Using mnemonics to learn place geography

Abstract

Learning place geography, the location of cities, nations, regions, major physical features, etc., is an important part of school geography. This investigation builds on research findings from educational psychology to address questions about effective ways to teach place geography. The study assesses the pedagogical effectiveness of several instructional strategies featuring keyword mnemonics and the attention-enhancing devices of repeated test-like practice and cooperative learning. The results of the research show a significant difference in place geography learning between mnemonic and non-mnemonic treatment groups. Geographic educators should continue to research cognitive strategies to determine their effect in learning place geography, particularly in the long-term effects of using keyword mnemonics alone and keyword mnemonics in combination with repeated test-like practice.     

Textbook Errors in the Application of the Kelvin Temperature Scale

Abstract

The units of the Kelvin temperature scale (with an upper case K for the proper noun “Kelvin”) are incorrectly introduced in most undergraduate introductory physical geography textbooks. The internationally recognized unit of the Kelvin temperature scale is the kelvin (lower case k), abbreviated to K (upper case). However, many introductory physical geography textbooks incorrectly use units of “Kelvin,” “degrees Kelvin,” or “^oK.” The errors detract from the prestige of physical geography as a natural science discipline.     

Italian Renaissance and Japanese Zen Gardens: An Approach for Introducing Cultural Landscapes

Abstract

This paper outlines a method for teaching about cultural landscapes in introductory geography classes by contrasting the Renaissance gardens of Italy with the Zen gardens of Japan. The ordered, symmetrical, formal arrangement of the Renaissance gardens are compared to the Zen gardens where landscape features appear to be completely natural. By contrasting these two garden traditions—their physical characteristics, their paths of diffusion, and the world views they express—it is possible to illustrate how cultural landscapes develop and persist in areas as a result of differing combinations of physical, social, and cultural circumstances.     

Integrated Teaching of Geographic Information Science and Physical Geography Through Digital Terrain Analysis

Abstract

We present an outline of a course in digital terrain analysis that provides students with integrated instruction in geographic information science (GISci) and topics in physical geography and earth science. Integrated teaching of GISci and other sub-fields of geography has value because it presents GISci technologies in the context of their application. Nevertheless, the design of college and university geography courses is often fragmented rather than integrated. Our course provides one potential model for such integration. Assessment of student reaction, using focus groups of both enrolled and non-enrolled students, revealed a generally positive attitude toward the course and pointed out the barriers that prevent some students from taking it.     

A Scope and Sequence in Geographic Education,Grades K-12

Abstract

This article introduces the word “LAMPPOST” as a mnemonic device to aid in the instruction of climate variables. It provides instructors with a framework for discussing climate patterns that is based on eight variables: latitude, altitude, maritime influence and continen-tality, pressure systems, prevailing winds, ocean currents, storms, and topography. It focuses on ways to introduce the variables in a logical sequence that provides a smooth transition from one variable to the next. It is primarily designed for instructors with a background in human geography or the social sciences who wish to incorporate elements of physical geography into their lectures.     

Census 2000 and Geography Education

Abstract

By using stream restoration as a seminar theme, geography faculty can create a topical course that helps provide a shared intellectual agenda for both physical and human geography students, while highlighting the holistic strengths of our discipline. Although it is not necessary that faculty have prior knowledge about the topic, a willingness to work collaboratively is essential to creating an effective course about this complex endeavor. The course can simultaneously meets the needs of students continuing on to graduate studies as well as those preparing for teaching careers. Guidance on how a stream restoration class could be used to teach the eighteen geography standards is also provided.     

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.     

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.     

A Field-Based Technique for Teaching about Habitat Fragmentation and Edge Effects

Abstract

This article presents a field technique that exposes students to the indirect effects of habitat fragmentation on plant distributions through studying edge effects. This assignment, suited for students in an introductory biogeography or resource geography class, increases students' knowledge of basic biogeographic concepts such as environmental gradients and disturbance in addition to formulating research questions and design. In this exercise, fieldwork can be implemented with simple tools that are easily obtainable and found in most physical geography labs. In this example, student response to the exercise was positive; they indicated that the exercise was a fun and interactive way to learn fundamental biogeographic concepts.     

How the States Got Their Shapes

Abstract

A baseline geography test was administered to over 3,000 Indiana college students enrolled in introductory geography courses. The National Council for Geographic Education Competency-Based Geography Test, Secondary Level, Form II, was used to measure the 1987 level of geographic ability in the areas of map skills, place-name location, physical geography, and human geography. Personal information gathered from each respondent included age, sex, travel experience, and level of geographic education. Older students scored better while geographically immobile groups scored lower. A strong correlation was found between travel and geographic knowledge. Findings show low overall geographic ability and that factors of age, travel experience and gender are correlated with certain aspects of geographic knowledge and skills.     

Developing Skills in a Physical Geography Laboratory

Abstract

The ability to solve problems and to make decisions is an important intellectual attribute. Judging from existing laboratory manuals, very little attention appears to have been directed in introductory physical geography towards developing the skills related to this attribute. This paper describes an attempt to define and develop skills in the setting of an introductory physical geography course, and gives example of the activities used in the laboratory. The skills defined are categorized as those which are geographic and those which generally intellectual. Some comment is also made on the teaching styles which appear appropriate to foster such skill development.     

