Positionality and Active Learning: Confronting Privilege in Field-Exercise Design

Abstract

University instructors are increasingly drawing on active learning exercises to engender critical thinking skills among students. In this article, we introduce the design and implementation of an active learning exercise about mobility and transportation that we assigned in an introductory human geography class at the University of Georgia. The students' responses and the survey instrument we used to assess the effectiveness of the exercise revealed disappointing results and caused us to think carefully about the role of positionality in designing active learning exercises. In this article, we argue that we need to understand privilege—particularly class privilege—in order to design effective assignments.     

Journal Writing and the Development of Spatial Thinking Skills

Abstract

Informal journal writing in freshman level World Regional Geography classes is discussed as an active learning method that helps students to develop their spatial perspective and gain a better understanding of the interconnected nature of geographic phenomena. In particular, students read about events in the world and write their ideas about the geographic nature and implications of those events. Thinking spatially and thinking critically by creating their own framework for interpreting the event and applying concepts learned in class means that students are actively participating in their own learning. Ongoing instructor feedback and assessment are essential to this learning activity and are discussed as part of this exercise.     

Experiential Learning,Spatial Practice,and Critical Urban Geographies

Abstract

Experiential learning pedagogies are being adopted across undergraduate education and touted as an effective strategy for enhancing student learning. This paper develops an explanation for how and why such pedagogies can foster students' critical thinking and learning. Drawing on data collected from first-year students in “field based” urban geography courses at an urban university, I show how students' existing knowledge of urban spaces and specific parts of the city is constructed from a variety of sources and experiences, and can be incorporated in experiential learning activities in ways that foster critical learning. Such an approach is crucial to creating learning environments in higher education that include a greater diversity of student identities and life experiences.     

Problem-Based Learning for Promoting Student Learning in High School Geography

ABSTRACT

This study determines the impact of problem-based learning on a preuniversity geography class. Learning activities include problem analysis, information collection, an examination of concepts, oral presentations, and group summaries in relation to current and perennial geographical issues of local and/or global concern. Assessment for learning and assessment of learning were done by the teacher, classmates, and students themselves. Results showed that students could analyze problem statements and present their understanding systematically but varied considerably in organization, argument, and quality of thinking. To seek improvements, teachers should become more active facilitators while encouraging students to learn as problem solvers. Teacher training and school-based support are needed for creating a collaborative inquiry-oriented atmosphere in the classroom.     

Internet-Based GIS in an Inductive Learning Environment: A Case Study of Ninth-Grade Geography Students

Abstract

This article reports the results of a qualitative case study that explored the use of Internet-based geographic information systems (IGIS) with ninth-grade geography students. The students worked in teams to examine the geography of Africa using IGIS resources with the instructional goal of developing a presentation on a significant issue facing one region or country. The purpose of this study was to explore the use of IGIS as a tool for integrating geospatial technologies into ninth-grade geography curriculum and instruction within an inductive learning environment. The findings for this study indicate that IGIS can be a successful tool for geography education in an inductive learning environment. Based on qualitative data collected through classroom observations, focus group interviews with students, student work samples, and a teacher journal, two assertions are offered: students perceived expanded freedom as a positive aspect of this IGIS project and IGIS projects such as this can lead to gains in students' cultural awareness and empathy for distant others.     

Teaching Experiential Learning in Geography: Lessons from Planning

Abstract

Geography increasingly relies on training of professionals who can apply geographic concepts to solve real-world problems. The planning profession for years has been training professionals to work in the area of community planning. Planning programs typically include experiential learning modules throughout the curriculum. This article looks at how community planning approaches can be incorporated into geography programs in lower level courses to: (1) provide exposure to practical applications of geographic concepts; (2) give students experience with team dynamics; and (3) provide students with experience in real-world client relations. Advantages and challenges of experiential learning are identified and discussed. An example of an experiential learning exercise adapted from a planning application is presented. The exercise was developed to enhance learning in a geography curriculum.     

Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days: Helping Teach the National Geography Standards

Abstract

Consistent with developments in American education pedagogy, geography educators have made great strides exploring a wide range of high- and low-tech methods for teaching and learning geographic concepts. This article draws on a qualitative analysis of essays in which college students discuss tenets of the National Geography Standards in the context of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days. Most of the students in this study reported that not only did their knowledge of the world increase after completing the course assignment but that their interest in the discipline increased as well.     

Active Learning Strategies and Assessment in World Geography Classes

Abstract

Active learning strategies include a variety of methods, such as inquiry and discovery, in which students are actively engaged in the learning process. This article describes several strategies that can be used in secondary-or college-level world geography courses. The goal of these activities is to foster development of a spatial perspective in students through frequent analysis and interpretation of spatial data. Detailed examples of one particular technique, the “atlas warmup”, are included. Active approaches supplement expository teaching of standards-based geography concepts and current geographic issues. Assessment of the impact of these methods reveals the need for ongoing guided practice in the use of these skills.     

Developing a Learning Progression for Place

The concept and characteristics of place within geography education are surveyed in the context of learning progressions. Beginning with place's history and relevance in geographic thought, this review moves on to discuss connections between space and place. From a geographic education perspective, place-based instruction and place characteristics are threaded with ideas of landscape and human encounter with or perception of place. Grade level standards can be problematic when dealing with a complex subject, such as place. Borrowing from educators in the sciences, this review reflects on the challenge of building one or more learning progressions for K–12 education on place.     

The Pedagogical Benefits of Participatory GIS for Geographic Education

In this article, participatory GIS (PGIS) is explored and established as a powerful platform for geographic education. PGIS pedagogy can help educators meet diverse learning objectives pertaining to: (1) local knowledge and place-based thinking; (2) community engagement; (3) field mapping with geospatial technologies; (4) mixed-methods research; and (5) fostering of critical reflexivity in students. The discussion is supported with insights from multiple student-facilitated PGIS projects organized in rural Tanzania. There also is a thorough discussion of the challenges and caveats associated with involving students in PGIS projects, and a call for new research for assessing and advancing PGIS pedagogy.     

Using Information Technologies for Interactive Learning

Abstract

Experiences in designing, offering, and evaluating joint senior undergraduate course assignments in resource and environmental management on two different occasions, which connected students in two universities in British Columbia and Ontario, are documented. The shared assignments provided students with experience in group work and consensual decision making, and allowed them to use a mix of information technologies (e-mail, chat rooms, the Web, video conferencing). The undergraduate students rated very highly the experience with information technology but found some aspects of a collaborative learning approach to be challenging. The course was less successful than had been anticipated in highlighting different regional perceptions and perspectives regarding resource and environmental problems and solutions. Clarification of objectives and expectations, more attention to allocation of time, and consideration of computer access and assistance would improve the effectiveness of the courses.     

Popular Culture,Geopolitics, and Identity

Abstract

This study aims to theoretically investigate the notion of critical thinking for a more just understanding of self and “others” in global geographical learning. It focuses on the kinds of injustice in the world which are driven by our relationships with “others.” By drawing on the literature of critical education, philosophy of education, and geography education, this study reveals how universal notions of criticality tend to easily undermine those perceived as global others and may highlight, in deficit mode, their perceived differences. Instead, the study presents the imperative of deconstructive thinking for a more just world. The article concludes by proposing a teaching strategy for alternative criticality which strives for justice in school geography.     

Gender vs. Sex Differences: Factors Affecting Performance in Geographic Education

Abstract

Much has been written about sex differences in learning, but less attention has been paid to the impacts of gender—which is socially constructed—on learning geography. This article investigates whether differences in gender influence performance on a standardized test of geography knowledge. Undergraduate students in two large clases completed a standardized inventory of gender differences and then completed a standardized test of geography knowledge. The results of our analysis of the correlation between gender traits and geographic learning resulted in somewhat unexpected results, as well as a set of complex questions for further research on learning styles in geographic education.     

