Defining Appalachia: Public Policy and Regional Dynamics in Appalachia's Low-income Counties, 1965-2000

Abstract

The extant literature on place location learning resolves in varying degrees that place location knowledge (PLK) is deficient in the United States and abroad. This is particularly true for younger school-attending age groups. This study has three main aims: to investigate the validity of that claim in regard to secondary-level students in Dublin by testing their PLK; to assess what characteristics of tested place locations render some sites more visible in students' eyes than others; and to investigate statistically what traits of the respondents shape their PLK. The implications of these findings on geographic education and future research are also discussed.     

River Views of Beginning Pre-service Teachers: Content Knowledge Use

Abstract

How beginning teachers organize themselves to teach new or unfamiliar topics is an important issue for research. This paper discusses information about rivers in pre-service teachers' lessons taught to fourth grade students. Lessons were videotaped and transcribed for analysis. The data consisted of all information about rivers found in the lessons. Lesson content was analyzed for accuracy, coherence, centrality, over-simplification, and undue emphasis.

Seven kinds of problems with lesson content occurred because the beginning teachers lacked sufficient knowledge about rivers. Inaccurate information was either presented or allowed to stand unchallenged in the lessons. The lessons lacked coherence, because the beginning teachers tended to make passing references to concepts. About twice as many of the lesson concepts were peripheral to the study of rivers, the problem of centrality. The relationships between some river-related ideas were misunderstood or ignored. Both physical and human geography concepts were consistently over-simplified. The recreational use of rivers was consistently over-emphasized.     

A Landscape Guide in Environmental Education

Abstract

The interpretation of landscapes is an important way to learn about geography in environmental education. A Landscape Guide to the Bachelor Reserve applies geographic/historical and biological/ecological perspectives to the interpretation of ten landscape scenes along a three-mile walking tour. For each scene, the guide describes the environmental setting, the composition and structure of the vegetation, and the history of human influences. Questionnaire and field assessments document a well-received interpretive tool, and the need to guide participants across land transitions and interpret land use history clearly. Landscape guides can be used in school/community land labs and contribute to holistic learning and multidisci-plinary exercises in formal and informal environmental education programs.     

An Assessment of the Use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in Teaching Geography in Singapore Schools

Abstract

In 1998, geographical information systems (GIS) were introduced to secondary schools in Singapore as a tool for teaching geography at the secondary and junior college levels. However, general observations and feedback from school teachers suggested that only a small number of secondary schools and junior colleges in Singapore were actually using GIS to support the teaching and learning of geography. The present research study was designed to establish the level of GIS usage and to investigate the reasons for the slow integration of GIS in the Singapore secondary schools. This article presents the findings of this research and provides some insight into the use of GIS in Singapore secondary schools.     

WyomingView: No-Cost Remotely Sensed Data for Geographic Education

Abstract

Learning enhanced by visual examples and remotely sensed imagery is a valuable classroom resource for teaching students geographic concepts in a meaningful context. Barriers to the use of imagery include difficulty finding appropriate imagery and the cost of moderate resolution satellite imagery. A program in Wyoming called WyomingView and analogous programs in other states are providing no-cost, preprocessed satellite imagery delivered over the Internet that can help teachers better communicate geospatial knowledge to their students.     

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.     

Field Work in the Classroom

To make sense of spatial data, information and concepts strong geographic literacy skills are a prerequisite, yet existing studies suggest a global decline in these skills. Current geographic tools predominantly focus on mapping tasks that do not necessarily lead to an understanding of the broader geographic relevance of location. This article argues that in order to improve geographic literacy exercises should test an understanding of location and employ techniques to correct deficiencies. To support this argument this study offers evidence on the effectiveness of online quizzes in improving geographic literacy skills of first-year undergraduate geography students.     

Transportation—Part V

Abstract

This article presents a case study that highlights the benefits and limitations of Web-based video in lab sections of The Geographer’s Craft, an upper-level undergraduate course in which students apply digital geographic methods. Over three years (2010–2013), the authors experimented with different teaching strategies utilizing Web-based video for lab lectures and software demonstrations. This article presents three different approaches for its application, from inside and outside the classroom, to a ”flipped classroom” setting. The authors argue that Web-based video is a valuable tool for teaching digital geographic research methods and techniques while allowing for greater focus on theory and application.     

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.     

A National Survey to Examine Teacher Professional Development and Implementation of Desktop GIS

ABSTRACT

This article examines the results of an online national survey of K–12 educators who attended a series of GIS training workshops conducted by the authors between 1998 and 2004. Data from the self-report survey (N = 186) suggest new information about potential changes in instruction and assessment patterns following GIS training. The survey provides insight for those designing GIS-based professional development, while simultaneously describing relatively little change in instructional methodology. The survey confirms some classroom implementation constraints from an earlier national implementation survey, identifying a lack of time for teachers, variable skill levels among students, and software complexity.