2009 Class Exercise Award Competition

The Applied Geography Specialty Group (AGSG) announces a new award competition for development of innovative Applied Geography class exercises. We invite both faculty members and graduate students who are AAG members to submit an innovative class exercise designed for undergraduate classes on an applied geography topic with either a fictional or real-world client specified in the exercise. The subject matter topic of the exercise is open. Any data used in the exercise should be freely available on the internet OR be available for posting on the Applied Geography Specialty group website. The exercise can be single or multi-person authored. One prize ($500) will be awarded for the best exercise. The winner and any honourable mentions will be invited to participate in an applied geography panel session to be held at the April 14-18, 2010 Annual Meeting of the AAG in Washington, D.C.

Submissions should consist of the following:
  1. Abstract of 250 words;
  2. Exercise handout to student;
  3. Narrative describing the intent of the exercise (not more than 3000 words) including: purpose statement; learning objectives; and, expected student engagement time;
  4. Example of a completed student assignment (either actual student submission or instructor derived example); and,
  5. Powerpoint presentation describing the exercise (no more than 5 to 10 slides).

    The evaluation panel will be assessing submitted exercises with respect to their relevance to applied geography practice and to the degree that they specify a practical lesson in delivering geographic services to fictional or real-world client. Additional evaluation criteria include: clarity of instructions, engaging writing, and description of outcomes.

    Please monitor the AGSG website (http://agsg.binghamton.edu/) for additional information on the competition. So that we can better prepare for a fair submission review process, please advise the competition coordinator as soon as possible if you are considering submitting a package. Please submit any questions to the competition coordinator prior to 1 December 2009. Send your submissions as email attachments to the competition coordinator, Edwin Butterworth at email: edbutterworth@yahoo.com

    DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS

    The deadline for final submission of all materials for assessment by the evaluation panel is 18 December 2009. The author(s) of the winning submission will be contacted on or before 29 January 2010.