Benchmarking in Geography: Some implications for assessing dissertations in the undergraduate curriculum

Internationally there is concern about assessment standards and the qualities of graduating students. In the UK this is resulting in the introduction of benchmarking by disciplinary communities, including that of geography. In that context the authors report on a project across social science disciplines, including geography, in one UK university, to examine and improve the assessment of undergraduate dissertations. The project examined what assessment criteria are currently published to students and identified some sources of inconsistency in applying them. It identified some potential core criteria and recommended ways of increasing transparency in applying them, so as to reduce inconsistencies and potential unfairness in marking. Implications for geography departments and the international disciplinary community are suggested and for the benchmarking exercise in British geography.     

Internationalising Learning and Teaching: A European experience

This paper focuses on experiences with international learning and teaching in a European (ERASMUS) programme on geography and gender during the period 1990-1998. This programme forms an example of collaborative work in which the author and colleagues experimented with an array of models to bring geography students and teachers of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds together. International learning and teaching is a confrontation with diversity. Diversity in language, in the mastery of English and the resulting hierarchies, in learning and teaching cultures and in defining geography form both challenges and opportunities to profit. In this paper the author will expound on the different strategies to deal with linguistic and cultural differences and to break down hierarchies. Furthermore the opportunities to "use" the differences as learning and teaching contexts will be discussed. Geography is a discipline concerning diversity. Direct contact between persons with different cultural backgrounds can form an efficient, effective and stimulating method to learn about differences in geographies and in teaching methods.     

'Geographical Expeditions': Assessing the benefits of a student-driven fieldwork method

A student-driven fieldwork method, focused in a local metropolitan area, is described and assessed. Developed for a second-level course in cultural geography, it was inspired by the 'Geographical Expeditions' originally devised by William Bunge in the 1960s. It is one solution to maintaining fieldwork in the syllabus for a large class, at the same time as providing benefits for participants in terms of challenge and autonomy. Student responses are compared with the merits of fieldwork as claimed in the literature. In view of concerns expressed about increasing student 'disengagement' from commitment to university study, active participation in a 'Geographical Expedition' is a strong motivating factor.     

Bridging the Gulf between Secondary School and University-level Geography Teachers: Reflections on organising a UK teachers' conference

This study contributes to growing research on the links between school and university geography by reflecting on the value of a teachers' conference organised in 2000. Through analysis of feedback from the conference and reflection on how the event has influenced the author's teaching, the paper considers the potential for academic geographers to learn from colleagues in the school sector and vice versa. The paper also uses personal experience and the teachers' feedback to provide guidance for people considering holding similar events, particularly with regard to the likely expectations and priorities of secondary school teachers. The paper notes schoolteachers' desire for a closer relationship with university staff and argues that current pressures on all teachers limit possibilities for broader and more sustained dialogue.     

Gowin's Knowledge Vee and the Integration of Philosophy and Methodology: A Case Study

This paper reflects upon the five case studies that comprise the collection on the theme of 'teaching geography to non-geographers'. Key themes are discussed and an agenda for pedagogic research is outlined.     

Internationalising Geography in Higher Education: Towards a conceptual framework

Key issues relating to the internationalisation of geography in higher education are explored. Drawing on past experience, critical questions are posed regarding the goals, ownership, management and operation of a proposed international network for teaching and learning in geography in higher education. It is argued that those developing the network must learn from the lessons of the past, both to avoid repeating avoidable mistakes and to ensure that the network successfully achieves its intended aims.     

From the Holiday to the Academy: Implications for physical geography in higher education arising from 'popular' field-based geography in Dorset

The popularity of physical geography at all levels of formal education is declining. This paper argues that a key factor in the decline may be the disparity between geographies studied within formal education and the popular geographies encountered during leisure pursuit. Through the example of the Jurassic Coast Project, an initiative for the interpretation of Dorset's coastal landscape, approaches towards the integration of popular and academic geographies are explored. Drawing explicit links between popular experiences and academic knowledge may benefit physical geography, improving its status amongst public and student audiences, and addressing the concerns that surround its decline within higher education.     

Pestalozzi, Fellenberg and British nineteenth-century geographical education

The impact that Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746–1827) and Philipp Emanuel Fellenberg (1771–1844) had upon nineteenth-century European geographical education and ideas has long been recognised. Their influence upon British geography teaching has, however, been little explored, despite the work already done on the general impact of Pestalozzianism and Fellenbergianism on British education. Using the arguments of nineteenth-century educational theorists such as Compayre and Spencer, this study argues that Pestalozzian educationists such as Phillip Pullen and Charles Mayo in England helped to change the way that geography was taught to middle-class children. A case study of teaching practices at a Pestalozzian institution in Worksop, Nottinghamshire shows how changes in geographical education were encouraged by Pestalozzian ideas on the teaching of geography and the relationship of the subject to other disciplines including topography, natural history and geology.     

曾参对孔子教育思想的传承及其历史地位

曾参作为孔子之后的儒学代表人物,全面继承了孔子"学为君子"、"为人孝弟"、"反省内求"等教育思想,阐释了君子人格、孝道、"慎独"等观念,明确了"孝"在儒学理论体系中的实践标准,从道德伦理方面进一步丰富了儒家教育思想的内容,是孔子教育思想的主要传承者。     

遥感与地理信息系统在城市考古中的实践

遥感与地理信息系统是城市考古研究中重要的技术手段。借助遥感技术,在识别遗迹的基础上,首先可以对城址开展地图测量,确保研究数据的准确性,其次可以获取不同精度的地形地貌数据,从宏观和微观层面分析城址的空间环境和布局结构,最终可以为城市复原研究提供线索,提高田野考古工作的效率和精度。在地理信息系统应用方面,本文提出了"城市圈"的概念,将城址与周边遗址和自然环境纳入同一个空间集合进行考察,可以充分发挥地理信息系统的空间分析功能,行之有效的剖析城市空间属性所反映出的人地关系和社会关系。