Many college teachers have a required textbook(s) for their courses, yet textbooks often misrepresent facts both directly and indirectly -- through both the perspective and possible bias of the author(s) and/or the omission of information and events. As textbooks are primary sources of knowledge, and students believe the information to be true, it…

Geography education research has identified several concerns in geography education and recognizes several systemic and cyclical issues which serve to impede effective implementation of geography education. A pattern to be recognized in the review of literature is the consistent communicated concerns of ill-prepared geography teachers.…

Partnership for 21st Century Skills has continuously identified critical and metacognitive thinking skills to be essential for life and career in post-secondary education and workforce settings. As a response to the Race to the Top (2010) initiative and Common Core State Standards (2009), New York State Board of Regents began an overhaul for all…

This phenomenological case study examined the link between teacher practice within the classroom and a newly implemented middle school social studies Professional Learning Community (PLC). More specifically, the use of mandates, theories, and activities were investigated through a series of teacher interviews, classroom observations,…

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of high school students' perceptions of their Geography course in a Southeast Texas high school. Five focus groups of students were assembled (seventeen students in two groups of four and three groups of three participants) and asked a series of six questions relating to the different…

This dissertation explores how to teach web mapping. Web mapping skillsets are in demand by employers, yet a minority of Geographic Information Science (GIScience) programs include web mapping in their curricula. The dissertation seeks to promote web mapping education by addressing the barriers to teaching web mapping and instructional strategies…

Traditional teacher education programs focus on pedagogy and, to a lesser extent, assessments of knowledge (Siedlecki, 2012). Pedagogy and assessments should be fundamental components of any secondary teacher's curriculum planning (Knight, Shum, & Littleton, 2014). This study sought to consider the possible effects of three pedagogical…

Teaching evaluation systems are an important part of the total evaluation of faculty in geography departments in the United States. As demands for accountability for teaching effectiveness continue to emerge from many groups, it has become increasingly important for geography departments to develop systems that not only provide teaching…

Geography content in teaching materials is often overlooked, mislabeled as another subject, or generalized as social studies while ignoring the physical aspect of the subject. American educators generally do not recognize the breadth of geography because it is a subject in which they are often not familiar. This study used an interpretive content…

Geographic inquiry increases higher-order thinking skills which can be supported through the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The purpose of this research project examines the effect of using a Collaborative Inquiry Model (CIM) model during professional development on the rate of effective GIS implementation in K-12 classrooms. The…

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,…

The learning study reports on part of a larger project being lead by the author. In this dissertation I explore one goal of this project--to understand effects on student learning outcomes as a function of using different methods for connecting out-of-school experiential learning with formal school-based instruction. There is a long history of…

Success in today's globalized, multi-dimensional, and connected world requires individuals to have a variety of skill sets--i.e. oracy, numeracy, literacy, as well as the ability to think spatially. Student's spatial literacy, based on various national and international assessment results, indicates that even though there have been gains in U.S.…

This dissertation examines development of children's skills at map using and free-recall map sketching, with particular emphasis on map reasoning, competence in cartographic language, and performance in cartographic language. Cartographic language (the broad range of line, point, and area signs and map elements) is interpreted as the means by…

This study investigates the role of textbooks in secondary geography instruction. In chapter 1, the origins and purpose of this study are outlined, and chapter 2 is a literature review of English and U.S. research that mentions geography textbooks while focusing specifically on content analysis. Chapter 3 outlines the broad case study approach…