & GIS at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She previously taught 9th grade World Geography and 12th Economics and has been an APHG Reader. Susan served on the NCGE Board of Directors as VP for Research from 2012-2014, President in 2015, and Past President in 2016.

Count Me In! Using Labs to Teach Population Geography
2025-10-18 14:45 - 15:15 | Conference Room: Clark
Summary
In this session, we will discuss how to use laboratory assignments to teach population geography. Population geography connects diverse topics including sustainability, economics, politics, and culture. Using labs to teach this topic allows students to use real world data to deepen their understanding of population geography concepts. In this session, we will begin with an overview of teaching population geography, connecting it to geography and social studies standards. In the second part, examples of labs will be introduced, including the topics of international censuses, population policy campaigns, age specific fertility rates, and migration patterns. While the session is geared toward the college classroom, the content is easily adaptable to middle and high school grades. Lab assignments will be shared with attendees.
Session Focus
Higher Education | Inquiry | Population Geography, Labs
Conference Room
Clark
Meet the Presenter
Gillian Acheson is a professor in the Department of Geography & GIS at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She teaches a variety of courses including World Regions, Human Geography, Population Geography, Spatial Thinking & Behavior, Geography of Food, and Geography and Social Justice. Her research interests are in geography education and the cultural landscape with publications ranging from map reading and comprehension to representation of women in introductory geography textbooks to the cultural landscape of cemeteries. She is a past recipient of NCGE’s Higher Education Distinguished Teaching award.

The Student Atlas of Nebraska – Ten Years in Practice
2025-10-18 14:45 - 15:15 | Conference Room: Nebraska
Summary
The creation of a dedicated student atlas for use in Nebraska elementary grade classrooms will be discussed. This teaching tool began with an initial 2016 limited edition and came to fruition with subsequent revised publications in 2017 and 2022. Mirroring efforts in recent years by several state geography organizations, the process of starting an atlas project and continuing it through revised editions will be presented. From the beginning, necessary consideration must be given to atlas format, funding, research, deadlines, and roll out. Focus groups involving elementary school teachers can identify state- specific subjects for emphasis. Buy-in from educators can be achieved via creation of ancillary materials (e.g., informational website, teacher’s guide, and lesson plans) to complement atlas use.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | Curriculum and Instruction | Atlas, Mapping
Conference Room
Nebraska
Meet the Presenter
Dr. Randy Bertolas is professor of geography at Wayne State College in the rolling hills of northeast Nebraska. He has taught at WSC for 30 years and chaired the Department of History, Politics, and Geography for the past 17 of those years. From 2004-18 he served as coordinator of the Geographic Educators of Nebraska and in 2011-12 was president of Gamma Theta Upsilon, the international honor society in geography.

Exploring the Complex Geography of the Balkans
2025-10-18 14:45 - 15:15 | Conference Room: Iowa
Summary
This lecture will present the findings of two geographers who recently conducted field research in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in preparation for leading professional development in the region. The presentation will provide a foundation for deeper exploration and future engagement with the Balkans, a region shaped by a rich and complex history of intersectional geography that remains largely unfamiliar to many U.S. educators. Belgrade and Novi Sad are the home of the Church of Saint Sava and Petrovaradin Fortress, sometimes called Gibraltar on the Danube. Each community provides insight as to the role of religion, politics, trade, and commerce, both today and in the past. An important region during both World Wars, the rise of nationalism served as a catalyst to the breakup, or Balkanization, of Yugoslavia in 1991. Prior, Sarajevo hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics, aimed at projecting a positive image of the region after the death of President Josip Broz Tito who had led the Communist Party
Session Focus
Secondary/High School | Government and Civics | Balkans, Exploration, Professional Development
Conference Room
Iowa
Meet the Presenter
Dr. Michael Allen is an Associate Professor of Geography at Towson University. He previously served as a co-coordinator of the Virginia Geographic Alliance and Geography Program Director at Old Dominion University. For more than a decade, Dr. Allen has worked with formal and informal K-16 educators to promote geographic understanding and climate literacy. Since 2019, Michael has coordinated the Chesapeake Bay Climate Institute, a multi-day experiential professional development program that uses the Chesapeake Bay watershed as a place of learning, culminating with a field experience on Tangier Island. In 2023, Allen worked at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar, improving cross-cultural climate literacy. Exploring the Balkans, Allen reflects on his experience and highlights future professional development opportunities to explore both the human and environmental landscapes of the region. His local and international experience integrates cultural competence, geospatial technology, scientific understanding, and critical thinking into pedagogical approaches. A physical scientist, Michael has extensive experience working across academic disciplines to bridge mutual understanding between social and natural sciences.

