Geography for Life: General Overview & Standard 1 Learning Progressions February 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 elements The world in spatial terms Places & regions Physical systems Human systems Environment & society The uses of geography

Geographic skills 5 skills Asking geographic questions Acquiring geographic information Organizing geographic information Analyzing geographic information 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 Terms Standard 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