Suggests basic elements of spatial education appropriate to geographic information system (GIS) course curricula. Describes the need for integration of GIS education and GIS training. Discusses hardware/software configurations, approaches to the creation of laboratory facilities, and approaches, rationales, and technical considerations in the…

Presents a sampling of eight entries from the ERIC database that deal with the history of sport. Includes works discussing baseball as a representation of societal value, lesson plans, and works dealing with race and cultural themes. Provides instructions for obtaining the documents listed. (DK)

Focuses on some of the techniques used during an institute (in which teachers were taught how to teach geography through literature) and on the circa-1492 literature that may be used to integrate understandings of literature, reading, and geography. Presents an annotated list of 22 books appropriate for lower elementary through middle school…

Defines and describes the use of choropleth maps in geography instruction. Identifies the six basic steps for constructing choropleth maps and recommends their use in secondary classrooms. Includes five maps and two tables applying choropleth maps to Central American and Caribbean nations. (CFR)

Describes the use of David Savageau's book, "Retirement Places Rated," as a tool for teaching U.S. regional geography. Discusses factors used to evaluate and rate regions as retirement destinations. Includes two project assignments used in a college-level course titled "Geography of the Aged." (CFR)

Reports on a method of teaching ethics as a complex web of relationships. Used ethically vexing anecdotes elicited from practicing geographers to develop a computer-based tutorial package that allows students to interact with these anecdotes. Cautions against using this format alone in ethical instruction. (DSK)

Transcribes an interview with Australian geographer Fay Gale conducted in 1997 on the occasion of her retirement. Explores her professional and personal development as well as her views of research, teaching, geography, the problems and prospects for women in academia, and the state of higher education in Australia. (DSK)

Reports on a series of 10 guides on various methods of teaching, learning, and assessing geography in higher education published by the Geography Discipline Network (GDN). Also, reports on the production of a database of good educational practices on the World Wide Web by GDN group. Includes contact and ordering information. (DSK)

Argues that hands-on, project-oriented teaching offers an ideal approach to integrating Geographical Information Systems (GIS) education and training. Presents a project-oriented GIS teaching experience as an instructional paradigm that can be used to ensure balance between conceptual GIS learning and software-based hands-on training in…

Examines aspects of the marketplace for undergraduate geography programs in England and Wales. Provides a national review, and identifies and discusses the flows of applications and enrollments among regions. Notes a decrease in applications for honors geography degrees and the reliance of geography programs on local supplies of students. (DSK)

Discusses strategies for teaching controversial topics through an examination of the cultural and political geographic concept of iconography using as an example the recent debates over flying the Confederate flag this decade in the American South. Conveys that there is not a conclusive model or solution to teaching controversial topics. (CMK)

Argues that an avenue for enhancing geography education lies in collaboration between teacher educators and government agencies. Describes a cooperative program between the University of Houston-Clear Lake (Texas) and NASA's Johnson Space Center. Discusses challenges in creating the program, the nature of the program, and benefits from…

Relates a project in which elementary students created a model globe that hung in the classroom in order to enable the students to build their geographic understanding. Describes in detail the process of constructing the globe and discusses the finished globe's uses. (CMK)

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide powerful technology for geography teachers. With this tool, students can engage in serious inquiry about issues of local and global significance using authentic data. Summarizes current research findings about GIS in schools, describing exemplary GIS projects. Realizing the potential of GIS in…

Examines teaching models of atmospheric circulation and resultant surface pressure patterns, focusing on the three-cell model and the meaning of meridional circulation as related to middle and high latitudes. Addresses the failure of the three-cell model to explain seasonal variations in atmospheric circulation. Suggests alternative models. (CMK)