BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//National Council for Geographic Education - ECPv6.15.20//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://ncge.org X-WR-CALDESC:Events for National Council for Geographic Education REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Chicago BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:CDT DTSTART:20240310T080000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:CST DTSTART:20241103T070000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:CDT DTSTART:20250309T080000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:CST DTSTART:20251102T070000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:CDT DTSTART:20260308T080000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:CST DTSTART:20261101T070000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251018T163000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251018T170000 DTSTAMP:20260512T190954 CREATED:20250714T142112Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250714T142112Z UID:10000367-1760805000-1760806800@ncge.org SUMMARY:Mapping the Geographical Theme of Movement on the GeoHistoGram DESCRIPTION:Summary\nFrom ancient civilizations to religions\, technology\, and even disease\, the geographic theme of “Movement” plays an integral role in our understanding of the world. Participants will investigate the geographic theme of movement utilizing the GeoHistoGram\, using such topics as civilizations\, religion\, and disease. At the end of the session\, participants will receive a packet of resources and “class ready” activities. \nSession Focus\nSecondary/High School | World History | Movement\, History/Geography Integration\, Mapping \n Conference Room\nClark \nMeet the Presenter\nCynthia Bloom URL:https://ncge.org/event/mapping-the-geographical-theme-of-movement-on-the-geohistogram/ LOCATION:Conference Room: Clark CATEGORIES:Conference Sessions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ncge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Conference_2025_Session.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251018T153000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251018T161500 DTSTAMP:20260512T190954 CREATED:20250714T133010Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250820T193253Z UID:10000361-1760801400-1760804100@ncge.org SUMMARY:Engaging local history through data literacy\, storytelling\, and digital scholarship DESCRIPTION:Summary\nBuilding 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. \nSession Focus\nAll Grade Levels | U.S. History  | Digital Storytelling\, Geoliteracy \nConference Room\nClark \nMeet the Presenter\nAnnie 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. \nExplore New American History’s Learning Resources\, and share your feedback with Annie on Bluesky: @mapm8ker.bksy.social URL:https://ncge.org/event/engaging-local-history-through-data-literacy-storytelling-and-digital-scholarship/ LOCATION:Conference Room: Clark CATEGORIES:Conference Sessions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ncge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Conference_2025_Session.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251018T144500 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251018T151500 DTSTAMP:20260512T190954 CREATED:20250711T194542Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251017T024005Z UID:10000355-1760798700-1760800500@ncge.org SUMMARY:Count Me In! Using Labs to Teach Population Geography DESCRIPTION:Summary\nIn 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. \nSession Focus\nHigher Education | Inquiry | Population Geography\, Labs \nConference Room\nClark \nMeet the Presenter\nGillian 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. URL:https://ncge.org/event/count-me-in-using-labs-to-teach-population-geography/ LOCATION:Conference Room: Clark CATEGORIES:Conference Sessions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ncge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Conference_2025_Session.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251018T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251018T143000 DTSTAMP:20260512T190954 CREATED:20250711T185358Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250711T185358Z UID:10000349-1760796000-1760797800@ncge.org SUMMARY:Place Representation and Music Geography: Australia and Midnight Oil DESCRIPTION:Summary\nThis 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. \nSession Focus\nMiddle School/Junior High | World/International| Music Geography\, Australia \nConference Room\nClark \nMeet the Presenter\nJerry 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. \n  \n  \n  URL:https://ncge.org/event/place-representation-and-music-geography-australia-and-midnight-oil/ LOCATION:Conference Room: Clark CATEGORIES:Conference Sessions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ncge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Conference_2025_Session.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251018T131500 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251018T134500 DTSTAMP:20260512T190954 CREATED:20250711T180855Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250711T180855Z UID:10000344-1760793300-1760795100@ncge.org SUMMARY:Localizing Global Challenges: A Case Study on constructing EcoBricks in Intro Geography courses DESCRIPTION:Summary\nThis 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. \nSession Focus\nHigher Education | Curriculum and Instruction | EcoBricks\, Global Citizenship\, Sustainability \nConference Room\nClark \nMeet the Presenter\nTracey Edwards \n  URL:https://ncge.org/event/localizing-global-challenges-a-case-study-on-constructing-ecobricks-in-intro-geography-courses/ LOCATION:Conference Room: Clark CATEGORIES:Conference Sessions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ncge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Conference_2025_Session.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251018T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251018T114500 DTSTAMP:20260512T190954 CREATED:20250711T131309Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250711T132942Z UID:10000338-1760785200-1760787900@ncge.org SUMMARY:Harnessing AI to Enhance Language Acquisition and Content Mastery in the Geography Classroom DESCRIPTION:Summary\nArtificial 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-\nyour-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\nlearning. \nBeyond 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. \nSession Focus\nSecondary/High School | English Language Learners/Bilingual Education | AI-Powered Learning\, Language Acquisition\, Geography Education \nConference Room\nClark \nMeet the Presenter\nDawn 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. \n  \nWilliam 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. \n  URL:https://ncge.org/event/under-the-map-of-germany-maps-and-the-art-of-war-1918-1945/ LOCATION:Conference Room: Clark CATEGORIES:Conference Sessions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ncge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Conference_2025_Session.