Geography for Life:General Overview & Standard 1

Learning ProgressionsFebruary 6-8, 2014

Geography for Life (1 of 3)

• The national geography standards were first published in 1994 by GENIP– While the Standards were

accepted by educators & academic geographers, their implementation was uneven and they failed to become institutionalized (Bednarz 2003, 100-101)

Geography for Life (2 of 3)

• A revised edition was published in 2012– Emphasis on geospatial

technologies & the diversity of the discipline

– More guidance for teachers• A consensus of the geographic

community about what students should know and be able to do by the time they graduate from high school

Geography for Life (3 of 3)

• Three components of geographic literacy– Geographic perspectives– Geographic knowledge– Geographic skills• The standards stress the importance of all three in

developing geographic literacy

Geographic perspectives

• Geography is often described as a perspective

• Two perspectives– Spatial: Where? Why

there?– Ecological: How life forms

interact with the physical environment

Geographic knowledge

• 18 standards grouped within 6 essential elements1. The world in spatial terms2. Places & regions3. Physical systems4. Human systems5. Environment & society6. The uses of geography

Geographic skills

• 5 skills1. Asking geographic questions2. Acquiring geographic information3. Organizing geographic information4. Analyzing geographic information 5. Answering geographic questions• Through the development of these skills, students

acquire the necessary tools to think geographically

Geography for Life: Grade Levels

• The (revised) standards provide guidance about what students should know & be able to at the elementary, middle, and secondary grades– Up to & including 4th grade– Up to & including 8th grade– Up to & including 12th grade

• As students progress through school, their geographic knowledge & skills should become more sophisticated

Essential Element 1: The World in Spatial TermsStandard 1

• How to use maps & other geographic representations, geospatial technologies, & spatial thinking to understand & communicate information– See Sarah’s handout

Sarah says:• Focus on the overall content of the standard– What a map is– How to make a map– How to use a map

• Don’t obsess over the exemplars / hypothetical activities

• The content knowledge builds from Grades 4 to 8 to 12

• The skills also build from 4 to 8 to 12 (more or less)

• We posited these “learning progressions” and now they need to be researched at a range of scales