Conference: navigating artificial intelligence in geoscience education

The National Science Foundation Office of Integrative Activities awarded Carleton College $141,965 on September 1, 2026, to support the Navigating Artificial Intelligence in Geoscience Education conference, a three-day virtual event that brings undergraduate geoscience educators together to share experiences, identify promising practices, and develop community resources for teaching in an AI-impacted world. The conference will engage over 340 educators through intensive small-group working sessions, plenary talks by national experts, and virtual poster sessions, directly supporting approximately 10,000 undergraduate students taught annually by participating faculty. Resources from the conference will be captured and made publicly available online through the Science Education Resource Center website and other channels, extending reach to the majority of U.S. geoscience faculty and educators in other STEM disciplines navigating similar pedagogical challenges with artificial intelligence. No subawards are planned. The award runs through August 31, 2027, with place of performance in Northfield, Minnesota.

Abstract

This award supports the navigating artificial intelligence in geoscience education conference. The three-day virtual event will bring undergraduate geoscience educators together to share experiences, identify promising practices, and develop community resources for teaching in an AI-impacted world. The conference will address a GAP in the current landscape of AI-focused professional development, as no existing forum brings geoscience educators together specifically to address how AI is transforming geoscience pedagogy. The navigating artificial intelligence in geoscience education virtual conference will engage participants through intensive small-group working sessions, plenary talks by national experts, and virtual poster sessions. By convening a group of faculty from a variety of institutions in a structured, community-driven forum, the conference will directly support over 340 educators and, through them, the approximately 10,000 undergraduate students they teach annually. Resources from the conference will be captured and made publicly available online, extending the project?s reach to the majority of U.S. Geoscience faculty who use the science education resource center (serc) website, as well as educators in other stem disciplines navigating similar challenges. In doing so, the conference will serve as an accelerator for AI-informed teaching in the geosciences and a template for disciplinary responses to rapid technological change. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.