Suggests applications of the National Geography Standards to integrated elementary social-studies instruction. Explains why geographic education is essential, why standards are necessary, the six essential elements of the standards, and applications of each of these elements for social studies lessons. (DSK)

It is important to learn geography, yet most Americans leave school functionally illiterate in geography. Geography is fundamental to student maturation, the process of true education, and it is a springboard to every other science and humanities subject. Knowledge of maps and geographical information is crucial to the examination of economic,…

Replicated a 1991 study examining college students' global geographical knowledge as measured by their ability to locate nations of the world from outlines appearing on six regional maps. Found some improvement, but the average student could only locate about one-sixth of world countries. Male students and international travelers performed better;…

This paper presents an argument for introducing location-allocation theory to advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in a simplified continuous space environment that is relatively free of the distorting effects of networks and other aspects of more differentiated "real-world" environments. This approach can enable instructors to…

Geographic ethics are profoundly important if students are expected to be stewards of the earth and responsible citizens whose decisions about the environment will affect our planet's future. The proposed framework, founded in geography but applicable to other subject areas, guides students to moral decisions for the well-being of the planet and…

Active learning strategies include a variety of methods, such as inquiry and discovery, in which students are actively engaged in the learning process. This article describes several strategies that can be used in secondary-or college-level world geography courses. The goal of these activities is to foster development of a spatial perspective in…

Generalizations are important tools in learning about complex phenomena such as wetlands. Geography teachers at all levels use generalizations in order to help students grasp the discipline's major themes. One of geography's major themes is that of place, and that includes uniqueness of place. Accordingly, it is important to recognize the…

This paper uses case study methodology to investigate the subject conceptualisation of two geography teachers at a mixed-ability comprehensive school in the UK. The research used concept-mapping and semi-structured interviews to explore the teachers' understanding of their subjects, within the case study framework. Teachers were asked to describe…

Four Chinese middle school students represented China during the third International Geography Olympiad (IGEO) held in 2000 in Korea and that was the first time for China to participate in the IGEO. In 2005 the China Society of Geography and the Beijing Normal University decided to co-organise the China National Geography Competition (CNGC) for…

The history of intellectual geography competitions for secondary school students in Russia (by that time--USSR) began after World War II, when the Faculty of Geography of Lomonosov Moscow State University started to organise a yearly Geography Olympiad for Muscovite youngsters. Soon, organisers of this Olympiad decided to open it for secondary…

When teaching geography to students in the primary grades, teachers should provide firsthand experiences that young children need to make meaningful sense of their world. David Sobel, author of "Mapmaking with Children: Sense of Place Education for the Elementary Years," suggests that teachers in the early grades adopt a small-world approach to…

This article describes a pedagogic foundation for introducing a field-based geographic information systems (GIS) experience to the GIS curriculum at the university level and uses a dual evaluation methodology to monitor student learning and satisfaction. Students learned the basics of field-based global position systems (GPS) and GIS data…

"The Geography Teacher" provides hands-on reference and educative material for K-12 Geography teachers. The journal also pioneers innovative ideas for contemporary teaching methods, including lesson plans. This issue contains the following: (1) Ask Dr. de Blij (Dr. Harm de Blij); (2) Around the World in Eighty Days (Donald P. Albert);…

This study describes and analyses the conceptions of primary teachers and secondary teachers of Physics-Chemistry, Biology-Geology and Geography-History with respect to the concept of heritage and its teaching and learning, taking the model of teacher-researcher as the theoretical referent. The data collection instrument used was a questionnaire,…

Fieldwork is central to teaching and learning in geography. The assessment of student learning from fieldwork can, however, be problematic. This paper evaluates the use of reflective diaries for assessing level three undergraduate geography fieldwork. It is concluded that reflective fieldwork diaries offer an innovative and flexible approach to…