This book informs an international audience of teachers, scholars and policymakers about the development of learning progressions for primary and secondary geography education in various countries and regions of the world. The book represents an important contribution to learning progressions research and practice. The different chapters explore how curriculum standards and frameworks in different countries portray progress and sophistication in the learning of geography. The book compares educational systems and how teachers and curriculum developers use the concept of “learning progression” to guide educational practices. As an approach to educational research, learning progressions offer considerable potential for understanding how children develop understanding of geographic concepts and practices across grade bands and in relation to national geography standards. The book analyzes the general conditions of learning progressions within the context of a globalized world. Important themes are addressed such as: knowledge acquisition in formal education; measuring learning progressions in informal settings; learning progressions for one curriculum standard or several standards; conditions to assess progression in the learning of facts, concepts, and skills; and multiple pathways for understanding or learning geography. The contributing authors are experienced scientists in the field from all around the world giving specific insights into the practices of their countries. The book appeals to K-12 teachers, school administrators, policymakers, researchers in geography education, professors and lecturers at universities around the world.

In recent years there has been increased attention paid to the importance of assessment in Geographical Education, the chosen subject for this book. Assessment is an important tool for collecting information about student learning and for providing timely data to inform key stakeholders including students, teachers, parents and policymakers. To be effective, assessment needs to be valid, reliable and fair. Validity is about ensuring that we assess what we claim we are assessing. Reliability is about measuring performance and understanding in a consistent way. Without validity and reliability, assessment is unlikely to provide equitable opportunities for students to demonstrate what they know and can do. As geography educators it is therefore important that we identify the core concepts and skills in geography that we want students to master. We need a clear understanding of what the progression of learning looks like for each concept and skill so we can develop fit for purpose assessments that track and improve student learning. While there is a substantial literature on evidence-based assessment in secondary school contexts, research exploring best-practice assessment in geography is rare. This is a concern given the distinctive nature of geography and the important role of assessment in the learning process. This scholarly collection seeks to address this issue by connecting research in educational assessment with the domain of geography. The chapters are written by leading researchers in Geographical Education from across the globe. These chapters provide examples of innovation through the collective voices of geography teacher educator scholars from across Australia, USA, South Korea, Germany, Switzerland and Singapore. What unifies the work in this book, is that each chapter focuses on a key feature of the discipline of geography, providing scholarly examples of evidence-based practices for assessing student’s knowledge and skills.

Debates in Geography Education encourages early career teachers, experienced teachers and teacher educators to engage with and reflect on key issues, concepts and debates. It aims to enable readers to reach their own informed judgements with deeper theoretical knowledge and understanding. The second edition is fully updated in light of the latest research, policy and practice in the field, as well as key changes to the curriculum and examination specifications. Expert contributors provide a range of perspectives on international, historical and policy contexts in order to deepen our understanding of significant debates in geography education. Key debates include: geography's identity as an academic discipline; what constitutes knowledge in geography; places and regional geography; what it means to think geographically; constructing the curriculum; how we link assessment to making progress in geography; the contribution of fieldwork and outdoor experiences; technology and the use of Geographical Information; school geography and employability; understanding the gap between school and university geography; evidence-based practice and research in geography education. The comprehensive, rigorous coverage of these key issues, together with carefully annotated selected further reading, will help support and shape further research and writing. Debates in Geography Education is a key resource that is essential reading for all teachers and researches who wish to extend their grasp of the place of geography in education. Mark Jones is Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK David Lambert is Professor of Geography Education at UCL Institute of Education, London, UK

Gathering contributions from leading scholars around the world, this handbook offers a comprehensive resource on the most recent advances in research surrounding the theories, methodologies, and applications of science learning progressions. Researchers and educators have used learning progressions to guide the design and alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessment, and to help students learn scientific knowledge and practices in a coherent and connected way across multiple years. This handbook lays out the development and current state of research in this field across four sections: learning progression theories and methodologies; learning progressions to promote student learning; teachers’ learning and use of learning progressions; and new technology in learning progression research. Featuring internationally-recognized experts in learning progression research as well as up-and-coming voices, the Handbook of Research on Science Learning Progressions offers a defining new resource for researchers, teachers and teacher educators, and curriculum and assessment developers in science education.

Learning to Teach Geography in the Secondary School has become the widely recommended textbook for student and new teachers of geography. It helps you acquire a deeper understanding of the role, purpose and potential of geography within the secondary curriculum, and provides the practical skills needed to design, teach and evaluate stimulating and challenging lessons. It is grounded in the notion of social justice and the idea that all students are entitled to a high-quality geography education. The very practical dimension provides you with support structures through which you can begin to develop your own philosophy of teaching and debate key questions about the nature and purpose of the subject in school. Thoroughly updated to take account of the latest research, evidence and policy, this new edition reflects new developments in technology as well as current thinking on curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. Exploring the fundamentals of teaching and learning geography in school, chapters cover: Why we teach geography – its purposes and intent Understanding and planning the curriculum – what to teach Effective pedagogy – how to teach Inclusion Assessment Developing and using resources Fieldwork and outdoor learning Values and school geography’s contribution to ‘citizenship’ Professional development Intended as a core textbook and written with both university and school-based initial teacher education in mind, Learning to Teach Geography is essential reading for all those who aspire to become able, effective and above all, thoughtful and reflective teachers.

This book presents the distinctive theoretical and methodological approaches in geography education in South America and more specifically in Brazil, Chile and Colombia. It highlights cartography and maps as essential tools and provides a meaningful approach to learning in geographical education, thereby giving children and young people the opportunity to better understand their situations, contexts and social conditions. The book describes how South American countries organize their scholar curriculum and the ways in which they deal with geography vocabulary and developing fundamental concepts, methodologies, epistemological comprehension on categories, keywords and themes in geography. It also describes its use in teachers’ practices and learning progressions, the use of spatial representations as a potent mean to visualize and solve questions, and harnesses spatial thinking and geographical reasoning development. The book helps to improve teaching and learning practices in primary and secondary education and as such it provides an interesting read for researchers, students, and teachers of geography and social studies.

This book provides a unique assessment of the development of research in geography education and its future prospects, offering a challenging critique of subject-based education research, with particular reference to geography education across a range of different jurisdictions. It covers a range of topics, including the changing role of research in geography education; the relationship between education research and professional practice, with special reference to geography education research; the place of academic subject knowledge in geography education research; critiques of the functions of research in geography education; and the key issues for education policy and policymakers concerning educational research at national and international levels. Importantly, in a period marked by radical change for education research and researchers, the book offers a timely appraisal of possible ways forward for geography education research. Addressing the needs of academics, research students, policymakers, and education practitioners who undertake, use or shape the future of research in geography education, it comprehensively explores the forces that have driven the development of geography education research and pedagogy. Further, by positioning its analysis in the context of education policy debates in the UK, and further afield, it assesses the role and function of research in education, and offers an outlook on its future. This book is essential reading for all those who wish to understand the sporadic and increasingly uncertain development of subject-based research in education

This book outlines how good teaching of primary geography can extend children′s world awareness and help them make connections between their environmental and geographical experiences. Chapters offer guidance on important learning and teaching issues as well as the use and creation of resources from the school environment to the global context. It covers all the key topics in primary geography including: understanding places physical and human geography environmental sustainability learning outside the classroom global issues citizenship and social justice. Summaries, classroom examples and practical and reflective tasks are included throughout to foster understanding and support the effective teaching of primary geography.

This book presents the core concepts of geographical education as a means of understanding global issues from a spatial perspective. It treats education, supported by high standards, approaches, methodologies, and resources, as essential in exploring the interactions of the world’s human and environmental systems at local, regional, and global scales embedded in the nature of the discipline of geography. It covers topics such as climate change, sustainable development goals, geopolitics in an uncertain world, global crisis, and population flows, which are of great interest to geography researchers and social sciences educators who want to explore the complexity of contemporary societies. Highly respected scholars in geography education answer questions on key topics and explain how global understanding is considered in K-12 education in significant countries around the globe. The book discusses factors such as the Internet, social media, virtual globes and other technological developments that provide insights into and visualization – in real time – of the intensity of relationships between different countries and regions of the earth. It also examines how this does not always lead to empathy with other political, cultural, social and religious values: terrorism threats and armed conflicts are also essential features of the global world. This book opens the dialogue for global understanding as a great opportunity for teachers, educators, scholars and policy makers to better equip students and future citizens to deal with global issues.

This exemplary Handbook provides readers with a novel synthesis of international research, evidence-based practice and personal reflections to offer an overview of the current state of knowledge in the field of teaching geography in higher education. Chapters cover the three key transitions – into, through, and out of higher education – to present a thorough analysis of the topic.