Teacher preparation has been called the "bete noire" of geography education in the United States (Boehm et al., 1994). Despite progress in other areas of geography, teacher education remains a significant issue affecting the quality of geography instruction nationwide. It is a multifaceted, multidimensional problem tied inextricably to…

New teachers and those without a strong background in geography tend to neglect "higher level" thinking, including causal explanations and thinking about reasons in primary school geography. This is a problem that training has yet to address effectively, at least in the UK. It could be that children's textbooks may help such teachers…

The geographies of Hollywood are multiple, contradictory, ephemeral and tangible. Our preconceived conceptions of space and place play a dynamic role in what elements we tend to focus on when discussing the cultural industry of American cinema. This essay uses Hollywood as a metaphor for the American film production industry and a historical…

Film audiences have long been invited to view Scotland and Scottish life through a historic lens. Influenced by the pre-existing literary traditions of tartanry and kailyard, film-makers have focused nostalgically on the myths and legends of the Highland and pre-industrial Scotland, with the implications that this approach has for representations…

One teacher took her class on a year long earthquake expedition. The goal was to monitor the occurrences of real earthquakes during the year and mark their locations with push pins on a wall-sized world map in the hallway outside the science room. The purpose of the project was to create a detailed picture of the earthquakes that occurred…

If children are to read to learn, they must acquire skill in processing and comprehending expository texts. However, teaching children to read and comprehend informational texts takes time, because there are so many complex skills associated with this reading. Building children's knowledge of the content to be studied and introducing new…

Geography teacher preparation is an ongoing problem for the discipline. Changes in certification requirements and federal and state educational policies have diminished the role of colleges and universities in educating teachers. At the same time, geography education reform efforts have resulted in higher standards and an increased quantity of…

This paper proposes different strategies for teaching social studies in an integrated manner using Main Street as a laboratory. The paper consists of two parts. Part One is devoted to a discussion of the empirical study; the second part focuses on strategies for integrating Main Street into the K through 12 setting. Although data are presented…

Increased knowledge of geographic place name vocabulary continues to be important to student academic success. Place knowledge is a vital part of students' learning to be responsible citizens by helping them become more conscious of the world around them and preparing the world around them and preparing them to enter a global workplace. This study…

During the last decade, technological developments in computer hardware, software and networks, combined with increasing pressures on staff and students, have led to a proliferation of Communication and Information Technology (C&IT) within the Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES) disciplines. This research investigates the role of…

Using a qualitative approach, this study investigated how the use of GIS technology affected fourth graders' geography learning and understanding of place. For this study, a GIS module was developed and implemented. The data gathering included transcripts from video and audio recordings of classroom instructions, interviews with the students and…

This lesson plan is designed to give intermediate elementary school students the opportunity to use a highway map to prepare for an imaginary trip to a chosen destination in Illinois or surrounding state. In order to complete the assigned task successfully, students will need to utilize all skills learned during preceding class periods. The major…

This meeting site guide for Lexington, Kentucky and the Bluegrass region around Lexington illustrates why the state of Kentucky and this region are excellent examples of how geography plays out on the land, how regions emerge, and how human events and processes, in the context of the physical environment, lead to differentiation and distinction,…

This paper is part of a larger study entitled "A Comparative Geography of Three Ecologically Similar Regions," which compares the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland with the Murray River region of South Australia and the Rio de la Plata region of Uruguay. Readings with accompanying questions are intended for classroom use. Teachers are…

This document consists of nine individual booklets published by the Bureau of the Census. "Census Bureau Education Program: Update 1" consists of introductory material and describes the teaching resource series that are presented here and that make up the Bureau's education program. "Census Bureau Teaching Resource 1 - Congressional…