The understanding of maps drawn or significantly influenced by American Indians fosters critical thinking, cultural diversity, and awareness of a much-neglected topic in cartography. Line styles, scale depiction, and the sizing of individual entities are discussed in the context of applying principles from mental maps to American Indian maps and…

This article reports the results of a case study that employed user-centered design to develop training tutorials for helping middle school social studies teachers use Web-based GIS in their classrooms. This study placed teachers in the center of the design process in planning, designing, and developing the tutorials. This article describes how…

Computer games, whether accessed online or through commercial software, have learning potential in educational settings. However, alignment with national, state, or local curriculum requirements can create a barrier. The purpose of this study was to conduct a content analysis of selected games that could be used in a sixth grade geography or…

Research in the cognition and learning sciences has demonstrated that the human brain contains basic structures whose functions are to perform a variety of specific spatial reasoning tasks and that children are capable of learning basic spatial concepts at an early age. There has been a call from within geography to recognize research on spatial…

This article critically examines the recommendations of two major Indian education reports--NCFSE 2000 and NCF 2005--prepared by the National Council of Educational Research and Training in India. The NCFSE 2000 has recommended an integrated teaching of geography as one component of the social studies. The NCF 2005 has reverted to the pre-NCFSE…

This is a ready-to-use simulation that has high school students portraying all of the key players that decide how water from the Colorado River will be allocated. Students act as judges, lobbyists, news analysts, and even protesters during a mock water conference. Water supply is promised beyond nature's delivery, so the problem is real and will…

This study set out to better understand the changing links between geography and citizenship. Content analysis was conducted on eighteen high school world geography textbooks and state/national standards. Interviews were conducted with teachers and textbook authors. Five significant changes were noted: decline of national orientation and a greater…

This paper proposes different strategies for teaching social studies in an integrated manner using Main Street as a laboratory. The paper consists of two parts. Part One is devoted to a discussion of the empirical study; the second part focuses on strategies for integrating Main Street into the K through 12 setting. Although data are presented…

Geography, long the neglected step-child of the field of social studies education, evinces signs of emerging as one of it key integrating elements. Its prominent inclusion and embellishment in both national and state standards and state assessments bodes well for its future. Higher education's role in this endeavor is paramount. The successful…

Most preservice teachers complete their social science requirements in isolation from their social studies methods course. This paper reports the unique co-mingling of one interdisciplinary social science course (emphasizing geographic and environmental education) with the social studies methods for a cohort of undergraduate preservice teachers.…

Geo-educators focus on content standards, particularly the 1994 "Geography for Life" standards, as the primary rationale for integrating geo-spatial technologies into preservice teacher education programs. In this paper, an alternative framework is proposed to infuse GIS and GIScience into existing teacher education programs. Specifically, the…

With this paper, I elaborate the use of the movies "American History X" and "Mi Familia" in classroom settings to highlight issues of ethnicity and the social construction of identity through families and communities. Taken together, these movies draw attention to racial geographies of Los Angeles but in very different ways. I contrast the ways…

Compares 11 English-language geography journals according to the following criteria: (1) content (nationality, education level, target audience, items included in journal, types of geography covered, and whether the articles contain bibliographies) and (2) appearance (page size, number of pages, and whether color printing is used). (DAJ)

Uses four traditions of geography (spatial, area studies, human-environment interaction, and earth science) to show how poetry can be used to enhance the teaching of geography. Illustrates the explicitly spatial concepts present in selected poetry. (DAJ)

Describes a computer program called RiskMap. Explains that after completing an assignment on rural economics and hunger dynamics in Africa, students showed an increased level of understanding and felt that using RiskMap was helpful in learning the material. Includes references. (DAJ)