Connect with a global community of educators while transforming your teaching practice with National Geographic’s free online courses for educators.
Courses range in content, length, and schedule, and are open to any educator from anywhere in the world who works with students in either a formal or informal setting. In many of our courses, learners can earn graduate credits through our university partnerships.
Check the following sections to learn more about our available professional learning opportunities, and keep updated when new courses launch or when cohort-based courses open.
Start Your Learning Journey
New to National Geographic’s professional learning offerings for educators? We recommend you begin with our mini-courses on the Explorer Mindset and Geographic Thinking Skills. Both are free, self-paced, and take approximately two hours to complete. The courses will introduce you to the guiding questions such as:
- How do National Geographic Explorers see the world? Why is this relevant to your learners?
- How can thinking like a geographer give learners a more complete understanding of the world and how it works?
Developing a National Geographic Explorer Mindset With Your Learners
Learn how to foster the mindset of an Explorer in your students, explore innovative strategies and resources to transform your teaching, and join a supportive community of educators.
Estimated time: 50 minutes, self-paced, available on-demand
Applying Geographic Thinking Skills With Your Learners
Where is it? Why is it there? Empower your learners to make sense of our interconnected world by integrating geographic thinking skills and resources into your instruction, and join a supportive community of educators.
Estimated time: 90 minutes, self-paced, available on-demand
Take Your Teaching Practice Further
Take a deeper dive into innovative instructional strategies with a community of like-minded educators. Explore our current suite of offerings below, ranging from National Geographic’s project-based learning (PBL) strategy, the Geo-Inquiry Process; incorporating storytelling as a strategy in ways that inspire change; and other opportunities that let you personalize how you want to transform your teaching. Courses are all free and include a variety of asynchronous self-paced and paced courses to match your schedule and learning preferences.
GEO-INQUIRY PROCESS COURSES
Through the Geo-Inquiry Process, National Geographic’s innovative approach to project-based learning (PBL), students use geographic knowledge, perspectives, and practices to investigate issues and seek solutions to real issues impacting their communities. In these courses, you will gain an in-depth understanding of the Geo-Inquiry Process and concrete ideas for implementing each phase of the process with your learners.
Connecting the Geo-Inquiry Process to Your Teaching Practice
Registration is open now for a September 29 start.
Estimated time: 30 hours over 7 weeks, paced cohort
Teaching Students to ASK Their Own Geo-Inquiry Questions
In partnership with the Right Question Institute. Registration is open now for a September 29 start.
Estimated time: 15 hours over 5 weeks, paced cohort
Collecting Data to Explore Plastic Pollution in Our Communities
Registration is open now for a September 29 start.
Estimated time: 25 hours over 6 weeks, paced cohort
Mapping as a Visualization and Communication Tool in Your Classroom
Registration is open now for a September 29 start.
Estimated time: 20 hours over 5 weeks, paced cohort
Storytelling for Impact Courses
Storytelling is a powerful instructional tool. Incorporate storytelling into your teaching, guiding your students to create and communicate powerful stories that inspire action. Learn from world-class National Geographic photographers, videographers, podcasters, and visual storytellers. The courses in the Storytelling for Impact series, developed in partnership with Adobe, are self-paced and on-demand.
Storytelling for Impact in Your Classroom: Photography
Part of the Storytelling for Impact series in partnership with Adobe.
Estimated time: 7 hours, self-paced, available on-demand
Storytelling for Impact in Your Classroom: Video
Part of the Storytelling for Impact series in partnership with Adobe.
Estimated time: 9 hours, self-paced, available on-demand
Storytelling for Impact in Your Classroom: Audio
Part of the Storytelling for Impact series in partnership with Adobe.
Estimated time: 8 hours, self-paced, available on-demand
Storytelling for Impact in Your Classroom: Graphics
Part of the Storytelling for Impact series in partnership with Adobe.
Estimated time: 7 hours, self-paced, available on-demand
Continue your learning
Continue your learning by choosing from a range of opportunities to develop new instructional skills and strategies, find high-quality resources, and connect with a community of educators committed to supporting each other’s growth.
Teaching Global Climate Change in Your Classroom
Registration is open now for a September 29 start.
Estimated time: 45 hours over 7 weeks, paced cohort
Integrating Service With Learning Goals
Registration is open now for a September 29 start.
Estimated time: 15 hours over 5 weeks, paced cohort
Educator Certification
Educator Certification is being reimagined based on educator input. Receive updates when enrollment opens.
EARN RECOGNITION FOR YOUR EXPERTISE
Micro-credentials are an innovative professional learning opportunity that reward educators for demonstrating mastery of certain skills in their own classrooms. Through our partnership with Digital Promise, apply for National Geographic micro-credentials in topics like Geographic Thinking and Service Learning. Upon completion, you will be rewarded with digital badges that are accepted across several platforms.
For more information about receiving credit or CEUs, visit this page.
Main Photograph by Michael Nichols