This page is a Program for teaching
Online Courses
Outdoor and Environmental Education
Our Approach
National Geographic Education has delivered teacher professional development programs for over 25 years to prepare leaders in education and in support of our dual missions to inspire people to care about the planet and to prepare teachers to inspire their students.
Now, we are growing our presence in online learning opportunities for educators, mentors and coaches, departments heads, and anyone, anywhere. Online courses, such as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), allow us to reach more educators and allow educators to take advantage of the flexible timing offered by these platforms, often used as a component of a program that includes face-to-face interactions as well.
As we look ahead, we are conducting research and development on innovative strategies for influencing pre-service teacher education and for implementing professional development for teachers at a large scale. This multiplying effect is possible by establishing online collaborative, shared spaces for teachers to increase content knowledge and knowledge of instructional approaches, as well as interact with others and learn from a community.
FLOW Education: Facilitating Learning Through Outdoor Watershed Education
Watershed education is an excellent way to introduce students to rich, interdisciplinary studies of one of the most important resources located in students' backyards—water! This course is designed for classroom teachers of Grades 4-9 to learn about watersheds and outdoor education using the Chesapeake Bay watershed as an example. The course introduces engaging technologies for investigating watersheds and helps you plan and effectively implement outdoor experiences.
Water: The Essential Resource
Water is an essential theme in social studies, science, and geography. Whether teaching about natural or human systems, water is part of the story. This course, framed around California's Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI), focuses on ocean and freshwater topics and strategies for teaching environmental topics in Grades 4-8. Resources and support are provided for how to use EEI to implement Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy.
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COLLECTION Find our collection of resources and programs for K-12 teaching and learning.
COLLECTION View classroom videos and photos highlighting great teaching and learning.
Our goal is to develop learning experiences that build geo-literacy. National Geographic Education's teaching resources span geography, science, and social studies. The activities and lessons aim to build learners' understanding of interconnections among Earth’s systems at local to global scales, as well as relationships to humankind’s past, present, and future.
Related Programs
Learn more about this project-based, citizen science educational initiative!
Learn about community geography and discover opportunities to get involved.
Collecting and mapping species data in our parks, neighborhoods, and schoolyards.