A teacher standing in front of a class calls on a student within several who have their hands up.

 

Wayfinding

Educator Resources

Educators are spearheading the next generation of geographers. At AAG, we want to do what we can to provide consistent access to resources that best suit your identity, interests, and backgrounds. Explore these resources and organizations below and tailor them to your needs.

AAG Resources

An AAG membership is your link to consistent scholarship, events, and networking opportunities in geography. If you plan to present at the annual meeting or a regional division meeting, a multi-year membership will allow you to register and submit your abstract annually without any worries.

AAG Regions

Additionally, connecting with one of your nine regional divisions allows you to network with geographers and other members in an area located near you. Held annually in the fall, regional division meetings empower AAG members to connect around regional issues of significant importance.

AAG Groups

Membership also grants you access to numerous affinity and specialty groups that align with your research interests and professional affiliations. Specifically, the communities below strive to enhance the participation and representation of educators within the organization.

The Geography Education Specialty Group promotes research, development, and practice in the learning and teaching of geography, in addition to examining and strengthening the role of geography in education.

The Community College Affinity Group seeks to give community college geographers a stronger voice within the discipline and within the AAG by disseminating information about funding opportunities for projects relevant to community college geography, enhancing opportunities for faculty, and promoting curriculum development of GIS and other technical areas.

The Affinity Group of Stand Alone Geographers provides a forum for discussion and sharing resources for geographers who work alone or in small programs at their respective institutions, and to increase their visibility in the discipline and the association.

The mission of the Critical Geographies of Education Specialty Group is to promote, organize, and advance critical geographic research in education and schooling, support the growth of critical geographers of education, and contribute to social movements related to struggles over schooling.

Offerings and Resources

Geography in the News is an educational series offered by the AAG for teachers and students in a range of subjects. We include vocabulary, discussion, and assignment ideas at the end of each article. AAG’s Geography in the News is inspired by the series of the same name, founded by Neal Lineback, professor and the chair of Appalachian State University’s Department of Geography and Planning.

AAG Career Profiles provide numerous examples of geographers working in education, business, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. Students and early career geographers can learn why they chose to pursue their career path and how exciting, meaningful, and successful a career in geography can be.

AAG’s Guide to Geography Programs is a comprehensive, interactive resource that brings together essential information on hundreds of geography programs from associate-granting institutions to universities. It is the only centralized tool of its kind, and empowers students to discover programs and connected routes to a well-rounded education in geography and its subdisciplines, aligned with their interests, context, and needs.

Geography Awareness Week is an annual celebration of geography that provides outreach, materials, and ideas for educators. GeoWeek occurs in the third week of November, and AAG begins its preparations each summer.

Connect with Geographers at our Annual Meetings

The Careers and Professional Development Center, offered annually, features a large track of panel sessions, workshops, and networking events focused on career and professional development opportunities for geographers. Sessions include career mentoring; workshops on job skills, GISP certification, and dozens of other topics.

In 2025, the Annual Meeting hosted the inaugural Geography Education Symposium developed in collaboration with our education communities and core geographic partners. This event continues annually in an effort to explore geography education as a crucial tool for creating the next generation of problem solvers for the wicked problems and multidisciplinary challenges. Continue to join teachers, researchers, and institutional leaders for sessions covering geography in schools, colleges, and universities with a focus on growing geography’s next generation.

Governance (Committees and Task Forces)

The Healthy Departments committee provides guidance and action to enhance the health and excellence of academic geography departments and responds to requests from departments for assistance.

  • The GenAlpha Task Force was developed in 2024 by then-incoming AAG president Bill Moseley, who initiated a new task force focused on strengthening undergraduate geography education, borne out of the recognition that there should be broader, collective action to save geography higher education.
  • The Geography Education National Implementation Project (GENIP) is a coordinating committee across several organizations who share a common mission to improve geography teaching and learning in the US. Educators can access standards-based frameworks to help align curricula.
  • The Mentoring Task Force has focused on examining how AAG can expand its mentoring efforts to better address our members’ needs, as the discipline becomes more keenly aware of the spatial unevenness of mentoring resources available across a variety of institutions and career stages.
Learn more

AAG Awards and Grants

AAG E. Willard and Ruby S. Miller Award recognizes members of the Association who have made truly outstanding contributions to the geographic field due to their special competence in teaching or research.

