Opportunities

K-12 Teacher Professional Development

The CGA offers a variety of professional development opportunities for teachers at different grade levels. Click here for more info about scheduled trainings and workshops.

Travel Experiences for Educators

There is no better way to become a better geography educator than to experience more of our diverse world.  You learn to see the world in geographic perspective and bring your experiences and insight back to your students.  Below are links to some of our favorite providers of these experiences, but please let us know if you have a recommendation!

K-12 Outreach from Academic Geographers

The CGA encourages geographers at community colleges and 4-year colleges to connect with local schools to raise awareness about geography and increase geo-literacy.

Geography Awareness Week (including GIS day): The CGA can help by providing strategies, materials, or publicity for your activities.  The theme for 2017 is “The Geography of Civil Rights Movements,” and you can find resources related to that theme here, courtesy of our friends at the Kansas Geographic Alliance.

Ideas for K-12 Schools

Hold a school Geography Bee: The first step in making it to the National Geographic Geography Bee Finals is to compete in a school-level bee. School communities are encouraged to use a school bee to create a fun focus on the importance of geography education. The registration process for 2017 opens on August 2, 2017 and ends on January 26, 2018. The National Geographic Bee web page has information about the process.

Note: Questions regarding the California Geography Bee should be directed to the State Geographic Bee Coordinator: Sean Boyd, seboyd@csufresno.edu, 559-278-1636.

Geography Night: The CGA would like to partner with schools to offer special events for students and families. One idea is for schools to organize Geography Nights that engage both students and their families in geography-related activities, perhaps with a focus on a particular region of the world. CGA can provide materials and can collaborate on getting a National Geographic Giant Traveling Map to your event to make it a one-of-a-kind experience for your community.