Digital Data-Centric Geography: Implications for Geography's Frontier

The debate regarding geographic information systems (GIS) as tool, toolbox, or science still lingers in geography departments and among geographers. Analysis of geographic information is a vital component of decision making among business, governments, researchers, and academics. GIS users, geographers and nongeographers alike, use and benefit from problem-solving methods in numerous fields and contexts, making the use of GIS and the core competencies associated with using GIS a topic of intense debate. Complicating this ongoing discussion is the rise of data-centric approaches to research in geography that further expand the capabilities of spatial analysis and add to the expected knowledge of a GIS user and analyst. Building on a panel discussion at the 2016 American Association of Geographers (AAG) annual meeting, as well as informal dialogues on Twitter and other social media platforms that navigate this issue in academics and industry, this article explores how skills in research computing and programming operate in geography and GIS, especially given the rise of data-centric approaches to research in these realms. Some topics, like the costs and benefits of open and closed source software, are familiar from previous discussions in geography and GIS. Others, though, like the reward structures and recognition for computing skills or programming ability, have not been widely considered given the current landscape.     

Teaching GIS in Geography*

Although numerous courses in geographic information systems (GIS) have been introduced into the geography curriculum over the past few years, there has been remarkably little debate over the issues involved. This paper first discusses the arguments for geography as an appropriate disciplinary setting for GIS teaching at the undergraduate level. This is followed by a discussion of the nature of GIS courses and their appropriate place in the undergraduate geography curriculum. The final section of the paper describes the NCGIA Core Curriculum project and examines its significance in this broader context.     

Teaching Social Justice: Reviving Geography's Neglected Tradition

Abstract

American students are encouraged to become globally competitive. I argue that in a world plagued by social inequality and environmental mismanagement, students should become globally cooperative. But this position is not new. Nineteenth century geographers such as Peter Kropotkin argued that geographic education should promote cooperation and tolerance of others. This article explores why geographers cast aside this progressive vision for geographic education. It hypothesizes that geography's pursuit of academic and scientific legitimacy prompted it to spurn “value-laden” methods. The article concludes by suggesting that geographers return to their social justice roots by adopting constructivist pedagogical methods of Paulo Freire.     

Teaching Africa's Cities Through Meja Mwangi's Novels

Abstract

This article presents a lesson plan used to teach about African urbanization using Kenyan novels. Specifically, three urban novels written by Meja Mwangi are used. Based on a qualitative survey of student preference and learning, this lesson plan uses these novels alongside more traditional academic texts to achieve effective student learning. Understanding that students prefer to read novels but learn best from textbooks, this mixture of texts generates emotional discussions that are substantiated with factual research.     

Introduction to Focus Section: Out in the World: Geography's Complex Relationship with Civic Engagement

Geographers have long been at the forefront of participating in and exploring the intersection of geographic knowledge and community-engaged research. This Focus Section highlights key debates and challenges facing geographers who participate in community-engaged work, explorations of pedagogical and ethical practices, departmental and institutional challenges, and examples of thoughtful applications of geographic knowledge to community-based work. It also seeks to generate knowledge and discussion of how geographers can employ civic engagement to advance geographic learning and enhance the profile of the discipline within and beyond higher education institutions. By focusing on such issues, this collection of articles contributes in vital ways to meet the challenges that higher education institutions face in demonstrating the relevance of academic learning to societal issues. This introduction to the Focus Section reviews the historical context of civic engagement in geography, provides a broad-scale look at the state of civically engaged research in U.S. institutions of higher learning, and highlights the contributions of each of the individual articles included in this Focus Section.     

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.     

Global Landscapes: Teaching Globalization through Responsive Mobile Map Design

This article reports on the design and evaluation of Global Madison, a mobile map designed to support teaching and learning about globalization using Madison, Wisconsin, as a situated classroom. Our experience of place increasingly is mediated by mobile devices, opening new opportunities and challenges for research, industry, and education. Despite this rising popularity, few guidelines exist for creating and using mobile maps. Following tenets of user-centered design studies, we conducted two mixed-method evaluations of Global Madison to improve the tool and generate design insights that are potentially transferable to similar mobile mapping contexts: 244 students participated in an online survey after completing the tour and eighteen students were observed in the field. The evaluations generated new design considerations for mobile maps supporting situated learning, include: focus on critical issues that might leave students stranded, append location-based services with traditional mapping, enforce cognitive association between map and landscape, supply a consistent feed of information for new learners, encourage collaborative learning in the landscape, and promote student safety above all else.     

A Pedagogic Framework to Link GIS to the Intellectual Core of Geography

Abstract

This paper aims to develop a new pedagogic framework for teaching GIS at the college and university level using Berry's geographic matrix. By synthesizing different schools of thought, this paper argues that GIS education essentially involves two aspects—how to teach about GIS and how to teach with GIS. Berry's geographic matrix can be used to tie these dual aspects of GIS education together neatly. As an abstract representation of geographical phenomena, the geographic matrix embeds all three entities of GIS—location, attribute, time—and thus can help GIS instructors teach about GIS. As a synthesis of geographical approaches, the geographic matrix can assist GIS instructors teach with GIS. This paper demonstrates that GIS is actually an implementation of Berry's geographic matrix. Furthermore, the 10 approaches to geographical analysis, originally proposed by Berry for the geographic matrix, can be executed routinely in a GIS environment. By incorporating Berry's geographic matrix into GIS education, teachers can enable students to surpass technical issues and to appreciate the conceptual and functional linkages between GIS and geography's intellectual core.     

