Ryan Hollister

Modesto Junior College

Ryan J. Hollister is an adjunct professor of the Geosciences at Modesto Junior College and California State University Stanislaus. He previously taught high school geoscience for 15 years at his hometown Turlock High School before spending three years as a science instructional coach for Turlock Unified School District. Although Ryan has moved to the university level, he still facilitates his students' discovery and understanding of the physical processes that have shaped the region they call home: California’s Great Central Valley. Ryan’s ultimate goal is to help shape a citizenry that will help solve the air and water quality problems that plague the San Joaquin Valley while helping them develop their sense of place.

Ryan currently co-chairs the NAGT K12 Committee, the OEST Committee and is an NAGT Counselor-at-Large.   

Ryan has a master’s in geoscience from Mississippi State. In 2015, he received the Far West Region’s Outstanding Earth Science Teacher award from the National Association of Geoscience Teachers.

Ryan and his wife, Laura (a geoscience & AP EnviroSci teacher at Pitman High), have proudly played a role in sending more than 190 students on week-long WildLink Club backpacking expeditions through the rugged backcountry of Yosemite National Park.  The journey has a transformational effect on most students by letting them develop an appreciation for wilderness and a commitment to helping it endure. You can take a gander at the inspiring photo journals from these trips here.

When he’s not teaching or tinkering with projects for his classes, Ryan can usually be found consuming large quantities of Haribo Gold Bears while on the trails of the Sierra Nevada with Laura and son Zephyr.

Workshop Leader, Webinar Participant, Website Contributor

Website Content Contributions

Activity (1)

Embark on a 360-Degree Geologic Expedition part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2017:Program:Teaching Demonstrations:Tuesday A
"Sometimes getting to a place to observe geologic evidence is tough" (Ira Flatow - Dec 2016). To solve that problem I've built a virtual field trip that combines interactive high-resolution ...

Conference Presentations (3)

Breaking Down Barriers with an Interactive, Accessible, Culturally Responsive Open Education Resource (OER) for Geology of California Courses part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2023:Program:Poster Sessions:Friday Poster Session
The adoption of OER has been shown to reduce student textbook costs. Yet most geoscience courses taught at California community colleges lack OER, creating unnecessary barriers for students. Geoscience educators ...

Techniques Used to Create High Resolution Virtual Models of Geologic Specimens Using Photgrammetry part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2019:Program:Oral Sessions:Thursday A
Virtual 3D geologic models created using photogrammetry are an extremely useful tool that can increase student access to hand samples and outcrops. A small community of geoscientists, teachers and students have ...

Techniques Used to Create High Resolution Virtual Models of Geologic Specimens Using Photgrammetry part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2019:Program:Share-a-Thon
Virtual 3D geologic models created using photogrammetry are an extremely useful tool that can increase student access to hand samples and outcrops. A small community of geoscientists, teachers and students have ...

Other Contributions (3)

Teaching Demonstrations part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2020:Program:Teaching Demonstrations
The teaching demonstration session will feature 12-minute teaching demonstrations, designed as 9 minute presentations followed by a 3 minute Q&A session, in sequence. The teaching demo schedule is below. ...

Creating and Integrating Meaningful Virtual & Augmented Reality Content for Geoscience Classes part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2019:Program:Morning Workshops:Augmented and Virtual Reality in the Geosciences
Learn the tips and tricks needed to create and facilitate an engaging, story-driven Immersive Virtual Field Experience (IVFE) that can be utilized by all students on nearly any device. Participants will briefly ...

Changing the Climate of your Climate Change Lessons part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2018:Program:Morning Workshops:Changing the Climate of your Climate Change Lessons
A phenomena-based, active learning experience for K-12 & intro level college instructors who teach climate change as part of their curriculum. Experience how to make cutting-edge climate data come to life in ...

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Workshop Leader

Workshop Participant (17 workshops)

Webinar Participant