Today, big countries and other countries inside their axes have entered power wars in regions where underground and aboveground sources are important. One of the characteristics of countries where these power wars take place is them not being able to understand the current world politics and elements of political geography. These countries cannot…

The introduction of Geography as a compulsory learning area from Foundation year, such as Kindergarten, to Year 8 in Australia provides new opportunities for learning and teaching. Opportunities, in part, will be driven by challenges associated with the introduction of this learning area. Key challenges are about variability: in take-up of the…

Content development and maintenance of geographic information systems (GIS) related courses, especially designed for distance and online delivery, could be a tedious task even for an experienced instructor. The paper outlines application of abstract instructional design techniques for modeling course structure and developing corresponding course…

We take a fresh look at geography curricula and their appropriateness to the demands of the 21st century. We reflect on the purpose, content and relevance of undergraduate geography curricula in an age of "supercomplexity". Geography curricula, by their nature, are varied and multiple, with different countries often privileging different…

This article explores the contemporary function and value of field-oriented geography experiences for university-level students. The article details the design and delivery of an interinstitutional field course that partnered faculty and students--both graduate and undergraduate--from two geography programs with different curricular and research…

"Geography for Life: National Geography Standards, Second Edition" ("GFL2") is the recently released update of the original edition published in 1994. The original edition of "Geography for Life" provided excellent guidance on geographic content for teachers, curriculum designers, publishers, and pre-service teachers as well as many other…

Through an instructional approach, this article offers a template for a classroom-based geography capstone course grounded in pedagogical elements of synthesis and reflection, as based on exploration of ten key geographic ideas. It provides insights into course goals, structure, and components for instructors who may wish to implement it in…

This article discusses attempts to revive gender in the context of the geography curriculum at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. The reluctance of Dutch geography/-ers to embrace gender geography is related to the way in which the discipline has been understood and practised in the past and by whom as well as to the neglect of gender…

This study examined the effectiveness of two geography courses at improving student spatial thinking skills. Spatial thinking is an important cognitive skill in the sciences and everyday life. A taxonomy of spatial thinking was constructed by Gersmehl (2008) in geography education which included core modes assessed in this study: comparison,…

During academic year 1999-2000, the Geography Department at Michigan State University (MSU) launched a program of online geography courses. Since then, four undergraduate online geography courses have been collectively developed and delivered to over 4,500 domestic and international students in association with MSU's Virtual University Design and…

Topics on the subject of continental drift are discussed for teacher use in promoting student interest in coastlines, mountain ranges, and landscapes in general. (Author/KM)

This contribution to the "Comments" section first introduces a metric designed to estimate the amount of attention given to different countries of the world in academia using Internet "term paper mills". This metric is used to introduce a call for the incorporation of more geographic education regarding peripheral areas of the world into the…

Examines three questions: (1) why include statistics in the geography syllabus; (2) what areas of statistics should be taught to all geography students; and (3) how statistics should be taught considering the limited mathematical background of most geography students. For journal availability, see SO 506 224. (Author/AV)

An analogy in the form of an analogue to our culture is useful as a tool for selection of pertinent content and skills, and it is appropriate as a curriculum tool when complemented by the axioms of education. (Author/ND)

Outlines reasons for teaching mathematics to geography students in higher education. Considers mathematical requirements, streaming of students, and the type of course structure to be instituted. For journal availability, see SO 506 224. (Author/AV)