Educational Reform in Action

Daniel C. Edelson, Ph.D.

Vice President, Education

National Geographic Society

Stop and Think…

What are the three biggest challenges facing human society?

Societal Challenges?

Common answers:– Lack of access to basic necessities (safe food, water & air;

shelter; sanitation; healthcare; education)– Unsustainable use of natural resources and environmental

degradation– Violent conflict

Two questions:

1. Will these challenges affect the lives of Americans?

2. Where in school are students being prepared to address these challenges?

Preparedness for the workplace…

Business and government challenges:– Transportation in an era of increasing fuel costs– Working with overseas suppliers and offshore

service providers– Global marketplaces

Where in school are students being prepared to address these challenges?

Where would they be addressed in school?

Geography!

C’mon…

Map coloring?

Memorizing place names?

Obscure facts about remote locations?

What is geography really?

Interconnectedness: – What happens here influences what happens elsewhere. – What happens elsewhere influences what happens here.

Location matters:– What happens here is influenced by what it’s like here.– What happens here is influenced by its relationship to other

places.

Downstream

• Watersheds

• Viewsheds

• “Air”sheds, “Food”sheds

• “Idea”sheds

Processes

• Resistance• Obstacles

• Diffusion• Radiation

• Land topography• Network topology

What’s going on?

What’s going on?

What’s going on?

What’s going on?

Citizens prepared for decisions about:

Physical resources

Social systems

Ecosystems

Citizens prepared to participate in:

Social and Economic Activities

Increase Quantity and Quality of Geographic Learning Experiences

Increase Demand Increase Supply

NGS’s Model for Educational Reform

COMMUNICATION

Consumer Demand Policy Demand

Families Students

Business & Civic Leaders

Public

Policy MakersPublic

Increase Demand

Communication

Repositioning geography in the minds of others…

Education of a different sort.

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Repositioning Geography

• What is geography?

• Why is it important?

• What does effective geographic education look like?

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Geography is…

The study of systems:

1. Physical

2. Biological

3. Human

…and their interactions

Develop Learning

Resources

Develop Organizational

Capacity

Develop Educator Capacity

Formal Schooling

Informal Institutions

Community Family

Pre-K

K-12

Post-secondary

Lifelong

Increase Supply

Learning Resources

• Instructional materials

• Geographic resources

• Technology– Xpeditions

Human Resources

National Network of Geography Alliances

– State-based grassroots organizations– Collaborative between geographers and educators– Professional development and advocacy

Organizations

• School districts

• Informal institutions

• Community organizations

• Families

Learn more…

www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions

www.nationalgeographic.com/foundation

www.nationalgeographic.com/education