AAG Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education recognizes geographers who have significantly advanced geographic education. Examples include preservice training, professional development, and/or related support for educators.

AAG Distinguished Teaching Honors recognizes exceptional Geography teachers who have demonstrated a sustained track record of innovative, creative, and effective ways to convey geographical concepts and topics to their students (at any degree level).

AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching recognizes outstanding achievement in teaching undergraduate Geography including the use of innovative teaching methods. The recipients are instructors for whom undergraduate teaching is a primary responsibility.

AAG Susan Hardwick Excellence in Mentoring Award is given annually to an individual geographer, group, or department who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in building supportive academic and professional environments in their departments, associations, and institutions and guiding the academic and or professional growth of their students and junior colleagues. Nominations are sought to recognize individuals, groups, or departments who have increased the number of students and faculty from underrepresented groups, improved the quality of their participation in geography or who have impacted the climate of a department, college, or institution toward greater inclusion.

AAG Award for Program Excellence recognizes excellence in Geography programs at U.S. colleges and universities with non-Ph.D. granting Geography programs at the associate, baccalaureate, and master levels. AAG recognizes that these programs play an important role in educating future geographers and promoting the discipline to a wider world, but that they tend not to be included in national rankings within the Academy.

Learn more

Groups and Organizations

  • American Geographical Society (AGS) — AGS is a learning society established in 1851 dedicated to the advancement of geographic thinking, knowledge, and understanding across business, government, academe, social sectors, and most importantly with teachers and students. Every year, AGS invites 50 Teacher Fellows to attend the annual Geography 2050 Symposium at Columbia University in New York, who convene with thought leaders from academia, government, industry, and the social sector who gather to discuss the major forces that will shape our planet’s future.
  • Black Girls MAPP — BGMAPP is a community focused group that connects and empowers women of color in the field of GIS, and enables marginalized communities to visualize various social issues and empowers these communities with information to help them make more informed decisions using GIS. Follow their page on LinkedIn.
  • Esri’s Young Professionals Network (YPN) — Esri’s Young Professionals Network (YPN) is a community for those just starting their GIS journey or experienced professionals new to the field. Whether you attend professional development webinars or networking events, you’ll learn more about the power of location technology, connect with like-minded peers and industry experts, and gain leadership experience that can advance your career. Find a chapter near you.
  • National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) — The National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) is a non-profit organization chartered in 1915 to enhance the status and quality of geography teaching and learning. Through webinars and professional development opportunities, publications and resources, and honoring educators and mentors, NCGE ensures educators are supported in their desire to create engaging, authentic, inquiry-based learning experiences for students at all levels. Be sure to keep an eye out for their annual conference and other forums for educators.
  • NorthStar of GIS — NorthStar of GIS images a more racially-just world through a more racially-just GIS. They aim to advance intersectional racial justice, equity, and belonging for all people of the Black and Black African diaspora in the fields of GIS, geography, and STEM. From events to resources, learn more about their guidance to GIS and how geography and tech can impact industries all over the world.
  • Powerful Geography: Powerful Geography is an innovative approach to teaching and learning about Geography, diving into the curriculum by showing students what can be achieved if geographic knowledge is applied in their personal life and desired job or career. Access their resources and toolkit.
  • URISA Vanguard Cabinet of Young GIS Professionals — The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) creates a vibrant and connected community, advocacy for geospatial challenges and issues, and essential resources for GIS professionals throughout their careers. From awards and scholarships to workshops and conferences, URISA delivers consistent training experiences and invites GIS professionals to share their work, lessons learned, and research. For those looking for leadership opportunities, check out URISA’s Vanguard Cabinet, young professionals who are recognized as “NextGen GIS leaders,” providing valuable direction and enthusiasm to the community.
  • Women in GIS — This inclusive group of women and allies comes together to provide support, resources, and opportunities for success as individuals navigate their geospatial careers. Regardless of sexual or gender identity, everyone is welcome here. To get involved, view their calendar of events or see how you can receive an award or scholarship to help advance your education.
  • YouthMappers — YouthMappers is a global community of students, researchers, educators, and scholars that use public geospatial technologies to highlight and directly address development and environmental challenges worldwide. While many minds together created the foundation of YouthMappers, the heart of the students is what leads to the success of this global consortium – deciding how and where they put themselves on the map. With a network of more than 5,000 university student mappers organized in 411 campus chapters across 78 countries, you can find a chapter near you. From fellowships, fieldwork, and training opportunities, learn how you and your students can get involved.

