Game-based Web sites and applications are changing the ways in which students learn the world map. In this study, a Web map-based digital learning tool was used as a study aid for a university-level geography course in order to examine the way in which global scale cognitive maps are constructed. A network analysis revealed that clicks were…

Despite a seemingly fragmented interactional context, teachers and students in classrooms routinely manage to co-construct coherent, inter-related, and individually adapted learning trajectories distributed over days and weeks. The aim of this article is to explore with what interactional resources progressivity is accomplished in learning…

Certain secondary school subjects, such as geography, contain topics which are based on mathematical concepts. However, some geography teachers either fail to recognize this connection or choose to ignore it when they teach. Instead, they present the subject matter as a collection of facts, which need to be memorized and reproduced by the pupils.…

Asserts that teaching principles and concepts related to global time is a test of student comprehension and an instructor's teaching ability. Describes how teachers can create an International Date Line Wheel for classroom demonstration purposes. Includes 11 figures illustrating how to make and use the wheel. (CFR)

Asserts that travelers' diaries are excellent primary sources that can be used to teach geography. Maintains that state historical societies and local archives are good sources for these documents. Includes lengthy excerpts from two diaries and a student worksheet. (CFR)

This document contains lessons designed for teaching geography and map skills to intermediate level students, although many may be adapted to other grade levels. The lessons place heavy reliance on children making a series of individual and collective maps. The 16 lessons included are: (1) mental maps; (2) conventional maps; (3) map elements; (4)…

Discusses the educational benefits of map usage in social studies classrooms. Recommends approaches to teaching map skills, including instruction in location, distance, scale, and direction. Presents activities which utilize neighborhood resources. Describes an activity in which students devise maps of their local community. (RW)

Analyzes the codification involved in learning geographical maps and the extent to which this codification is affected by characteristics of the task (map information content and varied instructions) and subject (experience level and cognitive development). Reports results from three groups of adolescents and two groups of psychology and geography…

Presents a lesson plan using the "jigsaw" method which encourages students to teach map skills to each other. Points out that this activity generates a sense of responsibility in students while highlighting each group member's unique skills. Provides detailed instructions for using the lesson. (KO)

This document presents the initial set of research findings for social studies that is part of Project BETTER, a project of the Maryland State Department of Education to promote more effective instruction. The project has three major objectives: (1) to identify current research on effective instruction; (2) to synthesize this research in the form…

Describes how to incorporate English as a second language (ESL) reading and listening comprehension strategies into an intensive ESL program using authentic materials about Canada. Instructional material selection and task design strategies for pairs and groups are illustrated through examples of methods using geography, map skills, and cultural…

Summarizes a study that maintains that students who work together in small groups had a better understanding of map concepts. Discusses why making maps in groups can enhance students' conceptual geographic understanding and offers suggestions for improving geography instructions using small group configurations. Includes statistical and graphic…

This curriculum guide presents materials for teaching about Central America and emphasizes the concepts of environment, culture, interdependence, and citizenship. The guide is designed to integrate the study of geographic, economic, historic, political, and social features of Central American nations. The major theme of the document deals with how…

The instructional techniques illustrated in this book present a method of infusing national security issues into the five principal social studies courses of U.S. history, world history, U.S. government, economics, and geography. Chapter 1 discusses the meaning and evolution of the term national security in its general and educational contexts.…