Maps are often understood as the primary tool in geography; however, recent research indicates that the number of students taking map interpretation courses has declined. As geography students are expected to master the uses of maps, this study investigates the materials available in introductory collegiate textbooks that promote the development…

This article presents a framework for understanding geographical knowledge in the context of the National Curriculum in England. It offers a cautious welcome to the 2010 White Paper in that it places emphasis on teaching and the role of teachers in selecting what is taught: it is broadly sympathetic to the policy thrust which seeks to rebalance…

Understanding the causes, effects and geographic patterns of local hazards is important for helping individuals make educated decisions about how to respond to their threat. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to find comprehensive sources of information about local hazards. In this paper, we discuss the development of an online hazards atlas for…

Students learn how to read and interpret topographic maps by using a set of simplified map exercise cards. Students learn in the field as opposed to a traditional classroom. Map symbols, distance, direction, form, and relief are among the map interpretation topics taught with this method. The multiple-choice format of the exercise also allows for…

Information behaviour studies have the potential to inform the design of effective information services that incorporate the information needs, information-seeking and preferences for information sources of target users; hence a doctoral study was conducted on the information behaviour of geography teachers in Lesotho with the aim of guiding the…

Enormous distances across the vast South Pacific hinder student access to the main Fiji campus of the regional tertiary education provider, the University of the South Pacific (USP). Fortunately, USP has been a pioneer in distance education (DE) and promotes multi-modal delivery of programmes. Geography has embraced DE, but doubts remain about…

The purpose of this two-year quantitative study was to determine the usefulness of the micro-blogging tool Twitter in large classes for improving the students' sense of community and belonging. Three instructors of large classes were recruited to test the outcomes of using Twitter as a learning tool, one each from the Departments of Geography and…

This article describes the findings of a study involving a professional development program that prepared middle school teachers to integrate content on the earliest eras of world history and world geography. In particular, this study focused on participants' (n = 37) use of geographic resources to integrate geography and history and to encourage…

The study stemmed from the fact that teachers have difficulties in designing lessons. The objective of the study was to identify these difficulties and to analyse how to adapt lesson plans in the context of the paradigm shift in the educational system through its focus on competence training. We analysed 40 lesson plans for themes at the subject…

The invention of aviation has made it possible for people to travel faster and farther than ever before, and has led to a global increase in connection of commerce, people, and ideas. However, economic growth and social changes have also led to challenges for the aviation industry. NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) works…

This article argues for the importance of teaching research as a creative practice. The authors recommend geography and conversation as generative metaphors for teaching and learning creative research methods, offering examples from their undergraduate composition courses. Creating knowledge as a researcher requires posing the question to be…

This research paper reports the findings from an international survey of fieldwork practitioners on their use of technology to enhance fieldwork teaching and learning. It was found that there was high information technology usage before and after time in the field, but some were also using portable devices such as smartphones and global…

The authors describe a month-long unit on Afro-Latin@ identity in which third grade students began with a discussion of complex questions with which many historians, anthropologists, and scholars struggle to make sense. The goal of this month-long unit was to have students adopt the lens of cultural anthropologists as they explored the historical…

The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what the nation's students know and can do in subjects such as civics, geography, mathematics, reading, U.S. history, and writing. The results of NAEP are released as The Nation's Report Card. NAEP is a congressionally…

This survey focused on the analysis of opinions and attitudes expressed by Geography teachers participating in the national project called "Modernization of the Educational Process in Elementary and Secondary School", in selected training centres in Slovakia during 2008-2013. The main objective of the course was innovation and…