Geography Classroom Research Articles

Teachers’ Evolving Knowledge Base for Teaching Sustainable Development in the Geography Classroom

With the increasing importance of teaching sustainable development (SD) in cultivating knowledgeable and responsible citizens who actively contribute to the environment, economy, and society, there is a pressing need for expertise within the teaching profession, particularly among social studies educators. This research aims to explore the professional knowledge, skills, and wisdom of social studies teachers in effectively integrating SD into the current geography curriculum. Seven high school geography teachers participated in this multiple case study, revealing the distinct knowledge base components necessary for teaching SD in the geography classrooms. Findings reveals how geography teachers utilize and evolve their professional knowledge base and the interplay between these components through the transformations in teachers’ knowledge bases before, during, and after professional development.

Study on the Integration of Curriculum Ideology and Politics into Geography Classroom Teaching in High School

In the context of the implementation of the fundamental task of making people moral, the implementation of curriculum ideology and politics has become an inevitable trend of educational reform and development. In order to implement General Secretary's instruction that “all courses should be based on morality and provide courses that serve students' growth and success”, this study analyzes the connotation, value orientation and practice path of curriculum ideology and politics, combines the characteristics of geography, and mines out the rich elements of curriculum ideology and politcs in the teaching of geography in high school and proposes the application strategies. This study analyzes the meaning, value orientation and practice path of curriculum ideology and politics.

Geography Teachers’ Pedagogical Reasoning and Action While Integrating Sustainable Development into APHG Courses

The aim of this study is to explore the pedagogical reasoning and action of high school geography teachers when teaching sustainable development within the context of the Advanced Placement Human Geography classroom. Through a multiple case study approach, this research examines the instructional decisions and rationales of seven APHG teachers throughout their entire teaching activities. The findings illuminate how participating teachers make informed instructional decisions through specific teaching strategies and practices and the rationale behind their decisions, encompassing both planned pedagogical actions and responses to unexpected instructional challenges in their classrooms.

Fostering students’ geographical synthetic thinking using geographic subject mind maps

The term “geographical synthetic thinking” is taken from the latest Chinese version of the “Geography Curriculum Standards” (General High School 2017 edition, Compulsory Education 2022 edition) and is one of the four core competencies prioritized in the teaching of geography at the secondary-school level. This study proposes that using geographic subject mind maps improves students’ geographical synthetic thinking and develops a set of geographic subject mind map (GSMM) drawing standards for teachers and matching standards and suggestions for teaching applications. Seven geography teachers and their students from eight class sections in seven provinces and cities in China were recruited to participate in the study. The teachers taught students how to use geographic subject mind maps designed to develop students’ geographical synthetic thinking in the geography classroom. After 4–5 experimental lessons, the geographical synthetic thinking level of the 267 valid student participants showed a significant improvement, with a statistically significant difference between pretest and posttest scores. The teachers’ level of application of geographic subject mind maps in teaching was significantly and positively correlated with the students’ improvements in geographical synthetic thinking, demonstrating that the standardized use of geographic subject mind maps in accordance with teaching application standards can effectively improve students’ geographical synthetic thinking levels.

Do they like geography? A study of Fijian high school students’ attitudes towards geography

This paper investigates the causes of students’ preference and disinclination for high school geography. The paper draws on data from 135 students from years 11, 12, and 13 (aged 16–18 years) from seven secondary schools in the Ba district, Western division, Fiji Islands. We used the posterior inductive reduction model to analyze and identify the themes that connected the interviews conducted with the study participants. We discovered that the multidisciplinary and exciting nature of geography, teacher influence, and the notion that geography offers the opportunity for high scores constituted the significant factors explaining students’ favorable attitudes toward geography. On the other hand, perceived subject difficulty, lack of outdoor activities, and negative societal impression of geography constituted the push factors underlying students’ disinclination towards the subject. The findings suggest that the inclusion of a broader range of topics, assessing and realigning the current curriculum, and integrating technology in the geography classrooms would generate interest in the subject.

Exploring German High School Students’ Conceptual Learning Pathways of Space and Place

Space and place, fundamental concepts in geography, uniquely contribute to the development of students’ geographical thinking. Despite this, these concepts are underrepresented in German geography classrooms, partly due to a distinct lack of empirical evidence concerning the learning processes associated with learning complex geographical concepts. This study employed videography to explore how n = 64 grade twelve students from various school types in Germany develop a more sophisticated understanding of space and place during a 90 min. teaching experiment. To delve into the micro-level of students’ learning processes, qualitative content analysis was employed to analyse the data. The subsequent detailed reconstruction of an individual learning pathway unveiled several pivotal moments. Notably, the concepts demonstrated significant potential for restructuring students’ existing knowledge into a more conceptual and systematic framework. Moreover, barriers to learning were identified as well. For example, conceptual interferences between the concepts of space/place and other geographical key concepts such as sustainability were observed, partially impeding the formation of a clear conceptual framework in students’ minds. The results provide insights for teaching implications, such as emphasising a single key concept to avoid conceptual interferences, and suggest further research avenues, including longitudinal studies to empirically derive learning progressions related to space and place.

Exploration and Utilization of Curriculum Ideological and Political Education in Human Geography Teaching

Curriculum ideological and political education is an effective way to cultivate talents for socialist construction in the new era. Human geography urgently needs the integration of curriculum ideology and politics. Under the background of new requirements in the new era, the ideological and political construction of curriculum is explored. By excavating the ideological and political elements of human geography curriculum, starting from the concept of national conditions, life values, sustainable development concept, and human-land coordination concept, this paper explores the corresponding integration points of ideological and political elements in each chapter, and integrates the ideological and political contents such as world outlook, political outlook, moral outlook, outlook on life, and rule of law into the human geography classroom, so as to cultivate students' cognitive ability and practical ability, improve their social responsibility and ability to identify right and wrong, and realize the educational effect of “moistening things silently”.

A Balancing Act: South African Geography teachers’ Implementation of Teacher-Centered and Learner-Centered Instructional Strategies in Their Classrooms

Learner-centered instruction fosters 21st-century skills and must be implemented in geography classrooms. In this South African case study, most teachers predominantly implemented teacher-centered instruction. The analysis of the results established a moderate but highly significant relationship between geography teachers’ years of teaching and their implementation of teacher-centered instruction and a weak significant relation in the implementation of individual instructional strategies. Teachers with more years of teaching implemented more teacher-centered and individual learner-centered instructional strategies than early-career teachers. Teachers stated that learners and parents expected them to teach and that large classes hindered the implementation of learner-centered instruction.

Effectiveness of Digital Technology in Geography Syllabus in Tanzania's Ordinary Secondary Schools

Despite the pervasive of digital technology in all aspects of teaching and learning materials Geography syllabus remains ineffective in its execution in Tanzanian’s Ordinary secondary schools. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of digital technology in the Geography syllabus in Tanzanian Ordinary secondary schools. The study focused on two objectives namely: To examine Geography topics that use digital technology instructional materials in Tanzanian’s Ordinary secondary schools and to compare the Geography topics that use digital technology instructional materials and the performance of the Certificate of Secondary Education Examination. The study used documentary analysis methods including analyzing the recent five years National Examination Reports; Candidate’s Item Response Analysis and current Geography syllabus. The data was analysed by using a quantitative approach where graphs; percentages and Spearman’s ranks order correlation coefficient techniques were applied. The findings revealed that the topics that used digital technology instructional materials in the Geography syllabus had satisfactory and moderate positive correlation coefficient between the topics that used digital technology instructional materials and the performance of the Certificate of Secondary Education Examination. The study recommended to unfold the Geography syllabus and then inculcate digital technology instructional materials for those topics that appeared to have inadequate digital instructional materials; to include all topics in the Geography Certificate of Secondary Education Examination particularly those using digital technology instructional materials and to use ‘Kiswahili’ as lingua franca language in digital technology instructional materials as teachers and students have pitfall in English language proficiency. The report concluded that, in order to pursue the utilization of digital technology in Geography syllabus educational philanthropists should be resilience to allocate sufficient funds in ordinary secondary schools in order to purchase digital facilities such as; computers, projectors, printers, television, radio, and smartphones and construct digital Geography classrooms with reliable in internet connectivity and electricity supply.

