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$1,000–$8,000 Grants for Teachers Aim to Develop Hybrid Learning Resources

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 10/26/20

The National Geographic Society is offering grants to K-12 educators to help them develop resources that can be used by others teaching in remote and hybrid environments. The grants range from $1,000 to $8,000. The Society expects to support at least 50 educators, whether they're serving as "formal" or "informal" teachers. Once the resources have been created, they'll be made freely available on the National Geographic Society education website and within the National Geographic education communities on Twitter and Facebook.

The program hopes to attract projects that use science, social studies and/or geography "to help students understand the challenges and impacts of pandemics, such as COVID-19" or help teachers "teach social and/or environmental justice."

Other priorities include resources that:

  • Take one of National Geographic's science or social studies units for K-12, adapt it for a hybrid environment and develop a teacher's guide as well;

  • Offer new ways to help students link personal experiences to global issues, including sustainability, climate, social justice, environmental justice and racial justice; or

  • Design instructional resources or projects that use the concepts and pedagogy in the National Geographic Learning Framework or the National Geographic Geo-Inquiry Process.

Special credit will be given to applicants who have never received a National Geographic grant before and who are working in communities where the effects of the pandemic has been especially brutal.

"The role of teachers has never been more important as they work tirelessly to engage and inspire their students in a socially distant world," said National Geographic Society Chief Education Officer, Vicki Phillips, in a statement. "Our goal is to equip educators with the resources and support they need to continue creating, innovating and pioneering new ways of teaching so their peers and their students can continue growing."

The Society said that submissions would be reviewed on a rolling basis and that applications will continue be accepted until they're not.

Potential applicants can attend virtual "design labs" to talk with Society staff and other educators.

More information is available on the National Geographic "COVID-19 Remove Learning Emergency Fund for Educators."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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