Opportunities in Non-Formal Education to Enhance Girls’ Motivation Toward Learning Geography, Geospatial Technologies, and Related Careers
2025-10-18 14:45 - 15:15 | Conference Room: Winnebago
Summary
Join Lisa Elikan, NCGE 2025 Salvatore J. Natoli Dissertation Award recipient as she shares her dissertation that was conducted under the Department of Geography, Texas State University, San Marcos Texas, USA
Session Focus
All Grade Levels
Conference Room
Winnebago
Meet the Presenter
Lisa Elikan is an independent scholar and non-formal geography educator. Her research interests include geography education, non-formal learning in STEM and geography, motivational learning theories, and geospatial technologies in education.

Mapping the African American Green Book
2025-10-18 15:30 - 16:15 | Conference Room: Flannigan
Summary
The erasure of minority stories makes challenging the dominant reading of history important. The Green Book was an annual travel guide used by African American travelers from the 1930s to the mid-1960s to navigate a racially segregated America. A group of 9th graders, social studies teachers, and college students mapped Omaha’s 30 Green Book sites using ArcGIS and created Story Maps and a Hub Page to share the history uncovered on each one. This experience lit a spark with diverse summer school students and created an engaging hands-on curriculum for Nebraska’s social studies classrooms. The work will also educate thousands of Nebraskans through a 2025 joint exhibit with The Durham Museum, Great Plains Black History Museum, and Smithsonian. View the project at https://www.ops.org/Page/6677
Session Focus
Secondary/High School | U.S. History | History, Mapping, Research
Conference Room
Flannigan
Meet the Presenters
Kristine Gerber is a passionate storyteller and historian who brings Omaha’s rich past to life. A graduate of the University of Nebraska at Kearney with degrees in Journalism and Public Relations, she began uncovering the city’s hidden stories in 1999 while working at the Omaha World-Herald. There, she discovered the most powerful way to explore history—by listening to the everyday people who lived it. Those interviews led to the publication of Omaha: Times Remembered, and launched a publishing journey that has resulted in more than 50 books celebrating Omaha and Nebraska history. Today, Kristine shares her love of local history and architecture with secondary students and social studies teachers through Omaha Public Schools’ Making Invisible Histories Visible program, inspiring the next generation to connect with the places and stories that shaped their community
Cory Johnson

The geography of the Holocaust: Topics, geographical concepts, methods, and representation
2025-10-18 15:30 - 16:15 | Conference Room: Lewis
Summary
In this presentation, I will explore how geographic principles enhance Holocaust education, emphasizing spatial thinking, geographic inquiry, and geospatial technologies. Drawing from professional development courses and curricula, I will highlight three key themes: the varying scales of the Holocaust, the geographies of camps and ghettos, and the spatial ideologies behind Nazi policies. Maps, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and visual tools will be essential for examining these topics. I will discuss the Holocaust within its geographic and historical contexts, illustrating how geography frames the spatial organization of Nazi genocide— from ghettoization to extermination. I will also show how geospatial technologies and mapping reveal patterns and offer insights at both city and national levels. Finally, I will address the role of spatial thinking in Holocaust commemoration, connecting geographic education to civic engagement and historical reflection.
Session Focus
Secondary/High School | World History | Geography of the Holocaust, GIS
Conference Room
Lewis
Meet the Presenter
Alberto Giordano is a Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Texas State University. He has served as President of UCGIS, the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science and is the current Interim Director of the Gilbert M. Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education at Texas State University. Alberto is a founding member of the Holocaust Geographies Collaborative, a network of researchers and scholars interested in bringing geographical approaches, methods, and perspectives to the study of the Holocaust and other genocides.

Engaging local history through data literacy, storytelling, and digital scholarship
2025-10-18 15:30 - 16:15 | Conference Room: Clark
Summary
Building on Ed Ayers’ 2021 essay, “All History is Local,” freely accessible digital scholarship tools and resources will be explored, allowing participants to drill down to local historical data, and then widen the lens to see how their community is part of the story of our shared American past. Data visualizations and interactive mapping projects enhance student engagement by connecting local history classrooms, museums, and historical sites. Innovative open educational resources (OER) and digital scholarship embed data literacy and historical thinking skills. Join this BYOD interactive launchpad for local explorations of our collective stories from America’s past.
Session Focus
All Grade Levels | U.S. History | Digital Storytelling, Geoliteracy
Conference Room
Clark
Meet the Presenter
Annie Evans has spent over half her life teaching history, civics, and geography in Virginia’s K12 public schools. With New American History, she collaborates with a network of educators across the country to create learning resources to inspire the next generation of educators, public historians, and community leaders. Embracing inquiry and place-based learning, she serves as co-coordinator of the Virginia Geographic Alliance and is a National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellow and Certified Educator.
Explore New American History’s Learning Resources, and share your feedback with Annie on Bluesky: @mapm8ker.bksy.social
