About the Award
The Rocky Mountain Section (RMS)-AAPG each year chooses a K-12 teacher of earth and resource science to represent the section in a national competition held by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) the following year. The regional RMS Teacher of the Year recipient is awarded $2000 along with an expense paid trip to the annual RMS meeting in the year of selection. The national AAPG Teacher of the Year (Excellence in Teaching Award) personally receives $3,000, an expense-paid trip to the annual AAPG national meeting to receive the award, and the winner’s school receives $3,000.
To qualify for the RMS Teacher of the Year award, a teacher needs to be nominated by their local affiliated geological society. So the first step is to go to the Affiliated Societies page and choose the society that represents your area. The society can then inform the teacher of that society’s requirements for competition.
If the teacher wins the local competition, his or her name is then submitted to the RMS for evaluation. A complete set of rules and forms for the national competition, found at http://foundation.aapg.org/programs/toty/index.cfm, are required for the competition both at the section and national levels. In addition to the cash awards at the national AAPG and regional RMS levels, most affiliated societies also provide a cash bonus to go with their awards.
Click on the link below to access the application form for the Rocky Mountain Section-AAPG Teacher of the Year:
AAPG-RMS-TOTY-Nomination-Form-2024
Previous Winners
2024
Benjamin Ray has been an Earth Science Teacher for over 19 years and currently teaches at Park City High School. His teaching philosophy focuses on meeting young adults where they are in their current understanding of the world. Part of Ben’s Earth Science class involves his students watching the original Dune movie (1984) and discussing the impacts of resource extraction. In addition to the basic science that underpins natural resource exploration and characterization, he teaches his students to be introspective, pondering their own interactions with often finite natural resources, and encourages everyone to consider their own consumption. Ben is also highly respected by his colleagues who have characterized him as “flexible, patient, and resilient” as well as “committed and passionate”.
2023
Catherine Blee is a Science Teacher at Billings Senior High School, in Billings, Montana. With 28 years of teaching experience, Catherine currently teaches Honors Earth Science and a Geology elective for juniors and seniors. She successfully revived the Geology course, which had not been taught at Senior High School for over three decades, and sparked significant student interest, leading to the establishment of a Geology Club. Catherine’s passion for science is evident through her high energy and relentless enthusiasm for geology. Colleagues commend her exceptional teaching abilities, leadership skills, mentoring of junior staff, commitment to professional development, advocacy for students, and community involvement. Catherine fosters inquiry-based learning, prioritizing conceptual understanding over mere facts. She connects geology and earth science with Montana history and landmarks, frequently inviting professionals to share their expertise in her classroom. Her curriculum covers the benefits and costs of natural resource development, including mining and fossil fuel extraction, emphasizing reclamation and environmental considerations. Catherine’s contagious excitement, teaching excellence, peer recognition, and increased student engagement make her a deserving winner of the Teacher of the Year Award.
2022
Kristy Coon – Naples Elementary School, Vernal, UT
Nominated by the Utah Geological Association
2021
Kristina Hight has taught middle school science for the past 5 years and exhibits exceptional performance in lesson design, student engagement, and building positive relationships with students at Granite Park Junior High School in the Granite School District of Utah. Kristina’s teaching philosophy statement and support letters highlight her devotion to educating all students by supplying the resources needed to succeed and the encouragement to excel in earth-related sciences. Kristina helps her students acquire real-world datasets from which they can derive evidenced-based arguments regarding Earth’s natural resources, an approach the UGA Board found remarkable and parallels the scientific values of AAPG. She is the Utah Geological Association’s 2021 Teacher of the Year.
2020
Rhoda Perkes was the first full time Earth Science teacher at Lone Peak High School in Highland, Utah. She has taught science for the past 5 years and uses the role as a facilitator to engage students. She provides ample opportunities for groups of students to conduct research, work with provided data, work through laboratory exercises, and perform other goal-oriented hands-on activities. Her love of earth science is contagious as she sets high expectations for her students and prepares them to be scientifically literate. She is the Utah Geological Association’s 2020 Teacher of the Year and as RMS-AAPG Teacher of the year.
2019
Michael Poser is currently teaching at Hobson Public School in Hobson, Montana, which has 100 students enrolled in K-12. He is the only science teacher for the school and plans out the curriculum for 7-12 earth and space science, biology, chemistry, physics and engineering. One of his main goals is for students to become more cognizant of how natural resources are used.
