In this article, the authors share a unique and unfolding story about a program in Virginia that allows districts to opt into a series of Inquiry Design Model (IDM) performance assessments in place of the state-developed multiple-choice test. In the Rockingham County School District, this initiative was piloted in ninth-grade World Geography…

Amid the shift to virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, educators across disciplines were faced with developing new strategies for active learning. This article discusses findings from a case study of using Google Earth for virtual field trips and projects in an undergraduate Geography of North America course, assessing the process of…

The lack of geographic knowledge and cultural dynamics should not surprise educators. Geography is no longer required as a separate discipline in many school districts and indeed often is dropped from the curriculum after elementary school where it is studied on a limited scale--usually in the third and fourth grades. Few students have the ability…

The introduction conveys some data on learning in India and on designing Geography textbooks in this country. The present paper is reliant on four Geography textbooks, ranging from the 9th to the 12th grade. As regards each textbook, the study considers their learning units, then analyses their structure, the unitary way of designing them, the…

This article examines whether questions embedded in geography textbooks address three components of spatial thinking: concepts of space, tools of representation, and processes of reasoning. A three-dimensional taxonomy of spatial thinking was developed and used to evaluate questions in four high school level geography textbooks. The results…

This article is designed to illustrate the critical importance of utilizing cartographic representations, i.e., maps in aiding in the increase of academic scores in regards to World Geography at the 10th grade level. The issue of using maps to better a student's comprehension of various world cultures is essential. It is my contention that the…

PlacesOnLine.org is a Web portal that provides easy access to high quality Web sites that focus on places from around the world. It is intended for use by a wide range of people, including professional geographers, teachers and students at all levels, and the general public. This article explores the potential uses of PlacesOnLine as an…

In 2002, the geographic knowledge of college-age students in the North was highlighted in a survey sponsored by the National Geographic Society. Students in the U.S. ranked second to last among those surveyed on questions assessing basic knowledge of world geography. That many young adults got "the facts" wrong about particular places…

The authors share a successful Fulbright Group Projects Abroad grant award. The purpose of the grant was to enhance American educators' experience and knowledge of South Africa, in particular, and sub-Saharan Africa more generally. Toward that end, participants experienced a multifaceted view of South Africa's geographical diversity, both physical…

Presents a critical examination of six high school geography textbooks to see how they varied in their treatment of world politics, and comments on the degree of nationalistic bias in each one. Suggestions for teachers are included to help them deal with political concepts and bias in textbooks. (Author/AM)

Affective goals and objectives, rarely stated in geographic education standards, textbooks or course syllabi, include improving students' attitudes toward other people. World geography courses expose students to other parts of the world and to people different from themselves. Although affective goals may not be stated for such courses, could it…

Examining the vital relation between immigrants' race or ethnicity, language, documented or undocumented legal status, and multicultural citizenship education is essential in the reconceptualization of current curricula and practice. The analysis provides relevant critiques of the traditional American History and citizenship curricula that are…

One special difficulty in teaching world geography is overcoming the scale differential between individual students' direct experiences and the immense size and complexity of the world. An innovative framework of operational principles, or maxims, has been suggested, and an application of the framework is described. Students search out examples in…

Suggests that cultivating U.S. sensitivity and knowledge about the world are the tasks of geographers. Reminds teachers not to ignore the newspaper as a source of information about world geography. Concludes that newspapers can help students develop an appreciation of how geography contributes to world events. Proposes teaching strategies. (SG)

Textbooks play a central role in the US education system. High school level World Geography textbooks are an important tool in the campaign to reform geography education in the United States, particularly through the introduction of the National Geography Standards. The status of the Standards in US schools is appraised. Five factors (authority,…