Resources for Teaching

ArcGIS for Schools Bundle: Esri offers a no-cost ArcGIS for Schools Bundle for K-12 teachers and students that includes Creator accounts with secure access to mapping software, apps, and data. Learn more about the types of accounts and access.

Council on Foreign Relations (CFR): CFR Education aims to build global affairs literacy by providing free, nonpartisan resources to help middle, high school, and higher education students gain the knowledge, skills, and perspective required to navigate today’s interconnected world. Education also provides professional development and programming opportunities to support educators as they take on this crucial work.

National Geographic Society: Engage with National Geographic Explorers and transform learning experiences through live events, free maps, videos, interactives, and other resources.

  • Join the Explorer Classroom to connect your learners with a National Geographic Explorer for a live 45-minute virtual class, filled with interactive moments and a Q&A session.
  • The Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship (GTF) is a professional development opportunity for pre-K–12 educators to host aboard Lindblad Expeditions’ voyages for a field-based experience.
  • In addition to classroom-ready maps, activities, videos, and standards-aligned lesson plans, the MapMaker resource is a digital mapping tool, created by the National Geographic Society and Esri, designed for teachers, students, and National Geographic Explorers.

Project Zero at Harvard: Project Zero’s mission is to understand and nurture human potential in all human beings. Their research examines the nature of such potentials, the contexts and conditions in which they develop, and the practices that support their flourishing. The Thinking Routines Toolbox highlights thinking routines as a set of questions or a brief sequence of steps used to scaffold and support student thinking. PZ researchers designed thinking routines to deepen students’ thinking and to help make that thinking “visible.”

Subject to Climate: Subject to Climate is on a mission to make climate change teaching and learning accessible to all by enabling educators from all subjects and grade levels to teach about climate change. Explore curated resources from external providers and trusted partners to enhance your teaching experience on climate change.

United States Geological Survey’s Lesson Plans and Activities: Tap into over 140 years of USGS research in the natural sciences with lesson plans, activities, maps, podcasts, lectures, videos, animations, and more. Check out their resources for geography education.

 

Quick Reads

Strengthening the Discipline

Teaching Climate Justice and Solutions, Inside Higher Ed: Faculty from the City University of New York system discuss ways to empower and educate students on climate, sustainability, and green careers.

What If Geography Is the Curriculum We Need for the Future?, Ed Surge: What makes the discipline so critical to create students who think spatially and act ethically.

Teaching and Mentorship

A student’s self-guided exploration of GIS, Esri Blogs: If you have students who are curious about GIS, A student’s self-guided exploration of GIS provides resources and a pathway for them to get an introduction and start building a foundation.

How to engage your students and teach effectively, Science: To help readers on their own teaching journeys, researchers with recognized teaching experience share their insights and approaches.

How to nurture your mental health in science and academia amid challenging times, Science: Early-career scientists about how they’ve nurtured their well-being and mental health along their academic journey, sometimes during particularly challenging personal and professional situations.

Teaching Research with StoryMaps, Johns Hopkins University: a guide to using digital humanities tools to teach primary source research, particularly Esri’s StoryMaps to incorporates maps, text, and other digital content in a narrative form.

Why science needs strong mentors, Nature [podcast]: Mentors describe how supporting junior colleagues alongside many other responsibilities is a true labor of love.