Kindergarten Geography: Teaching Diversity to Young People

Abstract

A Southern Poverty Law Center grant enabled purchasing dolls representing children of different races, ethnicity, and condition of disability. The teacher used these with other materials to sensitize kindergarten children to human differences. She directed them to cut pictures from National Geographic Magazine showing people who are “somehow different/' Responses from children were classified. Nine commented on adornment, three on household setting, two on occupation, and one on race. Little research exists on teaching geography to kindergarteners except on the ability to read maps. The authors contend that kindergarteners are quite ready to learn about regional differences among human populations.     

The National Science Foundation National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis

Abstract

The National Science Foundation will soon establish a National Center devoted to geographical research and education based on geographical information systems (GIS). The Center will be located at a university chosen on the basis of competitive proposals that will be evaluated primarily on the quality of their research agendas. The winning institution will be expected to involve government agencies and private firms in Center operations and programmes, and it will be expected to serve the national GIS community. The Center arose from a suggestion made by a member of the GIS research community. A large-scale database initiative and a Foundation commitment to Science and Technology Centers provided an institutional environment hospitable to the Center. There are similarities and differences in the approach taken toward GIS research, policy and applications in the United Kingdom (UK) and in the United States (US). Those similarities and differences offer promising topics for collaborative research on GIS itself and on GIS as an information technology affecting the discipline of geography. Cross-national UK-US research would be a productive step toward the globalization of GIS and GIS research.     

How Collaborative Governance Practitioners Can Assess the Effectiveness of Collaborative Environmental Governance,While Also Evaluating Their Own Services

Abstract

Collaborative governance applied to environmental issues is becoming more common, and evaluation of such efforts can provide useful information for multiple audiences. However, due to a variety of challenges, collaborative governance practitioners rarely evaluate the outcomes of collaboration and their contributions to these efforts. With these challenges in mind, the William D. Ruckelshaus Center designed an evaluation framework that can meet multiple parties’ objectives, be integrated into practitioners’ existing services, and balance flexibility and practicality with rigor and replicability. The Center conducted a pilot of this framework on a collaborative watershed management effort in southeastern Washington State, where the Center had previously assisted with organizational development. The resulting evaluation highlights a variety of social, knowledge-based, and economic outcomes for the collaborative, as well as lessons for practitioners and evaluators of collaborative governance. We suggest that this methodology can be useful for practitioners interested in evaluating similar collaborative efforts.     

APPRAISAL OF GEOGRAPHIC RESEARCH AND TRAINING PROGRAMS IN THE SOVIET UNION

Global distributions are commonly described by maps and tables which emphasize the dispersion of a distribution. The Mean Spheroidal Center (M.S.C.) defines the average location of a world distribution. It is an objectively determined point within the sphere's surface. The M.S.C. calculations are demonstrated using the world's 25 largest cities in each of four time periods.     

A Thematic Approach to Regional Geography1

Abstract

Despite the continued importance of regional courses in college curricula and the far-reaching innovations in systematic geography, the formats and organizational structure of regional geography has remained obdurately stable. The persistent demand for a regional course on Africa, together with the disturbing anachronistic curricular materials and our difficulty in finding adequate materials for our class, stimulated us to develop a different approach to teaching African geography. The approach is thematic and is intended to modernize African regional geography, bring it into phase with the rest of the discipline, and emphasize the essential unity of the spatial viewpoint. Five themes are used as the framework for providing an integrating overview of the continent and its problems.     

Establishing Preservice Partnerships: Geography and Social Studies

Abstract

Great strides have occurred in geographic education resulting in the development of new geographic teaching strategies and geography materials. Despite these developments, many social studies methods professors are still using outdated geographic materials, methods, and techniques. In 1992, the Missouri Geographic Alliance established a unique relationship with social studies methods professors in Missouri. This partnership was established at a four-day, intensive geography/social studies conference that used an innovative model for its development. The outcome of this conference was a strong partnership between social studies methods professors and geographers in Missouri. A result of this partnership has been an increase in the number of beginning teachers involved in the alliance movement, and ultimately, the use of up-to-date geographic teaching strategies, methods, and materials in their classrooms.     

Geographic Inquiry in the Elementary School VIA ETV

Abstract

Many of the “new” social studies curriculum projects emphasize strategies for teaching-without-telling, and traditional materials are being adapted to promote more inquiry-oriented learning experiences. While this article explores the potential for using the television medium in a relatively nonexpository manner, the techniques described are applicable at all educational levels and with other instructional materials. The authors believe that the key to the development of more meaningful geographic concepts and generalizations is active pupil involvement in hypothesizing, observing, and selecting evidence upon which to make inferences and draw conclusions.     

A Scoring Guide for Assessing Issues-based Geographic Inquiry on the World Wide Web

Abstract

Inquiry-based learning has a long tradition in geography education, and many faculty members are using inquiry to tap the constructivist potential of the World Wide Web. This paper reports on the development of a scoring guide that assesses the degree to which teaching materials support issues-based geographic inquiry. The scoring guide was tested in a content analysis of geographers⁷ Web-based teaching materials. The results of the preliminary analysis suggest that relatively few geography teaching materials on the Web bear the characteristics of inquiry. Additional research is needed to determine whether teaching materials on the Web are facilitating a shift toward constructivist practice in the discipline.     

Editorial Notes and News

Abstract

Bibliographic instruction is aneglected component of undergraduate education in many geography curricula. Significant research problems are difficult to formulate and self-education cannot be achieved without the ability to use reference materials effectively. The research methods course is a logical vehicle for providing bibliographic instruction at the undergraduate level. Library training can be incorporated in this course through a series of instructional modules that requires students to work with a wide variety of bibliographic materials. Students should be allowed to focus on publications pertaining to topics of individual interest in all phases of their work. This paper outlines a methods course that emphasizes bibliographic instruction and gives suggestions for incorporating selected developmental materials.     

