Florida Geographic Alliance Newsletter

2012

Spring

While You Were Out

Thanks to everyone’s help Geography Awareness Week (GAW) this past fall was a success. In addition to preparing for next year’s FL GAW, FGA is continuing to make strives in Strategic Planning for Geography in Florida. To learn more, click on the links to the bottom right of your screen.

Articles this season focus on the National Geographic Geography Bee, American Geographical Society’s Geographic Knowledge and Values Survey, and travel opportunities that include grants and scholarships. Although many of the new and exciting opportunities in this season’s newsletter are listed under various articles, please be sure to check out the Now Available section below!

Don’t forget to tell your friends- FGA is now on both Facebook and Twitter! Like/Follow us today!

Want an article in next season’s newsletter? Email bpichard@ispa.fsu.edu with your information!

Call for Award Nominations

In order to recognize those who have contributed to geographic education, the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) is giving awards to those who are involved in teaching, research, and service.

A full list of awards and regulations can be found by clicking here. All award nomination materials should be sent to awards@ncge.org. Winners will be declared in early summer and will be recognized at a ceremony during NCGE’s annual conference.

Florida Geography Bee

The 24th Annual National Geographic Society Florida Geography Bee will be held at Jacksonville University on Friday, March 30, 2012. 100 of the state’s best young geographers will compete for the opportunity to represent Florida in the national competition in Washington DC this May. Douglas Hazzard, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Jacksonville University will welcome this year’s participants. Erik Henderson, JU Geography Alumni and GIS Business Consultant at CSX will once again serve as the final-round moderator. Any questions regarding this year’s State Geography Bee can be directed to Ray Oldakowski, Department of Geography, Jacksonville University (904-256-7669; roldako@ju.edu).

American Geographical Society’s Geographic Knowledge and Values Survey

We are conducting a nationwide survey of public attitudes toward geography and knowledge about geography. This is our part in a major study funded by the National Science Foundation. This Roadmap project is a joint effort of the National Geographic Society, the National Council for Geographic Education, the Association of American Geographers, and AGS. The overall topic is geographic literacy, a matter of serious concern in America today. We invite all U. S. citizens and long term residents of the United States to take the survey. The only other eligibility requirement is that you must be age 18 or older. The results will help guide Federal and state policies regarding geographic education. You may access the survey through the AGS website (www.amergeog.org) or at this URL.

Based on trial runs, we estimate the survey will take 12 to 18 minutes of your time.

Travel Opportunities

Travel Grants

Margaret Christine Collier, a 6th grade geography teacher, recently went to Costa Rica as part of the Toyota International Teachers Group. The group included teachers of all different curricular areas from the United States. According to Collier, she was “the oldest teacher there and had every bit as much fun soaking up all [she] could learn as the youngest!!”

Since returning, Collier has incorporated lessons involving Costa Rica and “comparing some of the environmental issues with the Everglades” with her 6th graders. “I hope to use some of the commonalities for compare and contrast when I get to Africa and we look at its rain forest areas. It was a trip of a lifetime for a geography teacher,” said Collier.

“There is no price that can be set on what I observed, what I experienced and what I brought away with me from the experience to share with my students…There are opportunities out there even in these economic tough times but one has to be willing to invest some time into the applications and possibly some of their own personal time into the trip since many districts will not give professional leave.”

Below is a list of websites Collier has compiled over the last few years that involve travel grants:

You will need to go to the website and navigate from there. I have used all lower case letters caps for the website list for the most part; you may find you need uppercase letters at times.
REMEMBER – SOME GRANTS TAKE YOU PLACES IN THE SUMMER, SOME ON SCHOOL TIME. YOU MAY BE REQUIRED TO USE SOME OF YOUR OWN TIME AND MONEY OR BOTH. I PERSONALLY CONSIDER EVERY MINUTE I HAVE SPENT APPLYING FOR GRANTS AND TRAVELING TO BE PRICELESS. CHRIS COLLIER

