Teacher of the Year

ANNUAL NORTH DAKOTA K-12 EARTH SCIENCE

TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD

The North Dakota Geological Society is seeking nominations for their annual North Dakota Earth Science Teacher of the Year award!
Applications are due August 31st of each year, but are accepted at any time.

Previous Winners

Year Name School Location
2015 Jill Bushaw Century High School Bismarck, ND
The Winner's prize

$1,000 and
Groundwater Model

The ND Geological Society will award the winning teacher a $1,000 cash prize along with a Groundwater Model to use for continuing their Earth Science teaching.

AAPG Rocky Mountain Section Contest Entry

The winning teacher is also automatically entered in the regional contest sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Section of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) which awards a cash prize to the winning teacher.

AAPG Regional Winner Entry

The regional winner is then entered into the national AAPG competition which carries a combined $6,000 prize ($3,000 to winning teacher plus $3,000 for their school).

Award Requirements

3 Years Teaching Experience

Must have three years of full-time teaching experience at any K-12 level.

One Unit on Natural Resources

Teaches at least one unit per year on natural resources at K-12 level within a North Dakota school.

Natural Resources Definition

Unit must fit natural resources as follows: Earth materials used by civilization past and present, such as natural gas, petroleum, coal, oil shale, mineral ores, building stone, and energy resources from the Earth such as geothermal energy.

Materials Required

man holding pen filling out paperwork

Teacher's Philosophy

Teacher’s philosophy (pedagogy and content) of the teaching of natural resources (1-2 pages)

Colleague Recommendation

Letter of recommendation from a colleague (1 page maximum).

Unit Description

Unit description, including unit objectives and the overall science program (1-2 pages).

Administrator Recommendation

Letter of recommendation from an administrator (1 page maximum).

Content Guidelines

Teacher's Philosophy should include:

  • scientific study of resources
  • origin
  • discovery
  • extraction
  • historic use and present use
  • conservation
  • preservation of the environment
  • use of earth science knowledge in informed decision making

Unit will be evaluated on:

  • petroleum and industry concepts
  • creativity of presentation
  • balanced treatment of information regarding societal need and environmental issues
  • clarity and accuracy of expression
  • overall excellence in teaching

Submit Application Materials

The ND Geological Society will accept application materials by the following ways. For any questions, please feel free to email us.

Mail

North Dakota Geological Society
P.O. Box 82
Bismarck, ND 58502-0082 
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