Curricular Changes in the Teaching of Geography in Swiss Upper Secondary Schools: An Attempt to Develop Skills for Lifelong Learning

Abstract

This article is an overview of the curriculum reform in Switzerland in the 1990s. It describes the grass-roots reform process in geography education in upper secondary schools and its impact on the development of new teaching materials. These ancillary materials are based on teaching methods and strategies, the effectiveness of which are empirically shown by results. The teaching units complement the thematic and methodological aims in the national curriculum and the federal regulations and were designed through a partnership of teachers, teacher educators and scientists. They can be translated directly into the practice of teaching and are available free to teachers through the World Wide Web.     

Editorial

Abstract

Project GeoSim is a multidisciplinary effort by members of Virginia Tech's Departments of Geography and Computer Science, College of Education, and Learning Resources Center to develop computer-aided education (CAE) software for introductory geography and related classes. GeoSim laboratory exercises draw on the five fundamental themes of geography for their subject matter. The programs emphasize interactive learning combining the information capabilities of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with the techniques of computer simulation. The result is a series of geographic explorations that will make available some of the most exciting aspects of geography to a potential audience of 425,000 introductory geography students per year.     

改进的BTOPMC模型及其在水文模拟中的应用

In this paper, a grid-based distributed hydrological model BTOPMC （Block-wise use of TOPMODEL） is introduced, which was developed from the original TOPMODEL. In order to broaden the model＇s application to arid regions, improvement methodology is also implemented. The canopy interception and soil infiltration processes were incorporated into the original BTOPMC to model event-based runoff simulation in large arid regions. One designed infiltration model with application of time compression approximation method is emphasized and validated for improving model＇s performance for event hydrological simulations with a case study of Lushi River basin.     

Understanding and Portraying the Global Atmospheric Circulation

Abstract

Atmospheric circulation and resultant surface pressure patterns are important discussion topics in many introductory geography, meteorology, and earth science courses. In the past, summary materials developed to aid in teaching these concepts have used a north-south oriented meridional cross-section of the troposphere (e.g., the three-cell model). We suggest that while the Hadley Cell model works well for the tropics, an alternative depiction incorporating two map views should be used to present a more meaningful view of the mean extratrop-ical circulation. The combination of a tropical cross-section map and an extra-tropical map will assist students in learning about first-order motions associated with the Earth's atmospheric circulation.     

The research plan of the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis

Abstract

In August 1988 the U.S. National Science Board established a National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis. This paper, which is adapted from the proposal of the successful consortium, describes a multi-year research agenda built around the recognition of impediments to the successful application of geographical information systems technology. The impediments range in nature from technical to institutional and are organized into five major areas: spatial analysis and spatial statistics, spatial databases, artificial intelligence and expert systems, visualization, and social and economic issues. The Center's research programme consists of a series of initiatives in specific areas, which are designed to last for periods of up to two years and to address the removal of recognized impediments.     

Studying the Human Geography of Subsaharan Africa in the High School and College

Abstract

While the study of Africa has become increasingly important in American schools, teachers are often perplexed by the problem of which materials and approaches to use in presenting a course on Africa. This article outlines a course in the regional geography of SubSaharan Africa which was developed by the writer for an introductory course at the college level, but which can easily be adapted for use in an advanced high school course. Emphasis is on African history and contemporary spatial patterns of urbanization and economic development.     

Utilizing the Audio-Tutorial Approach

Abstract

Construction of raised-relief maps by students in middle school to high school is a rewarding “hands-on” experience. A major feature of this project is that materials are readily available, inexpensive and manageable by students themselves. Tracing from topographic maps on to inexpensive, easily-carved materials like cardboard or foam-core board involves the student in map interpretation techniques. Concepts such as interpreting elevations from contour lines, recognizing symbolization on a map, seeing raised-relief as representing “the lay of the land,” understanding map scale, and recognition of color in representation of elevations are part of this experience. Carving and construction of the raised-relief map give the student an appreciation of topographic features in 3-D. The finished model can serve as a display and learning tool for the future.     

A Teacher's Introduction To Remote Sensing

Abstract

This article is an introduction to remote sensing. It provides the novice with a definition of remote sensing, information about some remote sensing products, data that can be obtained from remote sensing images, what can be done with images, ideas to integrate remote sensing with other subjects, a sample unit using images, and a list of associate areas related to remote sensing. The article also contains information for obtaining remote sensing materials and information and considers values concerns relating to remote sensing.     

Mapping as a Means of Farmworker Education and Empowerment

Abstract

Mapping is a simple activity that can be effectively linked to popular education of non-students. Mapping exercises have the potential to contribute to profound shifts in thought because the activity simultaneously draws on and challenges deep-seated experiential knowledge. The transformative potential of mapping is illustrated with health-promoter workshops for Latino migrant farmworkers in Benson, North Carolina, that took place in 1998 and 1999. The workshops are part of a larger project designed to reduce pesticide exposure by using community participatory research to develop and disseminate culturally appropriate teaching materials among Latino workers.     

Mapping the Geographical Diffusion of a Finnish Smallpox Epidemic from Historical Population Records

Smallpox mortality from an early 19th century epidemic in Finland is mapped at the parish village level. First, geographically referenced historical materials are used to construct a map showing the spread of smallpox mortality among villages. Next, the diffusion of smallpox morbidity is simulated by computer for the same set of villages. These two maps are then compared. Results indicate that at this scale maps of mortality diffusion can show general trends but have no direct spatial correspondence to the underlying pattern of morbidity diffusion. Mortality maps cannot be used as a surrogate measure of infectious contact behavior at micro scales of analysis.