The Arctic sea ice has not since melted to the 2007 extent, but annual summer melt extents do continue to be less than the decadal average. Climate fluctuations are well documented by geologic records. Averages are usually based on a minimum of 10 years of averaged data. It is typical for fluctuations to occur from year to year and season to…

Whilst widespread diffusion and adoption of spatial enabling technology, such as geographic information systems (GIS), is taking place within Australian public and private sectors, the same cannot be said for GIS within Australian secondary schools and state-based geography curricula. In the Australian state of Victoria, information regarding the…

Educationalists developed the concept of "evidence-based practice" during the 1990s because of concern about the relevance of educational research to practitioners and about its impact on their practice. This article outlines the different kinds of research evidence related to geographical education, which might inform practice. It then…

Finding ways to convey current research in cultural geography that is predicated on theoretical frameworks in a manner accessible to high school and undergraduate college students is pedagogically important but difficult in practice. Statues in Mexico City nicknamed the Indios Verdes offer a rich example of fluid cultural dynamics that illustrate…

This paper assesses the experience of undergraduate students using mobile devices and a commercial application, iSurvey, to conduct a neighborhood survey. Mobile devices offer benefits for enhancing student learning and engagement. This field exercise created the opportunity for classroom discussions on the practicalities of urban research, the…

A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a high performance computer-aided chain of software which enables us to understand, interpret, capture, update, map, and display natural and human-originated events on Earth and allows us to bring out such phenomena in a form of synthesis. Therefore, a GIS is an important information system in which…

This study integrates volunteered geographic information (VGI) into GIS and contextual analyses, and develops a framework to evaluate students' understanding of "locations and places in order to set national and international events within a geographical framework and to understand basic spatial relationships" as proposed by the…

Online distance learners are in a particularly complex relationship with the educational institutions they belong to (Bayne, Gallagher, & Lamb, 2012). For part-time distance students, arrivals and departures can be multiple and invisible as students take courses, take breaks, move into independent study phases of a programme, find work or…

The authors propose an instructional use for Google Earth (a GIS application) as an anchoring tool for knowledge integration. Google Earth can be used to support student explorations of world geography based on Wikipedia articles on earth science and history topics. We asked 66 Taiwanese high-school freshmen to make place marks with explanatory…

From the perspective of German colonial supporters and authorities, appropriate white education in the settler colony of Southwest Africa (SWA) was essential for maintaining German hegemony in the territory. In order to reach this objective, the German colonial administration in SWA, with assistance from pedagogues and institutions in Germany,…

The brain perceives, recognizes, interprets, comprehends, appreciates, and remembers experiences that are both text and non-text or verbal and nonverbal. This article discusses Dual- encoding as a proven method of teaching that increases student learning retention and incorporates multiple learning styles. Students learn both subjects better when…

This article explores a two-year professional development initiative with four state geographic alliances. Professional development planners, whether planning for a large- or small-scale initiative or one with unlimited or limited funding, will benefit from learning about this successful professional development activity and how the impact in the…

This article traces the history of the expanding communities approach, the leading organizational structure for elementary social studies education since the 1930s. Since its introduction into the curriculum, educators have argued about the approach's effectiveness and suitability. Critics claim it lacks intellectual rigor and is redundant in that…

Internationally, recognition is growing that the transition between post-primary and higher education is raising a number of challenges for both students and educators. Simultaneously with growing class sizes, resources have become more constrained and there is a new set of expectations from the "net generation" (Mohanna, 2007, p. 211…

Aerial imagery has a great capacity to engage and maintain student interest while providing a contextual setting to strengthen their ability to reason proportionally. Free, on-demand, high-resolution, large-scale aerial photography provides both a bird's eye view of the world and a new perspective on one's own community. This article presents an…