This study aims to examine the views of preservice social studies teachers on the use of Quizlet in a physical geography course. The participants of the study consisted of 56 preservice social studies teachers who were secondyear students in the social studies education program of the educational faculty of a state university and were taking the…

Scholars have become increasingly interested in identifying a more effective set of core teaching practices for developing teacher education and professional development programs. Although they have conducted many investigations within this realm over the past two decades, these efforts have focused mainly upon science, language arts, math, and…

Learning by doing has become a common phrase in the scholarship of teaching and learning as research continues to emphasize the benefits of active student engagement in higher education. Instead of passive vessels to be filled with information, students become the architects of their own education. While traditional ways of teaching focus on what…

This article describes a data-driven approach to contextualize geography subject matter using student aspirations and workforce data. To test this teaching strategy, undergraduate students in two world geography courses taught at Texas State University were surveyed and interviewed about their career and life aspirations. Using this information,…

In general, geographical education is closed into two strands. First, in geographical content (knowledge), there are geographical facts on the one hand and on the other hand there is geographical thinking. Second, in geographical cognition there is rote learning in behavioral strategy on the one hand and on the other hand meaningful learning in…

This article provides a brief overview of the March 2014 workshop that the authors organized with approximately thirty pre-and in-service teachers from around the state of Virginia. The authors' broad focus in this workshop was the connection between race and the cultural landscape in Virginia. The goals were relatively simple: to get teachers and…

This research examines the geographic literacy of a group of preservice elementary (K-5) teachers in a mid-sized university located in America's Midwest Rust Belt. The research sought to achieve three main aims using a geographic literacy survey. The first aim was to examine the approximate geographic literacy of the participants. The second aim…

Geographic literacy could be defined as the competence of turning understanding and comprehension of geographical knowledge into a skill because literacy consists of solving problems, reasoning, critical and creative thinking processes. Today, in order to impart literacy skills to individuals, teachers should first have these skills. It is…

The introductory level course Geography of the U.S. and Canada requires students to grasp large amounts of complex material, oftentimes using a lecture-based pedagogical approach. This article outlines two ways that popular music can be successfully used in the geography classroom. First, songs are used to review key concepts and characteristics…

Field data collection is often crucial to the success of investigations based upon remotely sensed data. Students of environmental remote sensing typically learn about the discipline through classroom lectures, a textbook, and computer laboratory sessions focused on the interpretation and processing of aircraft and satellite data. The importance…

Field trips have been acknowledged as valuable learning experiences in geography. This article uses Kolb's (1984) experiential learning model to discuss how students learn and how field trips can help enhance learning. Using Kolb's experiential learning theory as a guide in the design of field trips helps ensure that field trips contribute to…

Through an instructional approach, this article offers a template for a classroom-based geography capstone course grounded in pedagogical elements of synthesis and reflection, as based on exploration of ten key geographic ideas. It provides insights into course goals, structure, and components for instructors who may wish to implement it in…

Consistent with developments in American education pedagogy, geography educators have made great strides exploring a wide range of high- and low-tech methods for teaching and learning geographic concepts. This article draws on a qualitative analysis of essays in which college students discuss tenets of the National Geography Standards in the…

The Center for Global Geography Education (CGGE) is a set of online modules exploring geographic issues, which allow collaborative analysis and discussion between international teams of undergraduates. Using data from trials held in 10 countries, the modules' effectiveness in improving student understanding of geographic concepts and appreciation…

Assessment is a key component of the learning process. In order to maximize student learning, instructors need to provide students with appropriate, explicit and timely assessment. Despite the potential benefits of problem-based learning, some instructors may be reluctant to adopt this approach because it will require them to modify their current…