Today it offers workshops in new teaching methods, technologies, and resource; as well as research papers, networking opportunities, and more.

Field trips organized by the conference visit include local and regional places of geographic and historical significance.

An exhibit hall is staffed by government, industry, nonprofit, and academic organizations and offers the latest in books, journals, projects, curriculum, software, hardware, and more to support geography teaching.

Since 1979, the conference has held its conference in a new North American city each year: Mexico City, Mexico (1979); Des Moines, IA (1980); Pittsburgh, PA (1981); San Diego, CA (1982); Ocho Rios, Jamaica (1983); Toronto, Ontario, Canada (1984); Breckenridge, CO (1985); Chicago, IL (1986); Springfield, MI (1987); Snowbird, UT (1988); Hershey, PA (1989); Williamsburg, VA (1990); St. Paul, MN (1991); Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (1992); Halifax, Nova Scotia (1993); Lexington, KY (1994); San Antonio, TX (1995); Santa Barbara, CA (1996); Orlando, FL (1997); Indianapolis, IN (1998); Boston, MA (1999); Chicago, IL (2000); Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (2001); Philadelphia, PA (2002); Salt Lake City, UT (2003); Kansas City, MO (2004); Birmingham, AL (2005); Lake Tahoe, NV (2006); Oklahoma City, OK (2007); Dearborn, MI (2008); San Juan, Puerto Rico (2009); Savannah, GA (2010); Portland, OR (2011); San Marcos, TX (2012); Denver, CO (2013); Memphis, TN (2014); Washington DC (2015); Tampa, FL (2016); Albuquerque, NM (2017); Quebec City, Quebec, Canada (2018); Austin, TX (2019); Minneapolis, MN (2022); Columbia, SC (2023); Tempe, AZ (2024).

The Journal publishes research on innovative approaches to teaching and learning, classroom-tested lesson ideas, curriculum, book reviews, and more.