The COVID-19 pandemic is an unanticipated event that has exposed human fragility in an interconnected and interdependent world. While impacts are of a global magnitude, they have been felt at the most local of levels. Across the world pupils' daily lives and experiences have been directly impacted by government-imposed measures and restrictions…

Capstones in professional masters-level programs serve a unique nexus of developing professional, industry-specific competencies within a graduate-level academic setting. Universities offering such degree programs must demonstrate the benefits of an academic approach to working professionals, while focusing on the development or enhancement of a…

Social studies professionals advocate linking discipline-based content to citizenship learning goals. However, research suggests that students rarely encounter inquiry-based instruction in their geography coursework and have few opportunities to explore how geography impacts civic decision making. In this article, we present a problem-based…

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are adequate for analyzing complex scientific and spatial phenomena in geography education. "Google Earth" is a geographic information tool for GIS-based learning. It allows students to engage in the lesson, explore the Earth, explain what they identify and evaluate the implications of what they are…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is one of a suite of strategies based on the premise that placing students at the centre of the learning process ultimately improves skills, knowledge and understanding. To date, however, there remain relatively few reports on the application of PBL within geography curricula. This paper traces the evolution of a PBL…

Drawing on experiences from a project conducted in the "Drentsche Aa" area in the Netherlands, this article discusses the concept of the "rural atelier" as a form of problem-based learning. The rural atelier principle was used originally in rural development planning and described as such by Foorthuis (2005) and Elerie and…

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…

This article describes a series of data-based Green Map learning exercises positioned within a problem-based framework and examines the appropriateness of projects like these as a form of geography education. Problem-based learning (PBL) is an educational technique that engages students in learning through activities that require creative problem…

While some geographers have embraced active learning as a means to engage students in a course, many others stick to conventional teaching methods. They are often deterred by suggestions that it can be difficult to implement active learning where students have no prior knowledge of a subject, that active learning requires too much work of…

The affordances of online learning technologies have enabled more widespread development of learning environments that facilitate the exploration and solving of complex and realistic problems. In this paper, we describe the design of a real world geography problem, embedded within a web environment that is facilitated by an onsite excursion for…

Problem-based learning (PBL) works with a series of problems that form the syllabus for a course or the basis of a curriculum. Learning occurs through the definition of the problem and its attempted resolution. PBL is challenging but offers much potential for geography with its interdisciplinary character. The challenge to geography lecturers is…

Argues that the discipline of geography needs to be transformed from a declarative enterprise based on facts to a problem-based enterprise, particularly in light of the shrinking world community. Describes the ways in which a geography instructor addressed the problem-based learning struggle between process and content. (Contains 23 references.)…

This paper reports on the design and implementation of a project-based course--World Water Problems--that was introduced within the framework of introductory undergraduate geography education. The aims of the course were twofold: (1) to cultivate in students a world geographic perspective on water problems; and (2) to conduct an original research…

This discussion of teaching science as a design activity emphasizes open-ended problem solving. Highlights include the relationship between teachers and students; hypotheses as solutions; and descriptions of four microworlds, or computer simulations, in chemistry, geography, physiology, and genetics which use graphic interfaces. (LRW)

Recommends employing problem-based learning (PBL) in the preparation of geography students for field classes. Utilizing PBL students work on problems drawn from professional practice with the assistance of tutors. Briefly reviews the characteristics, contributions, and issues of PBL and provides an undergraduate geography case study. (MJP)