Geography increasingly relies on training of professionals who can apply geographic concepts to solve real-world problems. The planning profession for years has been training professionals to work in the area of community planning. Planning programs typically include experiential learning modules throughout the curriculum. This article looks at…

During academic year 1999-2000, the Geography Department at Michigan State University (MSU) launched a program of online geography courses. Since then, four undergraduate online geography courses have been collectively developed and delivered to over 4,500 domestic and international students in association with MSU's Virtual University Design and…

The discipline of geography in the United States has not done a good job of attracting people, other than Asians, from underrepresented ethnic groups. This article examines undergraduate geography programs in the United States to understand better the status of their ethnic diversity, particularly regarding Hispanics and African Americans, and to…

A field and laboratory exercise for an undergraduate geomorphology class is described that focuses on the beach. The project requires one day of fieldwork and two laboratory sessions. In the field, students measure water surface fluctuations (waves) with a pressure sensor, survey beach profiles, collect sediment samples, and observe the beach…

Undergraduate geography field courses are relatively rare at American universities, though they can exemplify well the fundamental tenets of learner-centered education. This article reports on an intensive three-week field analysis course taught at Northern Arizona University at Flagstaff, within the Department of Geography, Planning, and…

Vision and mission statements are the foundation for the types of undergraduate degrees departments confer as well as other types of academic programs such as pre-major, certificate, and distance education curricula. Critical to each department should be careful administration of course selections and offerings and management of academic majors,…

The innovative energies directed toward high school and freshman college geography in recent years could now be turned to upper division curricula with advantage. (Author)

Describes a questionnaire survey which identified the contributions of geographers in four-year undergraduate geography departments. Lists of the top 20 departments for the following 11 variables are included: geography enrollment, impact within institution, geography majors, training for graduate school, articles, chapters, books, papers,…

Details how to create a low-cost groundwater field station for a college hydrogeology course. Discusses how students use the station to collect and interpret data from wells and to study spatial hydraulic-head measurements to comprehend groundwater flow. Explains why hands-on activities are a valuable addition to the course. (DSK)

This report is based on the observation of about 100 students in a college program that engages the exclusive attention of students in the study of contemporary geography for one quarter, generally at the junior year, which is usually the first term of their major program. A stylized syllabus with selected readings is presented. (Author/ND)

Described is the global climate model CONSTABLE (Climatic One-Dimensional Numerical Simulation of the Annual Balance of Latitudinal Energy), which can be used in undergraduate and graduate level climatology courses. Classroom exercises that can be used with the model are also included. (RM)

Presents a method for teaching about climate in introductory physical geography and earth science classes. A classification scheme consists of four basic types: instability, inversion, subsidence, and frontal; four seasonal hybrids based on combinations of the basic types; and three topographic variants: highlands, rainshadows, and coasts. (KC)

Observes that students cannot be expected to make critical judgments on controversial issues like the global environment without some instruction in the logic of critical reasoning. Describes two argument forms, convergent reasoning and inference, and provides instructions for an interactive activity that uses examples from industrial ecology and…

Assessment of geography undergraduate programs, which incorporate external reviews and concomitant departmental self-studies, attempt to assure pedagogical excellence within uncompromising commitments to successful student learning outcomes, currency of the knowledge and skills imparted, and continuous programmatic improvement. Programmatic…

This paper describes and illustrates the use of contract learning in undergraduate geography courses. Students and professors draw up a written agreement in which educational goals, learning resources, activities, and methods for evaluation are specified. (AV)