Using inquiry to enhance the learning and appreciation of geography

Abstract

To meet national geography standards, instructional materials using issues-based inquiry are needed. This paper reports on national classroom trials of drafts of Geographic Inquiry into Global Issues (GIGI), a set of inquiry modules for secondary geography. The analysis focuses on three modules about environmental issues, tried by 480 students in 18 schools. Students made significant gains in learning the modules' cognitive and skills objectives, but they showed no change in interest toward studying geography or these environmental issues. Student comments about the modules underscored the necessity of connecting classroom materials about global issues more closely to local experiences. These findings support current models in environmental education. Reflecting this analysis, the published modules now include activities emphasizing inquiry into local issues, to complement the study of global environmental problems. The improved GIGI materials can better meet the goals of both geography and environmental education.     

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.     

NCGIA education activities: the core curriculum and beyond

Abstract

Education has been part of the NCGIA's mission from the earliest discussions of the concept of the Center at the National Science Foundation. To respond to the need for short-term solutions to the shortage of adequately trained personnel in GIS, the Center developed a set of teaching materials or core curriculum. The steps in its development are described and an analysis of initial distribution statistics is presented. Current efforts to develop a framework for laboratory materials are outlined. The paper ends with an assessment of the project and comparison with other disciplines.     

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.     

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.     

Editorial: The Louisiana Purchase

Abstract

This article describes various materials on the World Wide Web that can be effectively utilized in courses on natural hazards and physical geography. Specific Internet addresses are provided for teachers who wish to access various hazard warnings, satellite images, hazard vulnerability maps, reports, and other data concerning geophysical, hydrologic, and meteorological hazards. Suggested strategies for classroom use of this information are also provided. References are made to previous articles in the Journal of Geography that can provide guidance for teachers using the abundant hazards data accessible via the Internet.     

Illustrative Materials for Geography

Abstract

Studies dealing with characteristics of housing and settlement have been based almost entirely on field observation or aerial photographs. However, this report uses information from the Department of Census and Statistics of Ceylon to plot the distribution of dwellings with specific construction material characteristics for Ceylon, thus indicating an aspect of rural housing characteristics and settlement. Use of dwelling construction materials such as mud, clay, stone, brick, cadjan, and thatch can be related to physical characteristics of the area involved, availability of building materials, and level of living and culture of the inhabitants. Cost of construction material must also be considered. If similar housing data, but more complete and of greater scope, were available from the census of every nation, much could be achieved rapidly in the geography of settlement.     

Suggestions for Low-Cost Equipment for Physical Geography II: Field Equipment

Abstract

Fieldwork and laboratory experiences have always been important components of physical geography education, at universities as well as secondary schools. However, the rising cost of necessary equipment and dwindling education budgets of most universities and secondary schools have placed such experiences in crisis. This is the second of two papers that present lab- and field-based items we have designed and built for student research. The equipment is easy to construct and made from low-cost materials like PVC plumbing pipe. Photographs, construction notes, and costs have been included for each of the pieces of equipment, as well as measured schematics for the more complex items.     

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.     

Suggestions for Low-Cost Equipment for Physical Geography I: Laboratory Equipment

Abstract

Fieldwork and laboratory experiences have always been important components of physical geography education, at universities as well as secondary schools. However, the rising cost of necessary equipment and dwindling education budgets of most universities and secondary schools have placed such experiences in crisis. This is the first of two papers that present lab- and field-based items we have designed and built for student research. The equipment is easy to construct and made from low-cost materials like PVC plumbing pipe. Photographs, construction notes, and costs have been included for each of the pieces of equipment, as well as measured schematics for the more complex items.     

Geographical Notes

Abstract

To improve student retention and to combat problems of declining enrollments, many colleges are turning to freshman or first year experience (FYE) programs. These programs are designed to aid students in the transition to college, and in doing so make students more satisfied and more successful in their new environments. FYE programs are offered in many forms, one of which is to offer FYE instruction as an integral part of the existing curriculum. Using existing courses makes the inclusion of introductory geography courses viable for FYE programs. The inclusion of FYE-related materials in an Introduction to Geography course, as illustrated here, can result in greater student satisfaction with faculty and the institution as a whole, higher rates of retention, and student skill development without a significant loss in geographic course content. Although the resulting improvements may be modest, when projected over an entire incoming class, even small gains may affect significant numbers of students. Participation in FYE may give geography programs greater exposure to incoming students and could help to attract new majors to the discipline.     

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.     

Map Skills Instruction and the Child's Developing Cognitive Abilities

Abstract

Research in education, psychology, and geography is utilized to relate the child's pattern of gradually developing cognitive abilities to his increasing ability to master skills. Although the child's symbolization abilities develop quite early, his ability to orient himself spatially and to use the important concepts of scale and an external frame of reference develop more gradually, as does his manipulative ability to make accurate, detailed maps. Based on this research, a hierarchical sequence for map skills instruction is proposed and related to existing map skills programs. This sequential structure differs from most existing materials in its emphasis on the very gradual development of the ability to use grid reference systems and orient himself satisfactorily on maps, as well as the gradual acquisition of certain measurement abilities.     

The “Cultural Turn” in the Classroom: Two Examples of Pedagogy and the Politics of Representation

Abstract

This article offers video lessons that interweave visual and written materials in order to introduce university undergraduates (who may or may not be geography majors) to some recent shifts in geographic inquiry. What is often described as the “cultural turn” in human geography invites us to examine more closely the politics of representation, whereby power relations animate the ever-unfolding construction of cultural identities. These examples of pedagogy explore the formulation of geographic knowledge about two cultural groups—the Maori and the Romany (a.k.a. Gypsies).     

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.     

Trends In U.S. Hazardous Materials Transportation Spills

This paper examines historical and spatial trends in hazardous materials transportation spills from 1971 to 1991. While the number of spills Inc.reased steadily during the 1970s, peaking in 1978–1979, there has been a decline in frequency sInc.e then largely due to modifications in reporting. Monetary damages have the opposite temporal pattern, with major Inc.reases recorded from 1982 onward. Death and injury statistics are more variable. Spatially, accidents are more prevalent in the Rust Belt extending from the Northeast corridor westward to the Great Lakes states, as well as in the Southeast. The greatest potential risk to the public is found in smaller, more densely populated industrial states such as New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. The spatial distribution, however, has not changed. Potential risk sources (e.g., chemical industry, number of hazardous waste facilities, number of railroad miles) are the best predictors of hazmat Inc.ident frequency. Mitigation efforts (statewide regulatory and/or management policies) also help explain the variability in hazmat Inc.idents.     

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.     

The Establishment of the Validities of Experimental Materials in Geography

Abstract

This paper describes the various procedures followed in validating some research tools to be used to investigate pupils' attitudes toward and achievements in geography taught by programmed instruction. The research tools consist of learning materials and measuring instruments. The learning materials include five geography programmed texts, five conventional texts in geography, and a familiarization program in civics. The measuring instruments also include a geography achievement test, and two attitude questionnaires designed to measure attitudes toward geography and programmed instruction. The paper highlights the roles of formative evaluation in preparing curriculum materials in geography.     

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.