Developing a Learning Progression for Place

Abstract

The concept and characteristics of place within geography education are surveyed in the context of learning progressions. Beginning with place's history and relevance in geographic thought, this review moves on to discuss connections between space and place. From a geographic education perspective, place-based instruction and place characteristics are threaded with ideas of landscape and human encounter with or perception of place. Grade level standards can be problematic when dealing with a complex subject, such as place. Borrowing from educators in the sciences, this review reflects on the challenge of building one or more learning progressions for K–12 education on place.

Key Words:

• place
• sense of place
• learning progressions
• place perception
• geography education

Acknowledgments

We are thankful for funding from the National Center for Research in Geography Education (NCRGE), which provided funds from their National Science Foundation grant on Transformative Research in Geography Education (NSF 1560862). We want to express our appreciation for the following scholars and educators who provided valuable commentary and insights on this article: Phil Gersmehl, Kristin Gunckel, Michael Solem, Sarah Bednarz, Audrey Mohan, David Rutherford, Lisa Tabor Millsaps, Alex Oberle, Jenny Dauer, David Uttal, Thomas Herman, Paul Phillips, Deborah Hann, Rhonda Lefferd, Jinhee Lee, and Brad Burenheide. We thank the editor and peer reviewers for their suggestions on improving how we communicated our ideas in the article.

Notes

1. Using Web of Science as the online database, we initially began the literature review process by searching for relevant keywords found in articles from a selection of journals. Keywords included the term place within the title and subject of the article. The search was narrowed to four primary journals related to place in geography education: Journal of Geography, International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, and Children's Geographies. Though place arises in cultural and environmental education, we concluded that a literature review focused on the realm of geography education would provide an appropriate starting point for the understanding how students evolve in their comprehensions of place. Additions to the review were made based on further reading and recommendations made by scholars in geography and science education who attended a November 2016 workshop on learning progressions for place.

2. For an overview of qualitative phenomenological methods, consult Seamon and Gill (2014).

3. Journals including Children's Geographies and International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education have been instrumental in advancing research in children's geographies and place perception.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Thomas B. Larsen

Thomas B. Larsen is a Ph.D. student in geography at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA. He researches questions and topics related to the human-environment relationship, place, geography education, and geographic thought.

John A. Harrington

John Harrington Jr. is a professor in geography at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA, and the coordinator for the Kansas Geographic Alliance. His research and teaching interests include climatology, human dimensions of global change, GIScience, applied geography, geographic thought, and geography education.