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.     

Field Work in Physical Geography

Abstract

During the past few years, the idea of imparting to students a “liberal” education has attracted a great deal of attention. Considerable discussion has arisen over (1) the definition of “liberal” education, (2) its merits, and (3) the mechanism by which it would be imparted. Recently, much of the controversy has been resolved and academicians are now charged with the responsibility of putting the idea into practice. This paper uses the course Geography of Africa as an example of how the liberal education requirements can be fruitfully incorporated. In pursuit of this goal, the term “liberal education” is analyzed, its scope and objective(s) defined, and a model course proposed. The model course draws from ideas contained in a survey administered to the members of the Africa Speciality Group of the Association of American Geographers. Contained in the model course syllabi are suggested topics, key issues/themes, exercises, resource materials (films), outside readings, suggested textbooks, etc.     

THE ARCHIVES OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN GEOGRAPHERS

Although numerous courses in geographic information systems (GIS) have been introduced into the geography curriculum over the past few years, there has been remarkably little debate over the issues involved. This paper first discusses the arguments for geography as an appropriate disciplinary setting for GIS teaching at the undergraduate level. This is followed by a discussion of the nature of GIS courses and their appropriate place in the undergraduate geography curriculum. The final section of the paper describes the NCGIA Core Curriculum project and examines its significance in this broader context.     

Constructing a Dialogue: Geographic Education and Geographic Research

Geographic researchers and those who specialize in educational issues have paid insufficient attention to one another. Many theoreticians are openly contemptuous of those who study education; many who focus on pedagogy are unnecessarily defensive. This essay calls for a program of sustained intercourse that is explicitly mutually transformative in nature. It reviews what each perspective offers the other. A change in attitude among those who emphasize geographic research is needed that takes pedagogy far more seriously than it has hitherto. Conversely, geographers whose professional interest is in education would benefit from including new conceptual material such as social theory and political economy in pedagogic works. The results of such an intersection would be to inject new energy into the field, including secondary schools, widen geography's audience, and enhance its popular reputation.     

Geographical Positions of Base Lines and Principal Meridians Governing the Public Surveys

Abstract

Richard Edes Harrison. The Ginn World Atlas. Ginn &; Co., Statler Office Bldg., Boston 17, Mass., 1963. 62 pages (single page 7 1/2 × 10 in.) with table of contents, colored maps and index. $1.00.

National Geographic Society. Atlas of the World. National Geographic Society, Washington 6, D.C., 1963. 304 pages, including 115 pages of 11-color maps, with 127,071 place names. With introduction, table of contents, etc. The price for the standard edition in a flexible, leather-grained plastic cover is $18.75. The deluxe edition with hard-backed cover in a matching slipcase and gold-stamped lettering with the owner's name is $24.50.

Mary Louise Clifford. The Land and People of Afghanistan. J. B. Lippincott Company, E. Washington Sq., Philadelphia, Pa., 1962. 160 pages, illustrated with photographs, map and index. $3.25.

Pradyumna P. Karan and William M. Jenkins, Jr. The Himalayan Kngdoms: Bhutan, Sikkim, and Nepal. D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., 120 Alexander St., Princeton, N.J., 1963. 144 pages with preface, table of contents, appendix, bibliography and index. Included are maps and sketches. $1.45.

Donald B. Cole. Atlas of American History. Ginn and Co., Statler Office Bldg., Boston 17, Mass., 1963. 151 pages with table of contents, maps and index. $1.60. (paperback)

D. M. LeBourdais. Stefansson: Ambassador of the North. Harvest House Limited, 220 Elm Ave., Montreal 6, P. Q., Can., 1962. 204 pages with table of contents, map and index. $2.50 (paperback)

Elvajean Hall. The Land and People of Norway (Portraits of the Nations Series). J. B, Lippincott Co., E. Washington Sq., Philadelphia 5, Pa., 1963. 158 pages with table of contents, one place name map, photographs and index. $3.25.

Sir Alan Burns. Fiji. British Information Services, 845 Third Ave., New York 22, N.Y., 1963. xv and 255 pages with table of contents, illustrations, photographs, drawings, maps, appendices and index. $6.00.

George B. Cressey. Asia's Lands and Peoples. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 330 West 42nd St., New York 36, N.Y., 1963. 652 pages plus table of contents and index. $9.95.

S. Carl Hirsch. The Globe for the Space Age. The Viking Press, 625 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y., 1963. 88 pages including table of contents, index, drawings, suggestions for further reading and list of globe manufacturers. $8.75.

Cuchlaine A. M. King. An Introduction to Oceanography. McGraw Hill Book Company, Inc., 330 West 42nd Street, New York 36, N.Y., 1963. xii and 337 pages with table of contents, index and illustrations. $7.95.

