Exploring Location in Introductory Human Geography: The Case of Kansas Towns and Cities

Abstract

The author examined the way students enrolled in the Introductory Human Geography course at Kansas State University described their hometowns using the location theme of geography. Participants completed this task as a required take-home assignment. Because the majority of students were from Kansas, the author presents results from locations of Kansas hometowns in this article. Students seemed to prefer to use relative location rather than absolute location to describe their hometowns. Realizing that expressing relative location only in one way may not be sufficient, students described relative location in numerous ways. In doing so, students provided interesting information and new insights about the place theme of geography. They also analyzed how absolute and relative location are subject to change over time. Through this assignment, students realized the importance of location and the significance of interactions of places of different sizes.