http://www.grantsalert.com GENERAL GRANTS, ALSO THEY ARE FOUND ON OUR SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA WEBSITE UNDER THE GRANTS DEPARTMENT AS WELL MOST OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITH A GRANTS ALERT SYSTEM
http://www.geeo.org TRAVEL POSSIBILITIES WITH SOME SCHOLARSHIP AND FINANCIAL AID AVAILABLE, ALSO REASONABLY PRICED TOURS IF YOU CARE TO SAVE AND BUDGET
http://irex.org/about-us     INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL GRANTS FOR TEACHERS
http://nsta.org    NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ORGANIZATION, WHOSE ORGANIZATION OFFER GRANTS THAT ALSO OVERLAP INTO OTHER CURRICULAR AREAS
http://iie.org   THIS SITE IS FOR INTERNATIONAL TEACHER EXCHANGE AND TRAVEL
http://fga.freac.fsu.edu This is from the Florida Geographic Alliance
http://www.expeditions.com/Grosvenor_Teacher_Fe674.asp? This site is from the Florida geographic alliance for a specialized trip to the Arctic area.
http:///www.esuus.org/Scholarships_exchanges.htm The local English Speaking People’s Union   branch is in Winter Park. I went to New Zealand as a scholar while six teachers of language arts went to England to study Shakespeare at Oxford for 3 weeks. The year I went they were all Orange county teachers!
http://www.neh.gov/   The national endowment of the Humanities offers seminars and long term study from a variety of curricular areas.
http://www.neh.gov/projects/si-school.html
http://www.grants4teachers.com General grants from many areas of study and underwritten by many countries.
http://www.blakemorefoundation.org/   Finances to help study and refresh the languages of South and East Asia
http://www.reading.org/resources/awardsandgrants.aspx Grants and awards connected to literacy and reading
http://www.iie.org/fulbright Opportunities from the Fulbright Foundation
http://www.grants.gov/aboutgrants/agencies_that_provide_grants.jsp This is government category site of places just try to navigate through the many areas
http://www.nctm.org This is the mathematics council website so navigate through to awards and grants
www.globalexplorers.org This website gives you insight into travel as well as possible opportunities for learning.
http://www.ncss.org This is the National Social Studies website with some grant opportunities as well as awards.
http://www.goethe.de/top This connects you to the Transatlantic Outreach program, taking you to Germany. Maneuver the website to the Study Tours>Application & FAQ section of the website. They have commentary from many past groups.
https://tntp.teachertrack2.org/ This connects you to a grant that can be written by teachers who are going above and beyond with effective teaching methods that they are using in schools where there is a high number of poor performing students, it is the Fishman prize.
www.flahum.org The Florida Humanities Council offers professional development in the way of weekend or week long seminars and educational presentations at little or no cost. Most states have a similar group.
$1000 Scholarships for Educators
Apply for Professional Development Scholarships
Amazon Rainforest Workshop & Machu Picchu Extension
Searching for something unique! spirited! and fun! this summer? K-12 teachers and environmental educators can win one of three $1000 scholarships to travel with scientists to one of the most diverse environments in the world. Join group leader Donna Krabill, Norfolk Botanical Garden and scientists Dr. Steve Madigosky, Widener University and Randy Morgan, Entomologist, Cincinnati Zoo on a rainforest discovery June 29- July 8, 2012. Experience a 1/4-mile Rainforest Canopy Walkway, Yagua Culture & Crafts, Village Service Project, ReNuPeru Ethnobotanical Garden, Birdwatching, Night Hikes, and Monkey Island Conservation Project. Open registration through May. Land cost is $1850, plus air. Machu Picchu Extension is optional. Academic Credit is available. Land cost is $850 for scholarship winners. Submit simple scholarship application by March 8. For program and scholarship information, visit http://www.travel2learn.com/amazon.htm (case sensitive). Contact Dr. Frances Gatz, 1-800-669-6806 or frances@ee-link.net

East Asia Opportunity

Announcing 2012 Summer Institutes on China and Japan at the University of Colorado. Applications Now Available.
The National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA) and Program for Teaching East Asia (TEA) at the University of Colorado invite applications to two national summer institutes. The 2012 institutes are open to secondary teachers nationwide who teach about Asia; the institutes are also designed to provide enrichment for teachers who have previously completed an NCTA seminar. Both courses are offered as residential programs on the University of Colorado-Boulder campus. Teachers selected to participate receive a travel stipend to defray transportation costs, a full housing/meal package, institute texts, and teaching resources. Brief overviews of the two programs are provided below. Each program is limited to 20 teachers; applications are reviewed by a selection panel. Application deadline is March 16, 2012; notification date is April 4, 2012.

