The challenge for today's elementary teachers is not "whether" but rather "how" to use computers to effectively teach students essential skills and concepts. One exciting way of meeting this challenge is to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS), computer software that captures, manipulates, analyzes, and displays data on specialized layered…

This study investigated the instructional conditions required to teach students how to initiate and employ learning activities aimed at conceptual change. The CONTACT-2 strategy (a computer-assisted instructional strategy for promoting conceptual change in the domain of physical geography) served as a starting point for a training procedure aimed…

The concept of shape often enters introductory cultural geography textbooks through the subject of political geography. This paper focuses on a quantitative way to introduce the concept of shape to students of cultural geography. The measure used in this approach was to compare the perimeter of the sovereign state with the perimeter of a circle…

This document consists of a final report and executive summary. The report is that of a project involving eight college and university faculty who were given the responsibility of developing new versions of introductory level geography courses. The plan of the project involved bringing together college or university professors, local school…

This publication, intended for Spanish-speaking students in grades 6-10, has three main objectives. First, it serves as an introduction (or refresher) to basic geographic concepts. Second, it is an examination of the physical and political geography of Latin America. Third, it is designed to help students examine maps in a critical manner. The…

This unit is designed for students in grades 7-12 and can be adapted for individual settings. The unit provides student-centered instruction in geography through content specific teaching strategies. The unit is divided into five sections with lessons in each section. Sections include: (1) "Basic Perspectives"; (2) "Cultural Perspectives"; (3)…

This unit, developed for grades 6-12, is designed to help students grasp what life is like in a highland village in Guatemala. It is intended that students develop skills in geography and begin to discuss such ideas as rural poverty, migration to urban centers, land distribution, and agricultural methods. The unit involves the use of a set of…

This practicum was designed to incorporate the study of geography into a ninth grade world history class with the aim of improving student awareness of the influence of geography upon the historical development of ancient Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. By means of a questionnaire and map tests it was determined that ninth grade world history…

This bibliography is an update of "Women and Geography: A Comprehsnive Bibliography." The volume is a cumulation of more than a decade of research on the scholarship of gender issues that have been conducted by geographers. References include published articles in U.S. and foreign journals, books, chapters of books, and papers presented at…

This unit for high school students uses two dissimilar places in time; (2) Jamestown, Virginia, founded in 1607, one of the earliest settlements in the United States and (2) Disneyland, California, built in 1956, an institution of contemporary culture. The lessons address two fundamental questions in geography: (1) where? and (2) why here rather…

Efforts to develop geographic literacy, specifically "place-name" knowledge, need to be based in an understanding of cognitive psychological principles. This paper argues that developing knowledge of place-names, including memorization of such names, is important if students are to achieve geographic literacy. A cognitive psychology model of how…

Designed to help classroom teachers implement the Alabama Course of Study for the social studies, this state curriculum guide covers two areas: the world geography and Alabama history. World geography looks at geographic themes and concepts, physical geography, human geography, the developed world, and the less developed world. Alabama history…

Educational discourse is totally completely imbued with the values that affect the societies to which individuals belong. Those in the field of geographical education must examine those values in order to determine what type of geographical education is best for each society. The following papers contribute to this knowledge: "Presentation"…

This document contains lessons designed for teaching geography and map skills to intermediate level students, although many may be adapted to other grade levels. The lessons place heavy reliance on children making a series of individual and collective maps. The 16 lessons included are: (1) mental maps; (2) conventional maps; (3) map elements; (4)…

This volume presents a framework for developing courses of study in geography at grade levels 7-12. Several sample courses illustrate how the framework may be used. Five fundamental themes in geographic education provide the basis for the framework. The suggested learning opportunities are designed to incorporate various levels of thinking. These…