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Before
You Watch
Before viewing the video
programs for Workshop 1: Introduction, please read:
These readings
provide background on the geographic and pedagogical issues addressed
in this workshop. You may read them here on the Web, in your print
guide, or in Geography
for Life. We encourage you to read Geography for Life
in its entirety as you move through the workshops. It contains
further background on the National Standards and their development,
numerous examples and rich illustrations aiding interpretation,
valuable tools for strengthening and developing lessons, and additional
insight on geography's significance to our daily lives.
The National
Geography Standards highlighted in this workshop include Standards
1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 14, and 15. As you read the standards, be thinking
about how they might apply in lessons you have taught.
Also, prior
to attending the workshop, you should explore the associated Key
Maps and Interactive Activities.
Go
to this workshop's readings
Video Program
Overviews: Introduction
Part 1.
El Paso and Ciudad Juarez: Life on the Borderlands
We begin the
series by focusing on the geographical perspective and how the
National Geography Standards provide the means to organize, analyze,
and understand the role that geographic forces have on our lives.
We begin by following the compelling story of Concha, a single
mother of five, who had been living in a tar-paper shack in Ciudad
Juarez, Mexico, just south of the US border. Now working in a
maquiladora, she previously spent her nights sneaking through
the rattlesnake-infested desert smuggling cigarettes to sell in
Hispanic bars in El Paso, Texas. Her illegal journey, and now
her factory work, not only brings her across the border of two
countries but across two geographical regions. Concha's story
is our case study for exploring how the standards function and
the light they can shed on geographical phenomena.
This half
hour also introduces three educators who will guide you through
geography and teaching content over the course of this series.
They are Dr. James Binko, noted educational specialist at Towson
University and our series host; Dr. Susan Hardwick, professor
of geography at the University of Oregon, who will comment on
the Human Geography component of this series; and Dr. Gil Latz,
professor of East Asian geography and international studies at
Portland State University in Oregon, who will provide the Regional
Geography commentary component of the series.
Objectives
Participants
will be able to:
-
identify
how the 18 national geography standards can help further understanding
of geographic concepts;
-
examine
how a geographic perspective provides insight into a variety
of issues;
-
identify
concepts central to regional and human geography; and
-
understand
how border regions shape people's lives.
-
How
do the 18 national geography standards help to explain our world?
-
How
do regional and human geography approaches differ?
-
How
does a spatial understanding of regions translate into real-world
policy?
-
Why
is it important to remember that regions are human constructs?
-
How
does the environment affect culture?
Part 2. NASA: A Lofty View
This half
hour explains how the five geographic skills embedded in the inquiry-learning
process lead to deeper geographic understanding and can form the
basis of engaging and thought-provoking lessons. This foundation
in solid geographic content is seen in practice in a classroom
segment where students answer the question, "Why is Russia's
Aral Sea shrinking?"
This case
study provides an overview of the spatial perspective, following
the training of NASA astronauts as they attend classes to help
them orient themselves when observing Earth from the space shuttle.
From space, concepts like latitude and longitude are almost meaningless,
thus astronauts must develop good mental maps and learn to distinguish
major geographic features such as Lake Chad or the Nile River
Delta. This piece also addresses concepts such as "scale,"
the use of GIS and remote sensing technology, and the distribution
of population across the Earth's surface. Regarding the latter,
the point is made that populations are concentrated in a relatively
small area of available land, and that humans have a great impact
on the environment of these precious oases on a planet comprised
of two-thirds water.
Our classroom segment features Illinois teacher Fred Walk. Using
the five geographic skills in a guided inquiry lesson, his students
study satellite imagery of Russia's shrinking Aral Sea, using
that knowledge to develop hypotheses about the cause of this environmental
disaster.
Objectives
Participants
will be able to:
-
identify
the five geographic skills and recognize how they are used in
geographic inquiry;
-
understand
how satellite imagery can illuminate geographic events; and
-
examine
how the geographic skills can serve as the framework for an
inquiry lesson.
-
How
do the five geographic skills inform the learning process?
-
What
is geographic information?
-
Where
can geographic information be found?
-
What
has space-based imagery allowed us to learn about Earth?
-
How
does asking students, rather than telling them, lead to effective
teaching?
Featured
Educator
Mr. Fred
Walk, 11th- and 12th-grade geography teacher, Normal Community
High School, Normal, Illinois
Fred Walk brings 30 years experience teaching geography and economics
at Normal Community High School in Normal, Illinois. He has conducted
numerous geography workshops, reviewed textbooks, and consulted
on curriculum development. Fred is past president of the Illinois
Geography Society and is a teacher consultant for the NASA/GENIP
Institute to present lesson plans using Mission Geography curriculum
at Texas A&M University. Fred is featured in two classroom
segments in Teaching Geography, one on Russia's shrinking Aral
Sea and the other on measures of quality of life in Southeast
Asia.
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