The Geographic Advantage: Supporting Online Investigations in the Classroom Susan Gallagher Heffron and Michael Solem, Project Directors The Geographic Advantage An AAG Companion Website for Understanding the Changing Planet

The Geographic Advantage: Supporting Online Investigations in the Classroom Developed with the support of the AAG Geography Education Materials Development Fund Online instructional resource supporting the recent NRC report, Understanding the Changing Planet: Strategic Directions for the Geographical Sciences 11 classroom Geographic Investigations in four core areas based on the research questions identified in the report The Geographic Advantage An AAG Companion Website for Understanding the Changing Planet

The Geographic Advantage: Supporting Online Investigations in the Classroom The Geographic Advantage: Susan Hanson's (2004) work identified "the geographic advantage" which "communicates the truth that geographers have something to offer that others do not." Geographers consider 1) relationships between people and the environment, 2) the importance of spatial variability (the place-dependence of processes), 3) processes operating at multiple and interlocking geographic scales, and 4) the integration of spatial and temporal analysis. The Geographic Advantage An AAG Companion Website for Understanding the Changing Planet

The Geographic Advantage: Supporting Online Investigations in the Classroom How to Understand and Respond to Environmental Change: Physical Environment: How are we changing the physical environment of Earth? Preservation: How can we best preserve biological diversity and protect endangered ecosystems? Vulnerabilities: How are climate and other environmental changes affecting the vulnerabilities of coupled human-environment systems? The Geographic Advantage An AAG Companion Website for Understanding the Changing Planet

The Geographic Advantage: Supporting Online Investigations in the Classroom How to Promote Sustainability: Settlement: How and where will 10 billion people live? Food: How will we sustainably feed everyone in the coming decade and beyond? Health: How does where we live affect our health? The Geographic Advantage An AAG Companion Website for Understanding the Changing Planet

The Geographic Advantage: Supporting Online Investigations in the Classroom How to Recognize and Cope with Rapid Spatial Reorganization of Economy and Society: Movement: How is the movement of people, goods, and ideas changing the world? Globalization: How is economic globalization affecting inequality? Geopolitical Shifts: How are geopolitical shifts influencing peace and stability? The Geographic Advantage An AAG Companion Website for Understanding the Changing Planet

The Geographic Advantage: Supporting Online Investigations in the Classroom How to Leverage Technological Change for the Betterment of Society and Environment: Observation: How might we better observe, analyze, and visualize a changing world? Social Implications: What are the societal implications of citizen mapping and mapping citizens? The Geographic Advantage An AAG Companion Website for Understanding the Changing Planet

The Geographic Advantage: Supporting Online Investigations in the Classroom Each module is a geographic investigation that illustrates a geographic question in the theme –Geographic Question –Geographic Investigation Online Lessons/Activities in the investigation –Next Steps –For the Teacher Goal: Engage students in geographic investigations of important questions and issues The Geographic Advantage An AAG Companion Website for Understanding the Changing Planet

The Geographic Advantage: Supporting Online Investigations in the Classroom Please send any questions to: or Public launch set for May: The Geographic Advantage An AAG Companion Website for Understanding the Changing Planet