The Elementary Social Studies: Sense and Nonsense in Integration

Abstract

The ultimate goal of all geographic education is to have our students think geographically for life. To this end, the five geographic skills sets allow teachers to use the inquiry approach to more accurately observe whether or not geographic thinking is actually taking place. As essential components of these geographic skills, fieldwork, journaling, and stories based on the field experience have proven to be effective tools of inquiry. This article demonstrates how a journal, kept by the author while on an advanced alliance summer institute to Russia in 1996, was used to write an original short story based on the author's fieldwork there. The author's experiences model the five geographic skills sets in developing lesson plans for the original short story, The Dragon and the Anchor. These activities allow the students to sharpen their geographic skills and develop a sense of place by studying the changes that have occurred in Russia since the fall of communism in 1991.     

Problem-Based Inquiry on World Water Problems in Large Undergraduate Classes

Abstract

This paper reports on the design and implementation of a project-based course—World Water Problems—that was introduced within the framework of introductory undergraduate geography education. The aims of the course were twofold: (1) to cultivate in students a world geographic perspective on water problems; and (2) to conduct an original research project on the search for detailed appraisals, or ex-post evaluations, of completed water projects and programs. The project involved problem-based inquiry and learning through several interrelated tasks including: hypothesis testing, systematic electronic library and database searching, corresponding with water resources experts; and synthesizing of results. Evaluation of the project, and the course more generally, was achieved through a questionnaire administered to the students and a focused in-class discussion. Overall, the students' comments about the course project demonstrate learning in the form of greater knowledge of world geographic regions and water sectors as well as enhancement of database search skills and critical thinking.     

Field Trips as Valuable Learning Experiences in Geography Courses

Abstract

Field trips have been acknowledged as valuable learning experiences in geography. This article uses Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning model to discuss how students learn and how field trips can help enhance learning. Using Kolb’s experiential learning theory as a guide in the design of field trips helps ensure that field trips contribute to internalizing relevant geographical theory and concepts. Three types of field trips are presented: an informal survey of a neighborhood, a more formal scavenger hunt, and a virtual field trip using Google Earth.

Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience.

—Kolb (1984)     

The Use of Maps in the Teaching of Geography

Abstract

Coyote teaching emphasizes learning community, long term mentoring, a need for learning, ownership of learning, heightened sensory awareness, storytelling, purposefully designed tricks, and the Socratic method to promote lifelong learning and a new generation of coyote teachers. Many of these methods are found in other educational philosophies but seem to be fully integrated in the coyote teaching method. Because geography is integrative, it seems a logical discipline in which to apply this method. Each of the characteristics of coyote teaching has its unique place in geography education. This article demonstrates how each of these components of coyote teaching can be readily employed, enhanced, and, more importantly, integrated into geographic education and inculcated into multiple generations of geography educators.     

A Manifesto on Mobile Computing in Geographic Education*

Abstract

Mobile, location-aware computing technology is widely available. In this article we sketch out a manifesto on mobile computing in geographic education (MoGeo) for consideration and debate within the geographic community. At the core of our argument is the idea that emerging mobile computing technologies will allow teachers to bring the classroom and pedagogic materials into the field, and that the resulting in situ educational experience will enhance learning by contextualizing the complex and abstract concepts that we teach. We provide a set of key principles that can guide the development of field experiences for students using these new technologies.     

Research in Geographic Learning: A Special Task Force Report to the National Council for Geographic Education

Abstract

The videotape and other technological innovations are powerful tools for enhancing classroom learning. Teachers can fall into the trap of simply turning on the VCR while students watch with unstimulated and unchallenged minds. This article offers a technique that engages students in active, reflective thought by utilizing the National Geographic Society videotape, Connections. Using the videotape narrative prior to viewing provides students with opportunities to become critical consumers of technology.     

Learning by Doing: Implementing Community Service-based Learning

Abstract

Community-based Learning (CSBL) is based on the idea that learning is facilitated when the classroom is linked with real-world experience. This paper presents an overview of the pedagogical basis of community service-based learning (CSBL) and compares CSBL projects carried out in two very different settings. The findings indicate that in order to implement CSBL successfully, instructors need to plan ahead, develop partnerships with community organizations, and allow community groups to guide student projects. It is also important to recognize that the full benefits of CSBL are only gained when students, community members, and instructors spend time reflecting on the CSBL experience.