Experimenting with Active Learning in Geography: Dispelling the Myths that Perpetuate Resistance

While some geographers have embraced active learning as a means to engage students in a course, many others stick to conventional teaching methods. They are often deterred by suggestions that it can be difficult to implement active learning where students have no prior knowledge of a subject, that active learning requires too much work of lecturers and students, and that there are significant institutional constraints to implementing active learning. In this article the authors draw on their experiences of utilizing active learning in five different countries before dispelling myths which continue to constrain the uptake of active learning methods. Finally, they provide simple guidelines for successful integration of active learning in geography courses.     

Teaching Research Methodology to Geography Undergraduates: rationale and practice in a human geography programme

Recent acknowledgement that geography students should gain knowledge and experience in the research process has not been matched by accounts of how this experience should be taught. In human geography, apart from a small selection of informative textbooks, scholars have remained relatively quiet on the matter of curriculum design and teaching programmes that would provide this experience. Instead, attention has been devoted to specific, individual research skills or selected intersections between teaching and research. In contrast, this paper argues that it is important to consider how we might best teach research methodology in a comprehensive manner to human geography undergraduates. The authors identify pedagogic and pragmatic reasons for teaching this material and then address some of the difficulties and challenges associated with this endeavour. Taking one New Zealand human geography example, the aims and structure of a 200-level course that attempts to provide such an example of research methodology teaching are then sketched out. Responses to the course are noted and followed by reflections on the pragmatic and disciplinary challenges that continue to exist.     

An Exploration of Peer-to-Peer Teaching and Learning at Postgraduate Level: The Experience of Two Student-Led NVivo Workshops

This paper explores peer-to-peer teaching and learning at a postgraduate level using the example of two NVivo workshops run by geography postgraduate students. The workshops took place in March and May 2011 and feedback was collected from all attendees in both sessions. This paper aims to provide a practical guide to organizing and facilitating such an informal workshop on the NVivo software for postgraduate students based on the outcomes of the two workshops. Hints and tips for others considering running similar events are provided based on the feedback received following the sessions and reflections on the organizers experiences.     

What to consider when preparing a model core curriculum for GIS ethics: objectives,methods, and a sketch of content

The purpose of this article is to provide a summary of what is known about teaching ethics in engineering, science, and related disciplines. Such a summary should provide a useful starting point for preparation of a detailed curriculum for teaching the ethics of geo-coded information systems broadly understood (“GIS ethics” for short). It attempts to answer the following questions: What is “ethics” for the purpose of GIS? What is teaching ethics? What objectives should teaching ethics have in a technical curriculum? What methods should be used? How should student work in ethics be assessed? How should the teaching of ethics be assessed?     

Advice and reflections for a university teacher beginning an academic career

Although graduate programs typically prepare university students well for research activity, many have been less successful in educating for other aspects of academic careers. This article discusses Iain Hay's “Letter to a New University Teacher,” which has been used internationally to help new lecturers beginning their career. Prepared as an autoethnographic account for a recent graduate, “The Letter” distils principles held to underpin a successful academic career. Five university teachers and academic managers discuss critically the content and their applications of “The Letter” and make some suggestions for its use in continuously transforming higher education contexts.     

Student perspectives on the teaching of geographical information systems (GIS) in geography degrees

In an era when graduate employability is a key concern, the teaching of geographical information systems (GIS) has become a subject of considerable interest. This paper reports on a study of the GIS student learning experience using student survey data from six UK geography undergraduate programmes. The findings show that although students’ satisfaction levels are generally encouraging, more could be done to capitalize on the opportunities GIS offers both for the discipline and for our students. Recommendations are made for further enhancing the profile and quality of GIS pedagogy in geography curricula.     

《英语写作》课堂教学探索

《英语写作》课程是英语本科专业学生必修课程、同时也是专业培养目标中学生必须掌握的核心技能之一。然而,其教学过程中也存在较多的问题。本文从课程内容设置、学生学习现状、及教学措施等方面对该课程进行探索,目的是改进教学方式方法,提高教学质量。     

The 2012 TRIP survey of international relations in Australia: one problem to rule us all

This article analyses the results of the most recent and largest cross-national survey on the international relations discipline. Completed by scholars in 20 countries, the survey covered the areas of teaching, research, foreign policy, the profession, and the relationship between policy and academia. From an Australian perspective, the key findings include the strong link between what academics teach and research; the narrowing epistemological gap between the USA and Australia; the curious pessimism of scholars on a wide range of foreign policy issues; and the ability of scholars to define research quality independently of other national settings. The most significant and alarming finding, however, concerned how the present structure of the field is undermining scholars'attempt to forge closer, more influential ties with policy makers in Canberra. In fact, it is clear from the results that what academics research and how they go about it is actually counterintuitive to this goal. The article concludes with three recommendations aimed at rectifying this problem.     

我国人文地理学研究生课程教学改革初探——基于与美国研究生课程的比较和感知

扩招之后的我国研究生教育质量受到质疑。这种质量下降的起因可能是多方面的,但课程教学不规范则是很重要的一个方面。本文对我国人文地理学研究生课程教学进行了个人思考,以期认清可能存在的相关问题,并参照被世界各地当作楷模的美国研究生课程教学的长处,提出了作者的研究生课程教学改革建议:编制详细的课程教学大纲、以讨论课为主、引导学生读书、拓宽视野和知识基础。在此基础上,有望建立以学生为中心的研究生教学模式,进而缩小与欧美发达国家研究生教育的差距,并为知识经济发展提供必需的高素质人才。     

Teaching and Social Reform in the 1960s: Lessons from National Teacher Corps Oral Histories

Abstract: This article draws on oral history narratives to examinethe beliefs and expectations that brought a group of young peopleto the field of teaching in the 1960s through the National TeacherCorps (NTC). The oral histories address the identities, politics,aims, and backgrounds of a dozen NTC participants. By situatingthe voices of these young people within a larger social andhistorical context, the article uses oral history testimonyto reconsider existing accounts of social reform movements andteaching in the 1960s and early 1970s. Specifically, the oralhistories allow Teacher Corps participants to emerge as individualswho represent an important if largely unexplored populationthat took part in 1960s movements toward greater equality andsocial justice and who embraced the unique perspective thatteaching in ordinary schools serving poor and minority studentscould offer meaningful opportunities for grassroots, socialreform activity.