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.     

Activities to Develop a Spatial Perspective Among Students in Introductory Geography Courses

Abstract

Teaching students to gain a spatial perspective is one of the most difficult yet important components of geographic education. This paper presents a series of activities designed to develop a more comprehensive understanding of spatial concepts among students in introductory geography courses. The activities and content are most appropriate for high school or university undergraduate students. An evaluation of these activities demonstrates that they enhance the student's spatial perspective and their understanding of the role of spatial concepts in geography.     

The Value of Place Geography in a Commercial Geography Course

Abstract

This article summarizes methods used in a secondary school geography class to interest students in geography through examples drawn from local geography. Instead of relying on examples taken from exotic places to illustrate geographic concepts, the local landscape is used in the classroom to teach students about geography. The article is arranged according to the six essential elements of the National Geography Standards, but it does not imply that the methods presented should be used to teach the standards. Rather, the examples presented are used throughout a course in the geography of North and South America to develop an interest among students and, with examples from the local landscape, to increase student understanding of geographic concepts related to issues presented in the course.     

Employing SWOT Analysis in Coursework on the Geographies of Regional Economic Development and Trade

Abstract

The use of SWOT analysis is a means through which geography students can investigate key concepts in economic geography and essential topics in regional economic development. This article discusses the results of a course project where economic geography students employed SWOT analysis to explore medium-sized metropolitan areas across the southern United States and their suitability for export-led development. The results suggest that students were able to critically evaluate these urban regions and their potential for integration into the global economy. This case also intimates that the SWOT concept could be applied to other situations and regions in geography coursework.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Mental Mapping: A Lesson That Creates Itself

Abstract

Mental image and place-preference maps of college students in Florida were created through a two-part lesson. The patterns revealed by these maps were linked to students' life experiences, census data on migration and income, and similar studies conducted in other states. Students prefer states with established migration links to Florida and better income/job opportunities. Because the maps could not be created without their input, students were wholly engaged in a lesson that uses concepts in population geography and cartography to fulfill several national geography standards.     

Geography Current

Abstract

Broadening the intercultural awareness and international outlook of undergraduate students is best achieved through active rather than passive learning. The international student interview provides an excellent strategy for such active learning in introductory human geography classes. It allows American-born students to enter into a dialogue with students from other countries and learn about their cultures while simultaneously reexamining their own society and cultural frames of reference. The exercise also provides instructors with an opportunity to discuss the ethics and social practices associated with interviewing. Feedback from University of Georgia students completing this assignment underscored these benefits and provided suggestions for refinement of the exercise.     

Concept Learning through Writing for Learning: Using Journals in an Introductory Geography Course

Abstract

To effectively use journals and other writing for learning tasks as critical thinking and learning tools, geographic educators need to draw from the education literature on concept learning. Using the literature on concept learning and critical thinking, geographic educators can construct different kinds of journal assignments that give students opportunities to personalize and understand concepts. I demonstrate that students, regardless of their sex, level of education, or previous coursework in geography, found journal assignments helpful in understanding human geographic concepts.     

Geography,the Integrating Discipline: Explaining China's Population-Driven Geopolitics to Students

Abstract

This article demonstrates geography's role as an integrative discipline and its utility in connecting students to the world around them. A case study links China's demography and its geopolitics to the lives of U.S. students. The relationship of China's population pressures to its resulting economic growth, need for economic resources, and geopolitical efforts are examined using the concepts and holistic capabilities that are the academic strength of geography.     

An Evaluation of University World Geography Textbook Questions for Components of Spatial Thinking

ABSTRACT

Geography textbooks contain chapter or review questions that may engage students in spatial thinking. This research used Jo and Bednarz’s (2009) Taxonomy of Spatial Thinking to evaluate the percentage of spatial thinking questions in four university-level world geography course textbooks. The results from this study were then compared to the findings in Jo and Bednarz’s (2009) analysis of high school geography textbooks. Thirty-five percent of university level textbook questions are related to spatial thinking compared to twenty-four percent in high school geography textbooks. The results provide information useful to stakeholders, such as teachers, administrators, and textbook writers and may help these stakeholders to consciously incorporate the three components of spatial thinking as defined by the National Research Council (2006). A simplified taxonomy for identifying spatial-thinking concepts in textbook review questions is also suggested.     

Bluegrass Grows All Around: The Spatial Dimensions of A Country Music Style

Abstract

Country music offers students and instructors of geography a fertile area for explaining many of the concepts and traditions emphasized in the field. This study focuses on the physical, man-land, and spatial traditions of geography and their significance in analyzing a particular style of American country music. During the early part of the twentieth century, bluegrass music originated in Appalachia where man-land relationships were important to the inhabitants. It has since been diffused by the migration of musicians and facilities accommodating the old-time “pickin' and singin'” sound. The purpose of this study is to lend insight to the possibilities of using country music to illustrate the spatial-temporal phases of American culture.     

Observing Metropolitan Atlanta,Georgia: Using an urban field study to enhance student experiences and instructor knowledge in urban geography

Abstract

In urban geography courses, knowledge of a local area is especially useful for demonstrating geographic principles. These classroom examples are further enhanced when students conduct their own field observations, with direction from the instructor. This paper describes a field study of the metropolitan Atlanta area that is used in an intermediate geography class, in which students compare their observations of Atlanta with urban geography models and theories. I argue that the preparation of the project, and the completion of it by students, represents a valuable firsthand observation experience for both the instructor and the students.     

Escalation: A Simulation of Contemporary Geo-Politics

Abstract

ESCALATION is a one-hour simulation game that treats international power politics from a geographic perspective. It has been pilot-tested in several high schools and two universities. ESCALATION is deemed appropriate for high school geography and social studies classes, and for introductory college geography courses. Three important geographic principles are dramatically demonstrated by the activity. First, students discover that traditional ways of viewing maps can create misleading geographic stereotypes. Second, students learn the importance of cultural conditioning in viewing international relations. Third, students learn that numerous interacting factors influence nations in their selection of allies. The activity elaborated in the article provides geography teachers with a practical, ready-made teaching activity that is powerful in concepts and dramatic in presentation. The classroom teacher simply needs to transform the map (Figure 1) into a transparency and briefly review the simulation procedures. The teacher then presents the four sequential stages in the ESCALATION game and conducts a post-simulation discussion of what happened and why. The activity, in short, provides geography and social studies teachers with a simulation activity that combines role playing, decision-making, and surprise to generate several important geographic concepts and principles. The surprise climax invariably produces considerable discussion.     

Population in Advanced Placement Human Geography

Abstract

The Advanced Placement human geography course affords high school students the opportunity to experience an introductory college-level course in geography. Population is one of six major themes in the course. The course outline identifies four key areas of study in the population unit: geographical analysis of population, population distribution and composition, population growth and decline over time and space, and population movement. This article addresses each of these areas of study and identifies examples of concepts, topics, and types of data that could form the basis for instructional activities. A resource list is provided for additional reading.     

Reading the World: Integrating Geography in an English Language Learner Literacy Program

Abstract

English language development classes focus on teaching students of other languages how to speak, read, and write English. They must also prepare students to meet the many standards and requirements that are prerequisites to content classes, such as geography, and high school graduation. This discussion focuses on the integration of literacy and geography in a classroom with English language learners. A common English language development model, the “Into, Through, Beyond” model of learning, sets a foundation that integrates components of English language acquisition with language arts and geography standards. In turn, this approach to learning prepares the learners for success in social and academic arenas.     

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.