Presents a survey on the degree of training in geographic-information systems (GIS) given to prospective geography teachers. Reveals that only a handful of programs intentionally expose student teachers to GIS in a meaningful manner. Discusses implications for plans to integrate GIS into the curriculum. (DSK)

Life-story mapping is a technique for exploring personal identity and family history within the context of human geography. Site-specific autobiography develops a sense of how place influences identity. (SK)

Introduces a geography course that uses a service learning approach to study the Dog River Watershed in Alabama. (YDS)

Discussion of student support in open and distance learning systems focuses on a framework for the development of a planning tool for student support services. Considers student characteristics; course or program demands; geographical environment; technological infrastructure; the scale of the program; and the requirements of management.…

Examines children's spatial mobility in urban settings, particularly in the public realm, using data from a study of children living in contrasting urban environments. Notes declining independent use of public space, and variations on use by gender, ethnicity, and family culture. (JPB)

Examines attitudes toward the role of the shopping mall as a place for congregating. Notes that adult attitudes reflect a discomfort with teenagers being in a place where they have no clear role, while teenagers transgress and question the spatial hegemony of adulthood, creating a "thirdspace" reflecting their place between adulthood and…

In summary, this highly conceptual activity helps middle school students understand that the lines on the contour map represent intersections of the surface of the landform with regularly spaced horizontal planes. Building the landform and relating its features to the contour map offer many opportunities for visualization, all grounded in concrete…

Postgraduate student teachers' conceptions of sustainable development were elicited using a questionnaire completed by the entire cohort of geography (N = 21) and science (N = 40) students starting the University of Oxford Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) secondary course. Responses were analysed in three ways: (i) development of…

The Alps have always been of global interest and significance due to their natural and cultural diversity and are presently the number one tourist destination worldwide. Therefore, raising awareness of issues of global change and sustainability is most relevant in this region. Due to its integrative nature, geography can contribute substantially…

This article features the Ultimate PE Challenge. The idea had been born when the fifth-grade teachers complained that teaching physical geography was boring, and the technology instructor simultaneously noticed a climbing wall in the gym. "Could physical education simulate the geographic characteristics and obstacles of North America?"…

In this paper we return to an issue often discussed in the literature regarding the relationship between highway expansion and population change. Typically it simply is assumed that this relationship is well established and understood. We argue, following a thorough review of the relevant literature, that the notion that highway expansion leads to…

The concept of progression is applicable to how students' geographical understanding can advance over a period of time, and how courses can be designed to facilitate such advances. Understanding is a product of experience, ideas and mental processes, and the interrelationships between them. The ideas which are most characteristic of geographical…

This article provides educators at all levels with a theoretical rationale for place-conscious education; it also discusses pedagogical pathways, and institutional challenges, to place-consciousness. Drawing on insights from phenomenology, critical geography, bioregionalism, ecofeminism, and other place-conscious traditions, the author gathers…

The world has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of new states in the past couple of decades. Many of these new countries are the result of ethnic nationalist movements dividing an existing state. Is the United States susceptible to the forces of division which we more commonly associate with the rest of the world? Or is the United…

Geography, long the neglected step-child of the field of social studies education, evinces signs of emerging as one of it key integrating elements. Its prominent inclusion and embellishment in both national and state standards and state assessments bodes well for its future. Higher education's role in this endeavor is paramount. The successful…