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251018T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251018T104500 DTSTAMP:20260512T190954 CREATED:20250710T204339Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250711T185903Z UID:10000333-1760781600-1760784300@ncge.org SUMMARY:Lightening Lessons for Transformative Learning DESCRIPTION:Summary\nWe invite contributors to use 5-8 minutes to make brief\, lively presentations of classroom ideas\, materials\, or strategies that work to electrify geography education and inspire and mentor others. The session is envisioned as a workshop-like panel where contributors “pitch” and discuss their ideas\, whether fully developed or still in planning. \nWe invite interested participants to submit their ideas-title and brief description to ken.foote@uconn.edu and s-bednarz@tamu.edu by 1 September\, 2025. The session will be open to any and all even without prior submission. This is a workshop to improve and hone high quality geography lessons/materials. \nSession Focus\nSecondary/High School | Curriculum and Instruction  | Advocacy\, Curriculum Development\, Transformative Learning \nConference Room\nClark \nMeet the Presenters\nSarah 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. \n \nDr. 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. URL:https://ncge.org/event/lightening-lessons-for-transformative-learning/ LOCATION:Conference Room: Clark CATEGORIES:Conference Sessions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ncge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Conference_2025_Session.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251018T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251018T094500 DTSTAMP:20260512T190954 CREATED:20250710T183430Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250710T183430Z UID:10000327-1760778000-1760780700@ncge.org SUMMARY:World Regions: Revisited\, Rename\, Redrawn? DESCRIPTION:Summary\nJoin us for a “re-exploration” of regions\, those mental constructs that shape how students learn about their world. Can regions be constructed to be more accurate\, fair\, and useful? Regionalization\, and the relationships between power and space\, are an important part of AP Human Geography and other geography courses. Geographers have long questioned the regional frameworks typically used in world regional geography courses (and other social studies courses) in middle-school\, high school\, APHG\, and college offerings. This topic is especially significant now as a new political regime in the United States realigns allegiances and trading partnerships to create new regions (or to rename established regions). Gerrymandering\, for example\, is a form of regionalization. Teaching students to “make” regions themselves may assist in understanding the dynamics that go Into that process. Just as some communities of color or indigenous peoples engage in “counter-mapping” – creating maps that challenge dominant power structures – we suggest students should be able to engage in their own “counter-regionalization.” \nSession Focus\nAll Grade Levels | World/International| Regionalization\, Counter-Regionalization\, World Regions \nConference Room\nClark \nMeet the Presenter\nSarah Bednarz and Mark Bockenhauer  URL:https://ncge.org/event/world-regions-revisited-rename-redrawn/ LOCATION:Conference Room: Clark CATEGORIES:Conference Sessions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ncge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Conference_2025_Session.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251018T080000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251018T084500 DTSTAMP:20260512T190954 CREATED:20250710T152311Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250710T152311Z UID:10000321-1760774400-1760777100@ncge.org SUMMARY:Spiraling to help students interpret random internet “facts” DESCRIPTION:Summary\n“Students can find facts on the internet; we should focus on teaching skills.” This observation is common\, but it is also naive and dangerous. If students lack a framework of accurate and well-connected facts for comparison\, it is hard to teach a skill of evaluating new facts for accuracy or relevance. The key word in that sentence is framework. A remembered fact might contradict a new observation or internet page\, but the key test is how each new fact fits with accepted knowledge. A discussion like this might seem abstract\, but it has gained new urgency as the internet makes all kinds of “facts” both easier to access and more memorable. One plausible response is to create spiral curricula — to build knowledge frameworks by deliberately revisiting core topics in different grades\, building a foundation of basic skills and facts in early grades and then refining and extending in later grades. A short presentation\, handouts\, and a website provide examples that deal with topics as varied as climate change \nNCGE 2025 Conference Session Proposal 50 Abstract continued:: \, pre-Columbian trade\, and redlining. Participants in small groups then use templates to build learning progressions for topics of personal interest. \nSession Focus \nAll Grade Levels | Curriculum and Instruction | Activities\, Curriculum\, Learning progressions \nConference Room\nClark \nMeet the Presenter\nPhil Gersmehl is in the third generation of “Teacher Gersmehls.” He earned a BA in Education from Concordia Teachers College\, Illinois\, and a PhD in Geography from the University of Georgia\, then taught at Concordia for five years before moving to the University of Minnesota. There\, he helped develop several distance-learning courses and large-enrollment classes (300+ students). These included a new general-education course on the Language of Maps\, which led to an Annenberg Public-TV project and a course manual that is now distributed by the National Council for Geographic Education. In 1990\, the Association of American Geographers asked Phil to serve as Director of ARGUS (Activities and Readings in the Geography of the United States)\, ARGWorld (Activities and Resources in the Geography of the World)\, and the Teaching Geography Project. During 12 years of funded projects\, Phil authored a number of interactive computer simulations and made presentations in summer institutes and other teacher workshops in 34 states\, Canada\, Japan\, Korea\, and Russia. A third edition of his book\, Teaching Geography\, was published by Guilford Press in 2014. Recently\, he has been working with teams of Michigan teachers to develop and test lessons and online resources to meet the new social-studies standards in that state. URL:https://ncge.org/event/spiraling-to-help-students-interpret-random-internet-facts/ LOCATION:Conference Room: Clark CATEGORIES:Conference Sessions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ncge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Conference_2025_Session.