Purpose: an overview of the field of Geography
Objectives
1. To recognize that geography is an approach
to learning
2. To understand that geography's distinct
perspective is spatial
3. To understand that the subject matter
of geography concerns the nature of places
4. To learn about the “language” of geography
5.. To relate the nature of Geography to the
Geography Standards (see [ ] below)
I.
What is Geography?: Perspective
• Subjects ð Disciplines: ways of organizing
“events”
• Contrasts with history: the
importance of chronology
• Geography’s perspective: “whereness”
ð spatial variation
• Geography’s questions: “Where”;
“Why there”; “So what?”
• The value of the whereness
perspective: some examples
(I) Cholera in London - a lesson
(II) Burning Black Churches in the South
(III) Neighborhood schools in New Castle County
• Summary: on being “geographic”
at any scale [MAPS]
II. What is Geography?: Content
• Geography’s content is about
places [PLACES]
• What is a place? (“location
with character”)
• Attributes of a place:
• absolute location: a point
on the earth’s surface
• physical structure and cultural
content
• places change over time
• How do geographers study places:
A. site:
human transformation (culture) of the natural environment - a two-way relationship [ENVIRONMENT]
B. situation:
where a place is, relative to other places; contrasts between absolute and relative location; direction and distance: flows between places
• Examples of site and situation,
using the Atlas:
(I) Rio and Sao Paulo
(II) Denmark and Iran
C. time:
flows between places over time can change
site and situation characteristics ð importance of historical geography
• Simplification: generalizing
about unique places [REGIONS]:
• changing the scale: landscapes as composite patterns of places
• regions: areas containing places with (some) common characteristics
STANDARD 1: MAPS
I. MAPS
AND MAPPING
Purpose
To introduce the properties
of maps and their construction
Objectives
1. To understand the meaning of the Maps
standard at each grade cluster
2. To learn the elements of maps and map-making
3. To learn the basics of map design and
construction
4. To assess how children learn to read and
use maps
5. To be aware of the value of maps and the
use of the atlas
Topics and Points
• Two general types of maps: topographic (broadly representative of an area) and thematic (limited to a specific subject/issue)
• Characteristics of Maps
• What elements constitute a good map?
TODALSIGS
• Direction
- T-O Maps
• Symbols
(SEMIOTICS); color gradiations
• Scale: linear, verbal, representative
fraction/ratio; large vs. small scale
• Grid: latitude, longitude; Global Positioning
Systems (GPS)
• Map projections:
• maps are distortions of reality; from
3-D to 2-D, can preserve shape
(conformal projections) or area
(equal-area projections), but not both
• types of projections: azimuthal, conic,
cylindrical, mathematical; the "evil" Mercator!
• Transfering data to maps: precision,
detail, obscurity ð
generalization, clarity, simplification
• Types of thematic maps:
• Choropleth (shaded categories) - area
• Isoline maps - line
• Dot maps - point
• Mapping
by computer: Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• How do children learn to read and
use maps? What do we know about cognitive process of map reading skills?
(see handout)
• The Value of maps: an example of using an Atlas to
discover a place (see handout: Find the Place)
II. MAP
ANALYSIS: USE AND ABUSE
Purpose
To introduce the way
map analysis can be used and misused
Objectives
1. To appreciate that maps are subjective
statements, not objective reality
2. To apply critical analysis and scepticism
to mapped information
Topics and Points
• Projection
misuse
• Consequences of size
• Advertising
• Political manipulation
• Statistical
cheating
• Distorting
directions - north is not always “up”
• Odd
projections, odd perceptions
• Critiquing maps: selecting the best criteria for display
III. MENTAL
MAPS
Purpose
To introduce the characteristics
and properties of mental maps - maps in the mind
Objectives
1. To examine the properties and functions
of mental maps
2. To understand the distorting tendencies
of mental maps
3. To explore what we know about how mental
maps are acquired
Topics and Points
I. What are mental maps?
• Definition: geographically ordered information
in our memory. Allows us to store
factual knowledge about places,
both site and situation, geographically (spatially).
• Operate at different scales and degrees of detail
II. What is the purpose of mental maps?
• wayfinding - avoiding being lost
• retrieving information about places
- and patterns of places - in terms of where they are;
• the basis
for doing geography
III. Characteristics of mental maps
• Distortions
of the real world
• Home
bias; distance decay
• Distance
overcome by unusual associations
• Can
be influenced by distinctive landmarks; shapes
• Are
often reflections of cultural bias; examples
• Are
not single but multiple, at different, nested, scales
IV. How do children learn mental maps?
• Naively-given,
genetic predisposition vs. learned
• Personal
vs. mediated experience
• Sequence
of learning:
• home,
isolated landmarks
• home,
route, landmark string
• integrating
strings and intervening space
• Experiments with nested scales
• Two learning/teaching approaches:
•Simplified schematics
Map notes
STANDARD 2: ENVIRONMENT
Purpose
To gain an overview
of the processes responsible for geographic differences in the earth's physical
environment
Objectives
• To understand the distinctive features of the
ENVIRONMENT standard
• To be able to apply knowledge of the forces operating
in the physical environment to an understanding of the way the physical environment
varies from place to place.
Topics
I. The Environment standard at K-3, 4-5
II. What causes the environment’s surface
features? The resolution of opposing forces of energy: concentration vs. dispersion
- the concept of interacting systems and the diffusion of energy (entropy)
III. Physical Geographic Processes: Landforms
• Uplift:
• earth's energy manifested as
crustal plates: uplift and mountain building periods
• Erosion: the forces of erosion:
•water, wind, ice; stream mechanics;
glaciers
• Rock ð soil: chemical decomposition of bedrock; deposits
from clay to sand
IV. Physical Geographic Processes: Climate
• Energy concentration: the geography of solar
energy
• Dispersing excess energy from
the equator
• temperature:
latitude, continentality, altitude
• precipitation:
convection, fronts, topography
• ocean currents and winds
V. Vegetation: climate’s mirror
VI. Activity: “pick a point”
STANDARD 3: THE
NATURE AND CHARACTER OF PLACES
Purpose
To gain an overview
of the role of culture and economic processes in modifying the environment
to produce unique places
Objectives
To obtain an understanding
of settlement hierarchies and their reasons.
To learn how people
affect the success of their places.
To appreciate how different
cultures interact and migrate
To examine how a sense
of place can be both identified and created.
Topics
I. Internal organization (geographical structure)
of settlements:
• District clustering - the ice-cream
salesmen example
•Point of greatest accessibility
- the historical-dynamic model
II. The basis for a hierarchy of settlements:
• rank-size rule: when settlements are
rank-ordered by population size, the second-ranked settlement will have a
population one half the population of the highest ranked settlement; the n-ranked
settlement will have a population size which is 1/n the population of the
largest settlement
• central place theory:
• threshold: minimum population needed
to support a business or service
• range: maximum distance people will
voluntarily travel for a good or service
• accessibility: minimum distance needed
to reach a given population (threshold)
