This paper reports on the construction and initial testing of a computer-based interactive flood hazard management simulation, designed for undergraduates taking an applied geomorphology course. Details of the authoring interface utilized to create the simulation are presented. Students act as the managers of civil defence utilities in a fictional…

Collaborative international research projects represent excellent opportunities for students to obtain unique and life-altering educational experiences. Dynamic interactions with people from a variety of countries, institutions, and departments, in diverse situations, provides students with new perspectives, encourages them to operate in a…

The SATELLITES program uses geospatial technologies to study surface temperatures of Earth's materials, such as sand, soil, grass, and water. Data are collected using Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) protocols, which are then used in research projects that are a part of the International Polar Year (IPY).…

Aboriginal children learn a two-way pedagogy and most Aboriginal learners have to engage in bicultural and bilingual education to succeed in the dominant educational setting. Aboriginal Australians pride themselves on being Aboriginal, however Aboriginal epistemology and ontology are never considered as true methodologies within a dominant…

A case study is presented of embedding research in a final year undergraduate, field-based, physical geography module. The approach is holistic, whereby research-based learning activities simulate the full life cycle of research from inception through to peer review and publication. The learning, teaching and assessment strategy emphasizes the…

Imagine recreating a tsunami's force in a bathtub or exploring the potential of geothermal energy by using steam from a kettle to illuminate a light bulb. These types of activities and more are offered in Matthew Levy and Mario Salvadori's collection of experiments and demonstrations in Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tsunamis. More than 30 easy and…

Instructional technology is a growing field which uses technology as a means to solve teaching and learning challenges, both in the classroom and outside the classroom that is in distance learning environments. Multimedia is an interactive instructional technology used in the classroom for teaching learning process has a wide significance to the…

The paper introduces a library of video podcasts (vodcasts) used to support the learning and teaching of geographical methods and techniques relating to physical geography and GIScience in particular. While the notion of video learning is not new, the accessibility of the multimedia snippets via lightweight mp4 players in a field context allows a…

Visual representations play an important role in science teaching. The way in which visual representations may help children to acquire scientific concepts is a crucial test in the debate between constructivist and socio-cultural oriented researchers. In this paper, the question is addressed as a problem of how to contextualize conceptions and…

The purpose of this study was to understand how an 8th grade science class used a structured problem-based learning (PBL) strategy to study volcanoes and to discuss some of the issues that science teachers might encounter when designing and implementing the PBL strategy. This study took place at Collins Middle School, which is located in a…

Greenways are prominent features of many urban landscapes and synthesize several geographic topics: human-environment interactions, urban ecosystems, and the promotion of sustainability within riverine corridors. Greenways are easily accessible and provide an opportunity for students at various grade levels to study interactions across physical…

"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 (Harm de Blij); (2) Geography: Is it a Boy's Subject? (Lisa Smitreski); (3) A…

This article presents a field technique that exposes students to the indirect effects of habitat fragmentation on plant distributions through studying edge effects. This assignment, suited for students in an introductory biogeography or resource geography class, increases students' knowledge of basic biogeographic concepts such as environmental…

Multidisciplinary courses are being developed at a number of US colleges and universities to highlight the connections between the rise or fall of world civilizations and the sustainable or unsustainable uses of soil and water resources. The content presented in these courses is complex because it includes concepts from disciplines as varied as…

Statistical analyses of pre-test and post-test results, as well as qualitative insight obtained by essays, compared introductory physical geography college students who learned desert geomorphology only virtually, in the field and both ways. With the exception of establishing geographic context, the virtual field trip was statistically…