William Bixby. Waves, Pathways of Energy. David McKay &; Co., Inc., 119 W. 40th St., New York 18, N.Y., 1963. 160 pages, illustrations, suggested further readings index. $3.50.

Hans H. Lansberg, Leonard L. Fischman and Joseph L. Fisher. Resources in America's Future: Patterns of Requirements and Availabilities 1960–2000. Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore 18, Md., 1963. 1067 pages with black and white and colored ilustrations, table of contents, appendices and index. $15.00.

C. Daryll Forde. Habitat, Economy &; Society. E. P. Dutton &; Co., Inc., 201 Park Avenue South, New York 3, N.Y., 1963. xv and 500 pages with preface, table of contents, illustrations, maps, drawings, chapter references, bibliography and index $2.35.

Patricia Horkheimer Suttles. Educators Guide to Free Science Materials, 4th ed. Educators Progress Service, Randolph, Wis., 1963. XV and 313 pages with publisher's foreword, table of contents, general directions, title index, subject index, source and availability index and eleven units. $7.75.

Irwin Isenberg (associate editor). The Soviet Satellites of Eastern Europe. Scholastic Book Services, Scholastic Magazines, Inc., New York, N.Y., 1963. 159 pages with photographs and index. Sixty-five cents, (paperback)     

A Place for Geography in the Liberal Arts College?

This study charts the presence of geography at liberal arts colleges and explores the relationship between the liberal arts and the study of geography. The results of this study reveal a paradox: geography embodies many of the ideals of a liberal arts education and yet this study indicates an absence of degree‐granting geography programs at 93% of institutions. Geography thrives, however, at a select group of liberal arts colleges, and these colleges are disproportionately important as the undergraduate origin for doctorate recipients in geography.     

Teaching Geographic Field Methods to Cultural Resource Management Technicians

Abstract

There are perhaps 10,000 technicians in the United States who work in the field known as cultural resource management (CRM). The typical field technician possesses a bachelor's degree in anthropology, geography, or a closely allied discipline. The author's experience has been that few CRM field technicians receive adequate undergraduate training in geographic field methods, such as cartography and orienteering, which are considered critical to the demands of CRM studies. This paper assesses a practical on-the-job-training approach not uncommon to the industry and concludes with a recommended curriculum. As a result, educators should recognize this need as an opportunity to offer courses in basic geographic field methods at the college level.     

Co-Mingling Geographic Education with Social Studies Methods

Abstract

Most preservice teachers complete their social science course requirements in isolation from their social studies methods course. This paper reports the unique co-mingling of one interdisciplinary social science course (emphasizing geographic and environmental education) with the social studies methods for a cohort of undergraduate preservice teachers. Integrating parts of their curricula, instruction, assignments, and assessments through a co-mentoring process and action research project connected professors and preservice teachers with children and their environments. A review of the professors' process accompanied by a summary of preservice teachers' projects and reactions describes the classroom experiences and pedagogical outcomes experienced by each group.     

Delmarva Coastal Bays Map Contest for Fourth Graders

Abstract

This map contest is an exercise in geographic education for fourth grade students. It is sponsored by a grassroots, nonprofit environmental organization to raise the awareness and appreciation of students to the special features of their home region. The maps illustrate some aspect of the living resources or history of the region. As a case study of the map contest, this paper describes its design, publicity, appeal to teachers, judging of entries, and role of volunteers. It considers the research on map skills among young students and ways in which the contest supports geographic education.     

Integrating GIS into the Undergraduate Learning Environment

Abstract

Despite the promise of GIS, substantial barriers have prevented its widespread use in geographic education. Among the key factors are technical impediments stemming from software complexity, pedagogic issues related to the lack of experienced faculty and the shortage of curriculum materials, and systemic issues associated with faculty motivation. This case study describes strategies that were employed for addressing each of these barriers in a large enrollment, multisection world geography course. Successful implementation of those strategies has enabled large numbers of students in classes taught by instructors with no formal GIS experience to spend a substantial amount of time learning geography with the help of simple, easy-to-use GIS software applications.     

Exploring the Benefits of Field Trips in a Food Geography Course

University students often cite field experiences as some of their most important and memorable. Yet research shows that field trips are on the decline in many colleges and universities; this shift may impact geography courses that are traditionally field based. Often cited is the problem of instructor time, increased enrollment, and concerns over liability. However, field experiences give students opportunities to develop competencies, forge community connections, and provide tangible experiences that encourage deep learning. This project employs survey data from a food geography course to understand how field experiences combined with classroom discussion help students internalize and reexamine course content.     

Geography Education Students' Experiences with a Problem-Based Learning Fieldwork Activity

This article reports on a problem-based learning (PBL) fieldwork activity carried out by geography education students on the Mooi River in the North West province of South Africa. The value of doing practical fieldwork using a PBL approach in the training of geography teachers was researched by means of an interpretative multimethods approach. Findings indicated that students experienced this approach positively as a teaching and learning strategy and expanded their view on the complexity of environmental issues. PBL fieldwork should be part of the training program of geography teachers and can add to the growth of ecologically literate citizens.