The Geography Course in the Oswego State Normal and Training School

Abstract

This article addresses the knowledge of geography and geography-related careers of sixth and ninth grade students in six Florida schools. For geography knowledge no sex differences were noted for the total sample, ninth grade African American males outperformed African American females, achievement differed by school, and students knew most about skills and least about physical geography Students' career knowledge increased with grade level; males were more knowledgeable than females; African American females were the least knowledgeable; sex-related differences became more pronounced in ninth grade; and the most frequently cited careers were cartographer, explorer, meteorologist, and news person.     

Making the Connections: Infusing the National Geography Standards into the Classroom

Abstract

How will the National Geography Standards change the way teachers teach? The Standards will provide teachers with a geographic perspective that will enable them to teach improved geography content while building geographic skills and knowledge that will benefit their students for the rest of their lives. By taking a fresh look at the content in the curriculum from a geographic perspective, teachers can make connections between the Geography Standards and our own classrooms. The Standards provide information and strategies for teaching geography. They can be used to create lessons which offer opportunities for students to “do” geography and apply the skills they are learning.     

The Status of Geography in the Social Studies Curricula of Canadian Schools

Abstract

Successful curriculum development that will have impact upon individual American classrooms remains the key to maintaining the momentum of Geography for Life: National Geography Standards 1994. Teachers and students must be able to translate the national geography standards from the national stage to the local classroom setting to become geographically informed people. One example of this development for elementary urban geography is the Main Street lesson plan. It encourages observation and analysis required by Standard 4: The geographically informed student knows and understands the physical and human characteristics of places. After testing in a variety of Missouri classrooms, instructors thought that Main Street was a unique way of studying urban places and allowing students to gain a greater understanding of place.     

Individualized Learning in An Open Geography Classroom

Abstract

In the last few years a great deal of educational literature has been devoted to the concept of individualized learning in an open classroom, i This approach is based on the premise that students are capable of analytical and creative thought when given the opportunity to work on their own initiative and at their own rates. It is an alternative to the traditional teacher-centered classroom and is justified by the belief that the student learns more effectively when he is interested; that the student develops greater responsibility; that the slower, generally passive student is brought into a position of active participation in the learning process.

Little has been written about the applicability of such an approach to the field of geography. Interest in this method prompted the author to experiment with such a program in her own classes during her first year of teaching. This article describes the results of individualized learning in two ninth grade physical geography classes conducted at Western Illinois University's Laboratory School.     

Editorials

Abstract

Travelers' diaries are just one example of how primary documents can be used to experience geography in the classroom. Involving students in people's lives is an effective way to interest students in geography. Students will discover how these travelers migrated across the Missouri landscape, what modes of transportation they utilized, and the places they encountered along the way. This lesson focuses on people who traveled through Missouri in the mid-1800s. State historical societies and local archives are excellent sources of travel diaries and journals that can help your students experience geography and learn something about their own state in the process.     

Farewell to Bongo,Ahab and Iglook

Abstract

Hilltop Geography is a year-long integrated geography program that involves first and second graders in a hands-on laboratory approach to exploring their immediate environment while at the same time providing a stepping stone to their understanding of the world. This article will describe how teachers and students in a rural New Mexico school have been utilizing the semi-arid hills surrounding their building as an outdoor geography learning laboratory, involving parents and the local community in the process.     

Fifteen Year Follow-Up Geography Skills Test Administered in Indiana, 1987 and 2002

Abstract

After fifteen years of geographic education efforts, a baseline geography skills test was repeated in Indiana. In 2002, 2,278 students in college freshman geography courses were tested with a revision of the National Council for Geographic Education Competency-Based Geography Test, Secondary Level Form II. The test measured geographic ability in map skills, place name location, physical geography, and human geography. As in 1987, the 2002 test gathered personal information from each student on age, gender, travel experience, and prior geographic education. Test scores were lower by two percent in 2002. Travel and lifetime experience are again the best teachers of geography as opposed to high school geography course work. Significant performance differences persist between gender and ethnic groups. Arts and science students perform significantly higher than students from education, business, and other schools. Test results underscore the need to emphasize more intentional classroom focus on state standards and preparation of classroom teachers.     

Mentoring: A New Approach to Geography Teacher Preparation

Abstract

Geography teacher preparation is an ongoing problem for the discipline. Changes in certification requirements and federal and state educational policies have diminished the role of colleges and universities in educating teachers. At the same time, geography education reform efforts have resulted in higher standards and an increased quantity of geography in the curriculum, pre-service programs have failed to produce an adequate supply of highly qualified geography teachers. This paper suggests that geographers implement geography mentoring programs to improve the quality of geography instruction in early-career teachers. A model developed for the National Geographic Society is described. The model uses Teacher Consultants as mentors to assist novice teachers at the stage in their development when they are most ready to improve practice: between years two and five of their career.     

Notes and News

Abstract

Full implementation of geography standards will require their adoption by all U.S. states and school districts for use in every school. Strategies for achieving this goal include: using the consensus process to its fullest, involving the energy and resources of geography organizations, and reaching out to others to help maximize the standards' influence.