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251017T161500 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251017T170000 DTSTAMP:20260512T190954 CREATED:20250821T181313Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250821T181313Z UID:10000372-1760717700-1760720400@ncge.org SUMMARY:Beyond the Hype: Critical AI Literacy for Geography and Social Studies Educators DESCRIPTION:Summary\nThe 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! \nSession Focus\nAll Grade Levels| Curriculum and Instruction| Technology \nConference Room\nClark \nMeet the Presenter\nSamantha Serrano URL:https://ncge.org/event/beyond-the-hype-critical-ai-literacy-for-geography-and-social-studies-educators/ LOCATION:Conference Room: Clark CATEGORIES:Conference Sessions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ncge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Conference_2025_Session.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251017T151500 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251017T160000 DTSTAMP:20260512T190954 CREATED:20250709T184127Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250927T152441Z UID:10000313-1760714100-1760716800@ncge.org SUMMARY:Why Are There So Few Black Farmers in America? A Look At The History Of Racism In Rural Land Use DESCRIPTION:Summary\nParticipants 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 is suitable for all grade levels but best applies to secondary school US History or AP Human Geography teachers. Participants will leave the session with a grab-and-go unit plan that is ready to use directly with students. \nSession Focus\nSecondary/ High School | U.S. History/Human Geography | Diversity in agriculture \nConference Room\nClark \nMeet the Presenters\nLeah Hood (she/her) grew up the sixth generation of Hoods on R. G. Hood Family Farms Inc. in NE Iowa. After earning her B.A. in Geography & History from Macalester College in St. Paul\, MN\, she began teaching secondary social studies in 2008. Leah completed her Master of Arts in Teaching in 2013 from Hamline University (St. Paul\, MN). She has spent the last 18 years teaching middle school and high school social studies & adult basic education in the Twin Cities\, as well as undergraduates at St. Catherine University in St. Paul\, MN. Leah is passionate about turning a spotlight on the history of the intersections between US agricultural systems and civil rights movements\, and takes very seriously her responsibility as a farm owner and an educator to act with social responsibility to support diverse and emerging farmers. \n  URL:https://ncge.org/event/why-are-there-so-few-black-farmers-in-america-a-look-at-the-history-of-racism-in-rural-land-use/ LOCATION:Conference Room: Clark CATEGORIES:Conference Sessions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ncge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Conference_2025_Session.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251017T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251017T150000 DTSTAMP:20260512T190954 CREATED:20250709T175442Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251017T025750Z UID:10000307-1760706000-1760713200@ncge.org SUMMARY:Teaching the Middle East and Global Migration Through Graphic Novels DESCRIPTION:Summary\nThis interactive workshop introduces secondary geography educators to graphic novels as powerful pedagogical tools for teaching spatial concepts related to human migration\, geopolitical borders\, and transnational movement. Drawing on GW’s Middle East Studies research collection curated by Dr. Amal Cavender\, participants will explore how graphic narratives can transform complex geographic theories into accessible spatial stories. Dr. Cavender will highlight works like “Baddawi\,” “Hakim’s Odyssey\,” “The Arab of the Future\,” “Persepolis\,” and “Arab in America” that effectively visualize human mobility\, cultural landscapes\, and territorial conflict. These narratives provide geography teachers with compelling resources to illustrate concepts of place\, space\, and human-environment interaction through the lens of Middle Eastern experiences. Participants will receive a comprehensive research guide for integrating graphic novels into geography curricula\, with attention to migration patterns\, boarder politics and spatial perspectives. \nThrough guided activities\, geography teachers will develop lesson plans that enhance students’ spatial thinking while fostering cross-cultural understanding\, helping students recognize geographic patterns in human movement and develop nuanced perspectives on how geopolitical forces shape migration experiences locally and globally. \nSession Focus\nSecondary/High School | World/International | Human Migration\, Geopolitical Borders\, Graphic Novels in Education \nConference Room\nClark \nMeet the Presenter\nDr. Amal Cavender\, is a Middle East Studies research librarian in the Global Resource Center at George Washington University’s Gelman Library. Amal has a background in Arabic and Turkish languages\, Islamic Art and architecture\, and Middle East and North Africa research. She earned her Ph.D. in Global History from Purdue University and has worked in the US and abroad\, teaching global history\, religious studies\, and Arabic and Turkish languages. Amal is fluent in five languages and focuses on collection development for Arabic\, Turkish\, and Persian languages\, as well as literature\, history\, and religion. As a Middle East and North Africa area studies specialist with an academic teaching background\, she is dedicated to enriching educational resources and promoting global understanding through her scholarly work and community engagement. URL:https://ncge.org/event/teaching-the-middle-east-and-global-migration-through-graphic-novels/ LOCATION:Conference Room: Clark CATEGORIES:Conference Sessions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ncge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Conference_2025_Session.png END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR