Monday, 28 Feb.

Geographies of Education Reform

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Advancing geography in K-12 and higher education involves myriad approaches to education reform. This session, sponsored by the Geography Education Specialty Group (GESG), provides examples of how geographers are working to integrate the discipline across the curriculum, prepare pre-service teachers, improve state-based/provincial education standards, and identify multinational responses to emerging challenges for geography teachers.

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• Jacqueline Salmond, ; Teaching “Without a Home”: Integrating Geography Across the Curriculum 

• Chelsea Nestel, ; Designing WI Standards and Curriculum for K-5 Cartography Education 

• Brent Hedquist, Texas A&M University-Kingsville; The S3 Initiative: Preparing bilingual pre-service teachers for teaching Social Studies 

• Rafael Miguel González, ; European competences for geography and geospatial education in post-pandemic times 

Geospatial Technologies into K-12 Classrooms: Opportunities and Challenges for Educators

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Few studies have examined the specific types and aspects of GST that influence their use or non-use by teachers. It is important to understand what opportunities and challenges teachers face because the findings will guide the design of teacher education programs to enhance teachers’ GST knowledge and skills.

During this panel session, four K–12 geography educators—one middle school teacher, two high school teachers, and one geography club leader—discuss their experiences learning about GST as a tool for teaching geography. In addition, the participants present geospatial lessons they developed and also discuss the opportunities and challenges of curriculum-based usage of GST.

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• Lisa Elikan, Texas State University

• Kelly Nolan, Texas State University / Oxford School District

• Jan Rueschhoff, Texas State University / Bryan Collegiate High School

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Digital Communication in Geography

(not sponsored by GESG, but contains valuable research on geography education)

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The Covid19-pandemic has impacted the ways of communication tremendously and has pushed forward digital interaction in various respects. Within science, digital communication is implemented and used (up to now) in research, teaching, outreach activities etc. This session focuses on learnings, to-dos and not-to-dos for interactive, value-driven and output-oriented concepts of digital communication and participation in science. We welcome papers on learnings and findings with regard to digital communication formats in science from a conceptual, but more so from an implementation point of view.

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• Michael DeMers, New Mexico State University; Enhancing Student Interaction Using Packback AI Tools: An Online World Regional Geography Example 

• Alexander Tarr, Worcester State University; #GreenAcres: Digital Mediation of Sustainable Food Systems 

Best Practices in Geography Teaching and Learning

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This session combines a series of papers examining a variety of best practices in teaching geography. Presentations in this session focus on innovative best practices in courses covering regional and systematic geography, human geography, human-environment interaction, sustainability, and geography study abroad and field-based learning. While primarily aimed at the university level, many of the ideas presented could be adjusted to lower grade levels.

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• Heike Alberts, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh; Building Bridges: Interdisciplinary Team-Teaching 

• Evan Carver, University of Chicago; Filmmaking as Pedagogy: Using Video to Promote Creative Analysis of Human-Environment Interactions 

• Matt McCourt, University of Maine at Farmington; Promoting field-based learning with formal and emergent roles 

• Paul McDaniel, Kennesaw State University; Teaching and Learning Regional and Systematic Geography with Virtual Globes, Online Mapping, and Geovisual Narratives 

• Vanessa Slinger-Friedman, Kennesaw State University; Active and Applied Pedagogies for Sustainability Education - Expanding the Classroom Walls with a Purpose 

Progress in Geographic Learning

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Numerous research advances exist for mapping how learners gain more sophisticated understandings of geographic concepts and skills. This session, sponsored by the Geography Education Specialty Group (GESG), focuses on the development of students’ geographic knowledge, offering strategies for improving learning environments and facilitating the delivery of subject matter.

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• Lena Breit, ; Between progress and competence – Enhancing students’ learning progressions of geographical key concepts 

• Caitlin Curtis, ; Community-Based Learning in GIS Education: A high-impact case example of neighborhood revitalization in Kenosha, WI 

Efforts to Revitalize Geography in Higher Education

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Many geography programs across the United States have experienced one or more of the following: A decline in the number of geography majors, lost faculty lines, or have consolidated with other departments. Panelists will discuss their strategies for marketing, using social media, recruiting majors, and integrating geography courses in general studies and other programs.

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• Lesli Rawlings, Wayne State College

• Ezra Zeitler, University of Wisconsin Eau Claire

• Eric Spears, Columbus State University

• Bob Kolvoord, James Madison University

• Vanessa Slinger-Friedman, Kennesaw State University