Student Learning of Place: Learning Progressions Can Help Fill the Gaps

This commentary is a response to Larsen and Harrington's article titled “Developing a Learning Progression for Place” (2018). The commentary includes a discussion of the benefits to other content areas that research on student learning of place can provide. The commentary also describes the coherence that learning progressions can bring to research on student learning of complex, interdisciplinary domains of study.     

Content-Based Language Instruction: A New Window of Opportunity in Geography Education

Abstract

The use of content-based language instruction (CBI) offers an innovative and effective method for teaching core geographic concepts and skills while students study a second language. This article focuses on a collaborative initiative developed and tested by university and high school level geography and second-language educators. The goal of the MOSAIC project is to develop and disseminate rigorous instructional modules using CBI to reach students in language classrooms who may or may not ever enroll in a stand-alone geography course.     

Comparing the Validity and Reliability of Place Attachment Across Cultures

Researchers often measure human–place bonds via place attachment scales across a variety of settings. However, scale use does not always include an evaluation of the scales’ psychometric properties, especially in multisite studies. Failure to consider a place attachment scale’s measurement properties makes both validity and reliability assumptions and may lead to improper data interpretation. Hence, this investigation assessed a place attachment scale across three sites via data collected on site in natural resource protected areas in Colorado, Minnesota, and Germany. A series of confirmatory factor analyses assessed the hypothesized two-dimensional (i.e., place identity and place dependence) model, Cronbach’s alphas calculated a measure of internal consistency, and a multigroup procedure cross-validated the scale. Some items did not load on the hypothesized dimension and the pattern of factor loadings was not equivalent across settings, suggesting assessment of place attachment scales may be necessary when used in new contexts.     

Geographic Education and Careers in Geography

Abstract

Disciplinary concern with career options and opportunities has fluctuated over the years. Not surprisingly, geography continues to be incorrectly stereotyped as a field of study offering limited employment prospects. While geographic education has long focused on content, it must also embrace the importance of educating instructors, students, and career counselors concerning how the field opens doors to viable careers. This article presents a program that can be implemented by college and university departments to raise awareness and disseminate information about career opportunities in geography. The program emphasizes an integrated approach that includes partnerships with alumni, campus placement offices, and employers.     

Using Web Maps to Analyze the Construction of Global Scale Cognitive Maps

Game-based Web sites and applications are changing the ways in which students learn the world map. In this study, a Web map-based digital learning tool was used as a study aid for a university-level geography course in order to examine the way in which global scale cognitive maps are constructed. A network analysis revealed that clicks were negatively correlated with familiarity, but were positively correlated with area. More significantly, well-known countries did not act as central nodes within network-based mental models, but served a more complex mediating role in structuring the space between subregions.     

Bridging High School and Introductory Undergraduate Courses in Geographic Information Science and Technology

This article presents the findings of a study to determine the degree of consistency in what is taught and learned in high school and college-level introductory courses in geographic information science and technology (GIS&T). A content analysis identified sixteen topics that are generally representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities developed in introductory undergraduate courses. The findings were used to propose a standard college-level survey course in GIS&T that could inform future efforts to introduce more academically rigorous GIS&T coursework in high schools, such as through the Advanced Placement Program.     

Geographic EducationResearch and the Changing Institutional Structure of American Education

Professional geographers are paying increasing attention to the development of a research agenda concerning geographic education. In doing so, it is essential that geographers pay close attention to fundamental changes in the structure of education itself. Traditional educational methods and procedures associated with industrial society are being replaced by new and innovative modes of education that are linked to post-industrial social organization. This article explores the implications of these changes for understanding the teaching and learning of geography in the future.     

Geographic EducationResearch and the Changing Institutional Structure of American Education

Professional geographers are paying increasing attention to the development of a research agenda concerning geographic education. In doing so, it is essential that geographers pay close attention to fundamental changes in the structure of education itself. Traditional educational methods and procedures associated with industrial society are being replaced by new and innovative modes of education that are linked to post-industrial social organization. This article explores the implications of these changes for understanding the teaching and learning of geography in the future.     