Exploring the Acceptance of Instructional Videos to Bridge Knowledge Gaps in Physical Geography among Senior Secondary School Students in Oyo State Nigeria

The integration of videos in the instructional process has become increasingly prevalent, offering a dynamic approach to enhancing students’ learning experiences. Specifically, this study focuses on factors influencing the acceptance of instructional videos, emphasising internet self-efficacy and access to mobile/digital devices as critical variables. While previous studies have examined the effectiveness of video in students’ learning outcomes in geography, this research fills a gap by investigating its acceptance, with a view to harnessing the potential of instructional videos for a more immersive learning experience in physical geography classrooms. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The participants comprised 302 students randomly selected across six senior secondary schools in all three senatorial districts in Oyo State, Nigeria. The results showed that the level of acceptance of instructional videos and internet self-efficacy among senior secondary school students were high with weighted averages of 3.0 and 2.8 respectively, suggesting reasonable dispositions to accept and utilise these learning resources to facilitate learning. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) further shed light on the critical roles of internet self-efficacy and access to devices in determining the level of acceptance of instructional videos in physical geography education. The p-values of 0.000 indicated that there were significant effects of internet self-efficacy and access to mobile/digital devices on the level of acceptance of instructional videos. The results, therefore, underscore the critical impact of internet self-efficacy and access to devices on the extent to which students accept the use of instructional videos in physical geography classrooms.

Wicked from the Start: Educational Impediments to Teaching about Climate Change (and How Geography Education Can Help)

Climate change is a wicked problem, defying simple resolution. Education in various forms and at various levels has sought to improve understanding and stimulate climate change action in young people. There exists, however, a certain wickedness in education systems as well that makes climate change education difficult to enact successfully. These include an unsupportive education environment where academic standards related to climate change are missing, the lack of an inquiry-based pedagogy that can be well-suited to investigating topics like climate change with no easy answers, and ill-prepared teachers who do not fully know both the physical science and social aspects of the topic. A review of education standards in the United States and the literature on the latter two issues is used to make the argument that it is the geography classroom that can serve as the best unifying space that is most supportive of holistic and meaningful climate change education. This future is possible should we be successful in amending standards, pedagogy, and teacher preparation.

Managing Change in the Teaching and Learning of Geography in South African FET Classrooms

This paper examined the management of change in the teaching of geography from a teacher-centred to a learner-centred pedagogical approach in order to transform teaching to improve learners’ academic outcomes in Further Education and Training (FET) classrooms. Managing change for this paper means actively making changes to benefit geography education in schools and to provide possible solutions that may be introduced in geography education to improve the quality of teaching and learning specifically changing from traditional methods to more active learner-centred methods of teaching and learning in geography. Underpinned by the interpretive qualitative paradigm and the Transformational Learning Theory, using phenomenology as the mode of inquiry, this paper generated data through semi-structured interviews with three geography teachers and structured classroom observations in three geography classrooms. Data was analysed through thematic analysis. The paper responded to what strategies could be used to promote effective and active learner-centred teaching and learning of geography in FET classrooms. The findings revealed that teaching methods are needed to connect geography curriculum content to learners’ real lives. This meant that teachers needed to use learners’ experience and prior knowledge as the platform for teaching, where they only facilitated and guided learners to take charge of their knowledge construction. In light of the findings, the paper recommends collaborative teaching among teachers and the effective use of technology, teaching aids, and resources in the effective teaching of geography.

Impact of open educational resources on student performance in an introductory Geography course

ABSTRACT There is a growing body of evidence that Open Educational Resources (OERs) are a viable alternative to traditional “for cost” teaching materials. This paper provides a reflection on the process and outcomes of developing and implementing OER within an introduction Human-Environment Geography lecture-laboratory course. Evidence is further provided in support of improvements to the academic performance and completion rates of students enrolled in the course after the implementation of OERs over a period of 4–6 years. Results of the study indicate students’ academic performance significantly increased once OERs were incorporated into the classroom compared to the use of traditional materials purchased by the students. The rate of student withdrawal also was significantly less once OERs were implemented. The improvements to students’ academic performance and retention occurred despite OER being only used in the laboratory component of the course, suggesting that even a partial implementation of OERs can still have significant positive effects. The use of OERs can be considered as a legitimate option to increasing retention and student academic success in the Geography classroom.

The rise and stagnation of Google Earth VR: dashing the hopes of immersive geography classrooms?

ABSTRACT Given the sensational development of virtual reality (VR) technologies in recent years, how can hopes of fully-immersive experiential learning in geography classrooms be achieved? One solution may be through Google Earth VR, which is a truly immersive app for ‘visiting’ places across the globe via a wired VR headset. The app has been an increasing focus of academic research and classroom VR sets, but many challenges exist, such as technical issues and developer neglect by Google. As the educational benefits of VR for student learning continue to be seen, can a somewhat stagnant Google Earth VR app become a mainstay in academic geography, thus realising the dream of immersive classrooms?

