One of the definitions of biodiversity, which has many definitions, is the differences between living things or the diversity of life forms in the world. According to another definition, biodiversity is a group of wholes formed by genes, species, ecosystems and ecological events in a region. The importance of biodiversity is gradually increasing…

The article deals with the problems arising within transition from the traditional to the modern educational paradigm. Taking the use of school geography textbooks and teachers' guides as examples the author offers innovative technology for the development of student's personality cognitive experience implemented due to the combination of…

This meeting site guide for Lexington, Kentucky and the Bluegrass region around Lexington illustrates why the state of Kentucky and this region are excellent examples of how geography plays out on the land, how regions emerge, and how human events and processes, in the context of the physical environment, lead to differentiation and distinction,…

The paper reviews the 18 National Geography Standards developed in 1994. The Standards are grouped under the organizers of: (1) The World in Spatial Terms; (2) Places and Regions; (3) Physical Systems; (4) Human Systems; (5) Environment and Society; and (6) The Uses of Geography. One hundred activities for the elementary classroom with each…

Four geography concepts illustrate the varied nature of the science and provide a pluralistic basis for uniting professional and pedagogical geography and for promoting communication with laymen. The spatial tradition, based on interest in geometry and movement, separates aspects of distance, form, direction, and position from events themselves.…

The current debates about cultural geography fall into three categories: (1) arguments for the convergence of cultural and spatial geography; (2) arguments against current reports of the disappearance of culture as a result of increased cultural divergence; and (3) attempts at the reconstruction of culture theory to conform with generally valid…

This lesson plan for instruction in geography addresses three social studies standards (People, Places and Environments; Culture; Civic Ideals and Values) and seven geography standards (development of mental maps; physical and human characteristics of places; people create regions to interpret the earth's complexity; patterns and networks of…

This paper is part of a larger study, conducted as part of a Christa McAuliffe Fellowship research project, "A Comparative Geography of Three Ecologically Similar Regions." The study compared the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland with the Murray River region of South Australia and the Rio de la Plata region of Uruguay. The project was…

This paper shows comparisons among the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland, the Murray River region of South Australia, and the Rio de la Plata region of Uruguay. Through comparative geography, students are to draw their own conclusions about the similarities and differences of the three regions. Teachers are encouraged to use other resources to aid…

Examples of computer programs illustrate how instructors can introduce students to geographic concepts and models while creating a thinking environment in the classroom. The programs are designed to assist students in computational tasks and to provide both graphic and numeric output which will be stimulating. A population pyramid program…

This paper suggests that college-level geography instructors use novels to help students understand how people have interacted with particular environments within particular periods of time. In addition, it offers excerpts from approximately 20 novels that deal with topics often treated in human (cultural) geography courses. The author suggests…

This paper discusses the role that geography plays in the enhanced comprehension of some literature. One way to demonstrate the value and utility of geography is to show how geographers can contribute to other fields and the interrelationships with other disciplines. Many novelists have used geographical concepts to good advantage. Examples…

This paper describes two experiments in which first, 10, then 20 first-grade students were taught the geographic concept of location through organized lessons and then were able to transfer their learning to concentric area questions with understanding. This study applies Vygotsky's and Gagne's theories that children can learn, recall, and apply…

A primary goal of a teacher of regional geography should be to present the course as a study of the changing functions of world regions because the events of each day cause regions, whether political, economic, cultural, or physical, to be in constant flux. The nation-state has become in many ways out-moded as a source of analyzing the events of…

The increasing interdependency and regional specialization of today's world demand a new approach to the teaching of introductory geography courses. By focusing on the interrelationship of physical, cultural, and economic geography, a course for general education students can foster development of the geographic perspective on human systems needed…