China: Environmental Issues and Challenges. June 25-29, 2012
China faces a multitude of environmental challenges and opportunities. In China and around the world, observers are concerned about the effects of that country’s rapid economic development on the air, water, land, and energy resources, as well as the ways that China’s complex bureaucratic system may impact environmental policy implementation. At the same time, China is recognized as a world leader in green technologies. This institute will examine environmental issues within the context of China’s economic development, social and political evolution, and global responsibility. Participants will have the opportunity to consider general issues and analyze several case studies appropriate for classroom use. Among the questions guiding the four-day program are the following:
-How do environmental issues and solutions provide a window into the broader changes and challenges facing contemporary China?
- Who are the stakeholders in specific environmental issues? How are different groups affecting and being affected by specific problems and policies?
- What advances has China made in developing and applying green technologies as solutions to its environmental challenges?
- How do environmental protection efforts provide case studies in the emerging role of civil society in China?
- What responsibilities will China shoulder to protect global resources?

Complete information and application package is available here.

Questions? Contact jon.zeljo@colorado.edu.

21st-Century Japan: Global Issues, Classroom Applications. July 8-13, 2012
In spring 2011, all eyes focused on Japan as that nation was hit with a “triple tragedy”—a devastating earthquake and tsunami, as well as the dangers of nuclear contamination from power plants compromised by the natural disasters. The Japanese government’s and people’s responses to these challenges directed new and heightened interest toward this critically important nation. The global spotlight focused not only on Japan’s responses to disaster, it also brought attention to broader issues, from social and economic policy and reform to Japan’s roles in the global economy and global culture.
This institute offers resources and materials to bring teachers’ instruction on Japan up to the present. Institute participants will explore contemporary Japan through current issues including Japan in the global economy, political reforms, social trends, and recovery and change in the wake of Japan’s 2011 “triple tragedy.” The institute also will explore the Japanese cultural scene, as expressed in popular art and literature, providing a rich picture of Japan today.

Complete information and application package is available here.

Questions? Contact lynn.parisi@colorado.edu.

Letter from IREX

Dear Colleague,

IREX is still accepting applications for this cycle of Teachers for Global Classrooms (TGC)! TGC is a professional development opportunity for middle and high school teachers from the United States, with the goal of providing teachers with the skills and experience to promote global education in their classrooms and schools. TheTeachers for Global Classrooms Program (TGC) features an online course aimed at globalizing U.S. classrooms, two Global Education Symposia, and international travel. Participants are selected through a national, open competition. TGC is a program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) administered by IREX (the International Research & Exchanges Board). Please see the program page on the IREX website for further information: www.irex.org/tgc

We hope that you will forward information about this opportunity to middle and high school teachers, as well as your professional networks. Please direct anyone who is interested in applying to the website above, which includes a link to the online application.

If you or your colleagues have any questions about this new application cycle, please contact tgc@irex.org.

Best,
The TGC team at IREX

Japan-U.S. Teacher Exchange Program

The Japan-U.S. Teacher Exchange Program for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) will provide up to 24 U.S. K-12 teachers and administrators with the opportunity to travel to a conference in San Francisco and to Japan to learn about ESD efforts and strengthen ESD curricula in both countries. The program is fully-funded with the exception of some meals. ESD is “a vision of education that seeks to balance human and economic well-being with cultural traditions and respect for the earth’s natural resources,” according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Up to 24 educators from Japan will travel to the U.S. in late April, and up to 24 educators from the U.S. will travel to Japan in June. At the end of the program in each country, all 48 educators will gather for a few days of joint collaboration.