This study analyzed the relative effects of two categories of variables upon the learning of a basic geographic concept by a pre-school population. Results indicated irrelevant material and increased negative exemplars were not significant factors in the learning task. (Author)

Discusses a study undertaken to determine the ecological effects of off-road vehicles, such as four-wheel drive trucks and dirt bikes in the Big Cottonwood Canyon area near Salt Lake City. Applications of the study to other investigations of off-road vehicles are discussed. (DB)

Geography was virtually absent from the secondary school curriculum from the mid-1950s well into the 1980s--despite America's rediscovery of the earth in the 1970s. The 1984 instructional "Guidelines for Geographic Education" stress five interrelated themes (location, place, relationships within places, movement, and regions), forming a sound…

Presents a sampling of items from the ERIC database concerning the teaching of human geography. Includes documents dealing with Africa, Asia, the United States, Canada, Antarctica, and geographic concepts. Explains how to obtain ERIC documents. (SG)

Presents an analysis of the development of the basic themes of geography (location, place, relationships, movement, and regions) by selected southwestern Pennsylvania public schools. Concludes that students in grades three through six are most often exposed to the location theme and that sixth graders have the greatest overall exposure to all five…

Shows and discusses the results of a test on the "mental representations" of Italy in pupils (11-14 years) living in different Italian towns. The results reveal some common psycho-special features that are independent of the dwelling localities. (Author)

Suggests that teachers must discover how geography can provide students with an understanding of the contemporary world in which they live. Describes the basic task of geography in general education as providing the basic understandings of human use of the earth. (DK)

Drawing on contributions of queer theory, rethinks positionality, social identity, and real and imagined boundaries. Summarizes recent debates in queer theory about the permeability of borders, and reveals how these ideas can inform geographical imagination. Concludes that debates about borders in queer theory can inform both geographical…

The influences of domain-specific meteorological knowledge and general visual-spatial abilities on the comprehension of simple weather maps were examined in a regression-based study involving a sample of participants with relatively low meteorological knowledge and in an experiment involving a contrast between samples of higher- and…

Activities that employ the five themes of geography--location, place, relationships within places, movement, and regions--to teach about Venezuela and Mexico are described in this document. Each theme has objectives, a list of materials, and three types of activities--exploration, invention, and expansion. Background information on Venezuela and…

Modern Western philosophy and the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead reveal why geography has not been (but could be) at the forefront of the environmental movement. The dualism between man and nature of western thought has led to misuse of the environment; whereas Whitehead's philosophy recognizes harmony between man and nature. (JR)

This paper presents a view of the acknowledged lack of geographic knowledge exhibited by U.S. students. This view is grounded in the definition of geography that is developed through five themes: location, place, relationship within places, movement, and regions. According to this view, only a very small, usually trivial, part of geography…

Topics on the subject of continental drift are discussed for teacher use in promoting student interest in coastlines, mountain ranges, and landscapes in general. (Author/KM)

An overview of the essential philosophic and methodologic literature in English treating the discipline of geography. (Author)