基于GIS的山地交通地理信息分析方法与技术

在分析讨论传统山地交通地理信息分析方法弊端的基础上,对基于GIS及GIS-T的山地交通网的建设、管理使用等所需的相关地理信息的分析意义、技术方法等问题进行了探讨。以成都市域的相关数据和MapInfo平台为例,研讨了基于GIS的山地交通地理信息分析基本步骤及山地交通网自身及其主要环境要素的分析内容和方法。研究得到了基于GIS的山地交通地理信息分析方法在可视、实效等方面明显优于传统方法;相关研究的难点及今后进一步深入研究的方向及内容等结论。     

长三角地区地名通名文化景观空间格局及影响因素北大核心CSCDCSSCI

地名通名是不同地方地名具有共性特点的通用部分,表征人类社会对自然环境和行政区划变迁的认知。梳理多学科视域研究进展诠释地名通名文化景观解析逻辑,基于EOF模型、地理探测器等方法构建地名通名文化景观解析模型,探究长三角地区地名通名文化景观格局及成因。研究发现:①长三角地名通名文化景观用字比例受河网水系影响最大,地名通名文化景观用字类型丰富度在41个单元中总体呈现内陆到沿海且沿东北-西南方向递减趋势。②长三角地名通名文化景观分布异质性显著,呈现典型非均衡集聚,空间上形成皖中、苏南、浙北和上海等东西条带状的一级中心位于长三角中部,两个团块状次级中心分列南北;长三角地名通名文化景观分布呈显著空间正相关,空间集聚特征较为明显,热点区为双中心格局且分布于安徽西部和浙江南部等地,冷点区为单中心格局且分布在东部沿海呈纵向连续带状分布。③长三角地名通名文化景观分布受自然环境和社会经济综合影响明显,主要分布在海拔0~200 m、地形起伏度小于20 m、坡度小于5°的平原地带,人口集聚、经济发展水平和交通便捷性对地名通名传承影响深远。地名通名文化景观解析模型研究有助于提升地名命名科学性和规划管理协调度,为推动地名文化遗产保护提供有益参考。     

从Google Maps看我国全球化地理信息服务面临的挑战和对策

以Google Maps为代表的地图服务的推出预示着全球化地理信息服务的开始。IT领域竞争市场的形成、高分辨率卫星影像的应用及Web地理信息服务开发平台的实现是全球化地理信息服务的主要趋势。面对全球化地理信息服务发展机遇,我国面临地理数据库建设、地理信息市场社会化与地理信息区域均衡发展的严峻挑战。在分析我国地理信息服务面临挑战的基础上,从数字化建设、地理信息服务市场培育、卫星遥感技术商业化发展3方面提出我国地理信息服务发展的对策与建议。     

UCGIS地理信息科学与技术知识体系及对我国GIS研究的启示

为推进我国地理信息科学与技术发展,借鉴UCGIS于2006年提出的地理信息科学与技术知识体系(Geographic Information Science and Technology Body of Knowledge),分析其对我国GIS领域研究的若干启示,包括构建科学合理的地理信息科学与技术学科体系、加强地理空间认知与概念建模的研究、多学科交叉推进地理计算理论与应用研究、推进地理信息科学与技术的相关软科学研究。     

Evaluating the Accuracy and Effectiveness of Criminal Geographic Profiling Methods: The Case of Dandora,Kenya

Criminal geographic profiling (CGP) prioritizes offender search, extensively reducing the resources expended in criminal investigations. The utility of CGP has, however, remained unclear when variations in environmental characteristics and offense type are introduced. This study evaluates several CGP strategies with data from Dandora, a small but densely populated suburb of Nairobi, Kenya. The research employs error distance and search-cost measures to determine CGP accuracy. Characterized by much shorter journeys to crime than those observed in Western cities, this study discovers significant applicability of CGP strategies in prioritizing offender searches. The negative exponential CGP strategy is identified to generate the most accurate geo-profiles.