A fellow teacher described him as such: “Michael is one of the best teachers I have had the privilege to teach with. I refer to Mr. Poser as the best teacher I never got the opportunity to be a student of. Although I never sat in his class, I still learn from Mr. Poser nearly every day because I am drawn to his classroom and the exciting and new things he is always doing…Focusing specifically on Earth Science, Mr. Poser takes great pride in exploring the world and its natural resources with students.”
Mr. Poser has also designed his own very realistic replicas of strata and placed them around the school for students to travel to different ‘dig-sites’ and create scale representations of rock layers to investigate geological history of the region. This engages students in our K-12 school to start inquiring about the soil of the earth and get excited to learn more. He is inspiring, creative, well-rounded, and an excellent role model as a rural Montana teacher.
2018
Debbie Morgan is currently teaching at South Sevier High School in Monroe, Utah, and has taught high school and middle school earth science for more than 14 years. She is enthusiastic and passionate about teaching geology earth science to her students in a classroom that allows them to “get their hands dirty and experience science.” Debbie strongly believes that if “students aren’t able to “do” something with the content, they will never remember, nor care about it”. “Doing” in Debbie’s classroom means building a model of an oil reservoir and then “exploring” for oil with a wooden skewer, presenting learnings in a classroom “NERD” conference, and then taking a field trip to a local mining operation. “Doing” can also mean a sing-along naming the Periods of the Geologic Time scale to Debbie playing the ukulele. Debbie won the TOTY award for UGA in 2017, before being selected to receive the RMS-AAPG TOTY in 2018 and ultimately went on to win the National AAPG TOTY award, which will be presented at AAPG ACE in Salt Lake City. In addition to her other awards, Debbie has received $2,000 from the RMS-AAPG in appreciation to her dedication and hard work in education. She used these funds to take several of her students on a spring break geology trip.
2017
Julie Mitchell, currently teaching at Erie High School in Erie, Colorado, has taught high school earth science for more than 20 years. She is passionate about teaching geology and environmental science to her students in a balanced classroom that allows them to “discover and do science, not just take notes.” Julie has been a strong leader and champion for the promotion of geology and earth science education. She has led numerous district level teams in reviewing curriculum, adopting textbooks, and educating other science teachers and administrators about the importance of geology in the high school curriculum. Julie won the TOTY award for RMAG before being selected to receive the RMS-AAPG TOTY, and ultimately went on to win the National AAPG TOTY award that was presented this April at the ACE Meeting in Houston. In addition to her other awards, Julie received $2000 from the RMS-AAPG in appreciation to her dedication and hard work in education.
2016
Jill Bushaw has been teaching at Century High School in Bismarck, North Dakota for 21 years. In each of those years, she has taught a class that spends 18 weeks on learning about natural resources. North Dakota is rich in natural resources so this is a class that can be applied to the real world of her students which allows them to understand the potential of North Dakota’s resources and the jobs they could pursue locally in the science realm. They study fossil fuels, coal and petroleum and are introduced to alternative energy sources. Her units revolve around “inquiry labs” with real world issues that the students can research and brainstorm and present ideas to the class. Students in her class are also guided to appreciate the multiple perspectives of stakeholders and are led into discussions on how to balance the needs of all. By engaging her classes in meaningful learning experiences, Jill’s students develop an informed and vested interest in North Dakota’s natural resources. In appreciation of her 21 years of teaching excellence, the Rocky Mountain Section of AAPG is pleased to recognize Jill Bushaw as the 2016 Teacher of the Year.
2014
Jacqueline D. Bath (Thunder Ridge High School, Highlands Ranch, CO) is the 2014 Teacher of the Year. She is a ninth grade earth environmental science and a 10th-12th grade geology instructor at Thunder Ridge High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Having a geology background with experience in the oil and gas industry, Mrs. Bath has made her teaching of natural resources relevant through innovative teaching techniques combined with actual knowledge of what the resources are, what they are used for and how they are exploited. By bringing in professionals from industry, for example to run “The Oil Game” simulation, she allows interaction between students and people who actually make a living in the natural resource arena. After being selected for this award, Mrs. Bath moved on to be a nominee for the AAPG national Teacher of the Year Award which she won and was awarded at the All-Convention luncheon at this year’s AAPG Annual Convention.
(Above: President Sue Cluff presents Teacher of Year Award to Jackie Bath)