This article describes the use of the "powerful knowledge" concept in geography education in primary schools. First, the concept of powerful knowledge is briefly introduced in the context of building geographical thinking. Next, the authors describe four key geographical concepts: place, space, environment, and interconnection. The main…

The focus in this article is on the usefulness of spatial sequencing as a tactic for interpreting a map and organizing our memory of it. This skill is useful whenever some condition varies in a systematic way with distance. When students are asked whether they see a pattern on a map of a topic like wildfires or terrorist activity, some students…

This article provides, based on the author's own scholarship, the three reasons that geography at the K-12 level must include a robust dose of climate change science: (1) Climatology is a cornerstone of physical geography; (2) Climate change science bridges urban and rural geographies; and (3) Climate change science connects the natural and human…

To know a place, one must observe more than just the "conditions" there. It is also important to know about "connections" with other places, near and far. This article looks at research about geographic connections, with a specific focus on describing the area of influence (the aura) around a geographic feature like a lake,…

The background and resources presented in this article support teaching about two Tent/Freedom Cities--in Fayette County, Tennessee, and in Lowndes County, Alabama--that were built as a form of civil rights resistance and for housing Black sharecroppers and tenant farmers evicted by oppressive white landlords for marching, attending mass…

The role of geographic information systems (GIS) in education is vital. Geospatial skills have been shown to correlate with improved performance of general spatial thinking (Lee and Bednarz 2009) as well as specific geography-related content (Hall-Wallace and McAuliffe 2002). As students are exposed to more GIS, they gain skills that are desired…

An "analogy" is a statement of relationship. A "spatial analogy" is an analogy based on a spatial relationship that is observed in a location. Spatial analogies can be based on any spatial relationship, including distance, direction, elevation, proximity, enclosure, or position in a pattern, region, or sequence - in short,…

This article presents an introduction to the use of remote sensing for the study of climate-land interactions. The article begins with a brief review of current climate change knowledge and then examines the bidirectional relationship within climate-land interactions. Using select examples from the scientific literature, the article discusses the…

Though overshadowed by their Japanese counterpart, Taiwan's and South Korea's comics industries produce illustrated tales that represent and speak back to their host cultures, even when employing common Japanese manga conventions. As Japanese manga is popular with North American youth, Taiwanese and South Korean comics present a potential…

This is the fourth in a series of six articles about how research by psychologists, neuroscientists, robot engineers, and other scientists could help geography educators design better lessons. This article will focus on teaching about regions as narrowly defined: a region is a group of places that have something in common and are close to each…

Each location on earth has its own mix of climate, minerals, land cover, politics, religion, and other features. Geographic inquiry starts (but does not end) with careful observation of these conditions, because geographers assume that they can influence what happens in that place. Future articles in this series will look at different modes of…

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…

Gerrymandering, or more broadly legislative redistricting, is almost unique as a focus of geographic inquiry in that a typical young adult will (a) know what it is, (b) recognize it as geography, and (c) think it is important. These qualities make redistricting an excellent choice for drawing students into the discipline of geography while…

This paper offers alternative information about challenges faced by geography teachers in implementing online learning during the first wave of COVID-19 outbreaks in Indonesia. This paper is based on the experiences of teachers from various regions in Indonesia. First, the authors describe how online teaching and learning are performed by…

This lesson plan will illustrate how Taiwan can be used as a case study in an undergraduate human geography, population geography, or demography course. Incorporating Taiwan within the curriculum can equip students with a deep understanding of demographic concepts, specifically as it relates to the demographic trends in Taiwan. Through in-depth…