This is the first in a series of six articles about how spatial reasoning can help children "read" maps, graphs, and geographic texts. Since the late 1900s, neuroscientists and psychologists have used new brain-scanning and eye-tracking technologies to do a "lot" of research about visual perception and spatial thinking. One key…

This research analyses the way in which the Lotus Blossom technique has been described and used worldwide, including Romania and it investigates several ways to apply it based on the geographic content. Based on analysing the way this technique was applied it has been found that it may be applied to various topics, both individually and in groups,…

Michael Young's concept of "powerful knowledge" has received widespread attention from many in geographical education. I use the claims Young has made about powerful knowledge as a starting point for considering how pedagogic practices could contribute to making geographical education powerful. I present three sets of pedagogic…

This paper is based on an experiment conducted in 2019 at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, as part of a post-graduate research course, that aimed to reflect on the methodologies used by geographers when (re)searching (for) emotions. This methodological question is crucial since it is partly because of the difficulty of finding relevant tools…

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) represents a major leap forward in AI technology, offering the potential to reshape education in various aspects. This paper explores the transformative potential of GenAI in geography education, focusing on its impacts across curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and fieldwork, through the lens of the…

This article describes a data-driven approach to contextualize geography subject matter using student aspirations and workforce data. To test this teaching strategy, undergraduate students in two world geography courses taught at Texas State University were surveyed and interviewed about their career and life aspirations. Using this information,…

This study aims to theoretically investigate the notion of critical thinking for a more just understanding of self and "others" in global geographical learning. It focuses on the kinds of injustice in the world which are driven by our relationships with "others." By drawing on the literature of critical education, philosophy of…

When the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) program releases its reports on student achievement in various subjects, the data are added to the NAEP Data Explorer (NDE) website. The NDE has been shown to support reflective educational practices in the social studies. Working with assessment data can stimulate ideas for how teachers…

Despite numerous efforts to improve geographical teacher training, student teachers often develop inert theoretical knowledge during their studies. Teachers' deeply rooted implicit orientations concerning geography classes, which are important for future classroom practice and professional learning at university, are a major reason for the theory…

Until now, geography teaching has only touched upon the way in which students write argumentations focused on geographical topics, and the challenges of doing this. In order to shed light on this process, this study considers the problems and challenges students face when using material-based written argumentation in geography lessons. The results…

In three studies, we examined children's geography learning from a physical puzzle and an app designed to mimic the puzzle. In Study 1, 5- and 6-year-olds were taught Australia's states by an experimenter using a puzzle or were taught by an app. Children learned significantly more states from instruction with the puzzle than when they used the app…

In three studies, we examined children's geography learning from a physical puzzle and an app designed to mimic the puzzle. In Study 1, 5- and 6-year-olds were taught Australia's states by an experimenter using a puzzle or were taught by an app. Children learned significantly more states from instruction with the puzzle than when they used the app…

Space is the product of spatial and social relations (Massey 2005). Educators are constantly moving in and out of physical or virtual spaces in classrooms. In geography education particularly, space is integral to teaching and learning. For example, students situate spatial knowledge within social contexts to make sense of geographical concepts…

The notion of the common good underlies much policy making in geography. There are two reasons for evaluating geography's impact on the common good for the university curriculum. First, by working within the various theoretical paradigms that have influenced policy, students will learn to argue from different perspectives such as social democracy…

The Commission on Geographical Education of the International Geographical Union has stated along their history different documents that serve as a reference on how to carry out the teaching and learning of geography at schools, called the International Charters on Geographical Education. The preliminary documents to the first Charter were founded…