What are the competences & difficulties of school students in writing material-based & multi-perspective argumentations in geography classrooms?

The competence to argue is fundamental for participation in social discourse and for responsible action, as different actions can be evaluated, weighed and justified through argumentation. Such argumentation skills should be acquired in geography lessons. These lessons often deal with societal debates such as migration, climate change and sustainability, which are char-acterised by a certain multi-perspectivity. Since different types of materials are often used in geography lessons, this study is dedicated to material-based, multi-perspective written argumentation. First, a model is presented in which a set of didactic requirements for material-based, multi-perspectival argumentation on space use conflicts in geography lessons is presented. Then the results of a small study are presented in which seventeen 8th grade students wrote argumentative texts about a space use conflict. The results show that the students incorporated correct, but limited information from the material into their arguments. The arguments were mostly thematically appropriate, but imprecise. They found it easier to use the con-tinuous text materials than the discontinuous text materials. Students also had difficulty presenting their argumentation in a multi-perspective way, but were able to express their own opinions about the conflict. These results can help to under-stand where teachers can better support their students in writing such arguments.

Find It on a Map: Country Location Identification in a University Geography Classroom, 2016–2022

Blank paper maps are often used to assess student location knowledge. A total of 502 students enrolled in 12 undergraduate World Geography classes between 2016 and 2022 were initially asked to find some of the following countries on a blank world map: Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Venezuela. Comparing student cohorts, results were generally mediocre and consistent over time, yet changes in identification accuracy appear with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and in times of intense US media coverage of a country.

How Do Narrative-Based Geospatial Technologies Contribute to the Teaching of Regional Geography to Preservice Geography Teachers?

This study aims to investigate the potential of narrative-based geospatial technologies (NGSTs) in the teaching of regional geography to preservice geography teachers (PGTs). Reflective journals gathered from students who took a StoryMaps-based European regional geography class were analyzed using phenomenography. The results showed that NGSTs are useful for cultivating PGTs’ understanding of and insights into regional geography studies and teaching through the integration of regional geography narratives, map layers, and multimedia technologies. These results provide meaningful insights into the education of PGTs, the practice of regional geography education, and the use of narrative-based geospatial technologies in the geography classroom.

Teaching Written Argumentation to High School Students Using Peer Feedback Methods—Case Studies on the Effectiveness of Digital Learning Units in Teacher Professionalization

Fostering argumentation competences in geography classrooms is critical from both a language-aware and content-complexity perspective. Peer feedback can be a successful method for geography teachers to successfully promote written argumentation skills in the (political geography) classroom. The peer feedback method has many empirically verified advantages in educational research and is also successfully used in bilingual education. To ensure that future teachers have verified methods at their fingertips, geography education is in demand by dealing professionally with OERs. The paper examines the extent to which a group of student teachers (n = 16) can be professionalized through an OER unit in how they use peer feedback methods to foster (written) argumentation competence in their future pupils. The research question of the paper is to what extent and in which areas does the OER unit improve the teaching competencies of student teachers in the area of promoting the argumentation competencies of their future students with peer feedback methods? This study provides highly relevant impulses for the future implementation of language-aware professionalization of geography teachers using digital learning units.

A Geography Teacher’s Approach to Literacy Integration

Emphasis on literacy within middle and high school classrooms is not new; however, there is a shortage of research exploring literacy across disciplines, especially in a geography classroom. Using a holistic case study, we investigated how one first-year geography teacher integrated multiple active literacy strategies within her instruction. Findings indicate that while our participant intended to engage students in participating and acting as geographers, she first needed to support students’ comprehension with graphic organizers, inquiry, and projects. These findings may affirm other educators’ attempts to incorporate literacy within their instruction. They also lead to implications and considerations for teacher education programs.

Using TikTok, memes, and YouTube in the geography classroom

This study aimed to interrogate the place of TikTok, memes, and YouTube in the geography classroom. The literature reviewed constructed today’s learner as one born within a digital age. This qualitative study was guided by the theory of multimedia learning and the continuum of meaning. The study fell under the interpretivist paradigm. Data was generated using artefact-based interviews. The study established that YouTube, TikTok, and memes enhance geography teaching in the 21st-century classroom. It was also noted that YouTube, memes, and TikTok appeal to multiple senses and promote effective learning. The study also identified benefits and pitfalls in integrating TikTok, memes, and YouTube in teaching geography. Drawing from the findings, this paper recommends that learners’ prior knowledge inform ICT integration in the geography classroom of the tools used to teach.