The present paper attempts to reason that social-constructivist spatial theory represents an essential approach for contemporary geography teaching. This approach is essential to show learners how space contributes to the organization of society. By contrast, German geography didactics and teaching practice, which are examined closely here by…

In this paper, we examine the conceptual understanding and experiences that students in German secondary schools have of boundaries. For our research we conducted qualitative interviews and surveys (interviews n=20; surveys n=21) with children (aged 14-17) born both in Germany and with refugee backgrounds. We asked for the children's conceptual…

In Germany, 93% of young people between the ages of 10 and 18 play video games daily. Political geography, in particular popular geopolitics, have found that video games can help to establish and develop people's understanding of geopolitics. Consequently, this affects geography education, providing both challenges and opportunities for teaching.…

Teachers' interest is a key influencing factor in geography class, development of curricula and writing textbooks and only little is known about it. A cross-sectional study along the lines of interest theory originating from educational psychology was carried out in Germany in the summer of 2015, in which 141 teachers at secondary schools…

Educators are experiencing difficulties with 1-day field trips in human geography. Instead of teaching students how to apply theory in the field and learn to "sense" geography in everyday life, many excursions have degraded into tourist-like events where lecturers try to motivate rather passive students against a noisy urban backdrop.…

This activity guide contains five lessons. Lesson 1 deals with "Location of Germany on the Earth's Surface" with two activities: (1) "Germany's Location in the World"; and (2) "Germany's Location in Europe." Lesson 2 is on the "Physical and Human Characteristics of Germany" with four activities on: (1)…

This packet contains five lessons related to the five themes of geography: location; place; human-environment interaction; movement; and region. The lessons are designed to support the teaching of courses in world geography, U.S. government/civics, and economics from a comparative U.S./German perspective. Lessons include: (1) "Location of…

Describes the West German Curriculum Research Project for the Spatial Sciences, its chronology, organization, content, evaluation, and dissemination. Also discusses influences and implications of the project. For journal availability, see SO 507 291. (Author/CK)

This instructional package is targeted at students in grades 3 and 4. The package, presented to students as a travelogue, stresses basic map, globe, and geography skills, and presents case studies of communities (cities/towns/villages) across Germany. It contains three lessons: (1) "One Germany in Numbers: Size, Population and…

This packet is a primary/elementary instructional package targeted at grades 3-4. The four lessons address physical and cultural geography, basic needs, community services and community helpers, transportation and communication, and political symbols. The materials focus on a comparative U.S./German perspective. The lessons include: (1)…

This packet is a primary/elementary instructional package targeted at grades 3-4. The lessons are presented as a travelogue, stressing basic map and globe/geography skills and presenting case studies of communities (cities/towns/villages) across Germany. The materials focus on a comparative U.S./German perspective. The lessons include: (1)…

This packet contains three lessons designed for the high school classroom. Lessons include: (1) "The German Worker"; (2) "Government in Germany"; and (3) "Culture and Daily Life in Germany." Student activities focus on comparative economic systems, worker training and apprenticeship programs, structure of government…

This packet is designed for middle school classrooms. The four lessons correspond to the typical curriculum pattern of world cultures, geography and government. The materials focus on world studies and state studies from a comparative U.S./Germany perspective. The lessons include: (1) "Culture and Perspective Taking on the Federal Republic of…

This booklet offers classroom activities for use with 15 social studies-related films for teaching about Germany. The series of 25-minute films are made available by Deutsche Welle Television and Goethe House New York. Lessons in the booklet include: (1) "Germany Since 1945: A Focus on Berlin"; (2) "'I'll Get You All Out of Here!' A…

This manual is designed to offer support for the instructional resources guides on "Germany since Unification." It provides the basis for a full-day inservice training session on the use of those materials. The format can be modified to meet the needs of leaders, audiences, and time frames. Using the materials developed by teachers and…