Discusses how most study skills are not appropriate for reading social studies textbooks. Asserts that sophisticated readers of social studies textbooks use a nation schema to organize the information. Finally, provides specific instructions on how to use a nation schema to teach social studies. (SRT)

Describes a geography lesson that computer and social studies teachers present together to teach elementary and secondary school students about computers and help them place the technology in a social context. (MBR)

Describes the objectives and philosophical orientation of the 1985 meeting of the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE). Reviews the session offerings and explains the six-step problem-solving process model that was used in the program. Discusses the use of the NCGE "Guidelines for Geographic Education." (ML)

Cites a study conducted by the Southern Governor's Association which reported that U.S. youth are multiculturally illiterate. Provides a conceptual approach to multicultural education that focuses on eight concepts which can be used in all curriculum areas. Outlines a sample lesson from the Charles County-University of Maryland program. (BSR)

Describes an assignment for secondary or college geography instruction in which students are appointed as the "Minister of Development" of a developing nation. As students plan their country's future, they confront different facets of development and the consequences of their actions. Includes student and instructor activities, identifying…

Discusses the findings of educational research dealing with the developmental stages of children and the teaching of geography, student achievement in geography, and techniques and procedures that can be applied to the traditional geography curriculum. (RM)

The role of geography courses in general education was found to vary considerably among individual institutions. Factors that affected geography's role were departmental size, existence of a major program, presence of a graduate program, and the nature and extent of a cognate role for other fields of study. (RM)

A distance perception survey was used to get college students enrolled in a human geography course involved and interested in the topic of perception. Students were asked to arrange 12 European capitals in sequence according to their distance from Amsterdam. Survey results are presented. (RM)

The proportion of geography doctoral dissertations by American students containing foreign-area research has declined sharply the last few decades. Reasons for the decline are examined, and implications for the discipline of geography are discussed. (RM)

Publications emanating from international organizations can provide a rich source of information for geography teachers and students. Many of these publications are available to educators at European Documentation Centers located at higher education institutions throughout the world. The publications are described. (RM)

Methods for using fiction and nonfiction to teach mapping and geographical skills are discussed. Three activities for use at the elementary, middle, and high school levels are presented. Additional books that can be used are described. (RM)

In this physical geography field course, college students plan and develop interpretive guides that explain the physical environment of a field site. This approach has two advantages: students develop geographical skills to a level approaching professional expertise and distributing the brochures increases public awareness of the value of…

To give students an understanding of how resource management techniques and society's perception of resources have changed, a project which compared a present-day classification of the agricultural land quality of McNab Township in Eastern Ontario (Canada) with nineteenth-century ideas about the land quality of the same area is described. (RM)

Music is a geographical and a temporal phenomenon which pervades every society. How music can be used to teach basic geographical concepts, to reflect the central themes of North American geography, and to explain the relationship between art forms and the tastes of a culture is discussed.

Described are two experiments which demonstrate meteorological phenomena in the geography classroom. Required materials, preparation, and instructional techniques to be used during the demonstrations are discussed. (Author/DB)