If You Give a Teen a Nuke…Geographic Scenario Gameplay in the Classroom

Conference Room: Flannigan

Summary Inspired by our favorite educational philosopher, Ms. Frizzle, I sought an immersive way to engage my teenage students in the global issues we explore in class. Simply showing pictures of immigration, war, or international relations can only go so far before these topics begin to feel distant and abstract. Enter Geo-Strat!, an online strategy […]

Why Are There So Few Black Farmers in America? A Look At The History Of Racism In Rural Land Use

Conference Room: Clark

Summary Participants in this session will examine the history of racism in US rural land use and farm systems, attempting to answer the question, “Why are there so few Black farmers in America today?” It wasn’t always this way, so how did we arrive here? This session aims to develop educators’ content area knowledge and […]

Mundane Magnificence: Artifacts, Food, and Everyday Objects in Geography!

Conference Room: Iowa

Summary Mundane Magnificence: Artifacts, Food, and Everyday Objects!! Get ready for this fast-paced and engaging session. Leave with ready-to-use strategies and resources for your K-12 Geography classroom. This session is designed to engage and challenge participants by exposing them to out-of-the-box teaching strategies for teaching both physical and human geography. During this session, participants will […]

Empowering Geo-Inquiry: How the Science of Reading Can Strengthen Secondary Student Participation

Conference Room: Nebraska

Summary In 2022, our nation’s 8th graders scored at mere 29% proficient readers. 71% of our 8th grade students are below reading level and yet we know as Educators that a strong Geography based curriculum revolves around the ability for students to learn to independently access knowledge. Geo-Inquiry not only opens students to the possibilities […]

AAG – A Workshop on the Geography Pipeline from High School to College

Conference Room: Winnebago

Summary The AAG task force on undergraduate geography education (aka the Gen A Project) seeks to develop strategies to address the challenge of declining undergraduate geography majors in the US today. This interactive workshop will provide some basic background information on the problem and the work of the task force. The organizers will then facilitate […]

Teaching Holocaust Geographies

Conference Room: Flannigan

Summary This session will focus on the interdisciplinary relationships between geography education and Holocaust education. The session will begin by focusing on an edited book (co-edited by the presenters) that features geographers, historians, and education experts, including many voices from NCGE members, on the benefits, obstacles, and methods of teaching the Holocaust using the perspectives […]

Canceled Art, Dance, Theatre, Oh My! Using Arts-Methodologies in the Geography Classroom

Conference Room: Winnebago

Summary Come explore how art, dance, theatre, and other creative methodologies can deepen student understanding of geography! In this session, participants will engage in hands-on activities that bring historical narratives, social movements, and global issues to life through tableau theatre, protest art, and cartographic storytelling. Attendees will walk away with ready-to-use lesson ideas, creative assessment […]

Beltrami on Expedition: Exploring Minnesota in 1823 in search of the Headwaters of the Mississippi River

Conference Room: Lewis

Summary Throughout the 1800's, as the United States expanded north and west after the Louisiana Purchase, there were numerous explorers who came to northern Minnesota searching for the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Though the mouth was well known and much of the lower and middle river well charted, it proved to be difficult to […]

Globalizing the ‘Yellow Peril’ and Anti-Asian Racism with Human Rights Education

Conference Room: Iowa

Summary This presentation examines how human rights education (HRE) can help teachers frame and globalize themes related to anti-Asian racism. This session will demonstrate how human rights concepts can help teachers identify stereotypes and discrimination faced by Asian people across the globe, and promote citizenship that interrupts these forces. Following a brief overview of HRE […]

Beyond the Hype: Critical AI Literacy for Geography and Social Studies Educators

Conference Room: Clark

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 […]

The Journey Begins: Building a State Atlas for Iowa

Conference Room: Nebraska

Summary State atlases are a tool to teach students about the social, cultural, and natural history and current affairs within the context of a state’s geography. Maps help students make richer connections to a subject by engaging students to connect events to an actual place. In 2024, several members of the Geographic Alliance of Iowa […]

Poster Session: Minnesota State University and the Founding of NCGE

Banquet Level - Mezannine Area

Summary The National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) was founded in 1915 by George J Miller and Cora Sletten, both teacher educators at the then State Normal School in Mankato, Minnesota (today Minnesota State University, Mankato). Both taught Geography in the Social Science Division during their tenure in Mankato. While it was originally called the […]