Conveying the Applications and Relevance of the Powerful Geography Approach through Humanitarian Mapping

ABSTRACT

The Powerful Geography approach entails strengthening the relationship among curricula, student aspirations and motivations, and applications and practices of geographers in business, government, and nonprofit organizations. As a practical response to the GeoCapabilities project’s vision of future geography curricula based on conceptions of powerful knowledge, Powerful Geography is the idea that curricula connecting geography careers to student aspirations can help teachers make powerful knowledge accessible for students, specifically by helping students recognize relationships between geography and life beyond the classroom. Powerful Geography is a replicable approach to creating curricula that account for differences in state standards, course topics, student demographics, and school contexts. To illustrate this method in practice, the authors designed a humanitarian mapping lesson according to the approach.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Drs. Richard G. Boehm and Joann Zadrozny for their role in developing the Powerful Geography curriculum initiative and framework. They would also like to thank Dr. Lisa Tabor for suggestions on improving the article.

Notes

1 Links to video footage of these interviews can be accessed through the YouTube channels of the Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkHciBSdyV8nncQa1jtp-lQ/featured) and the American Association of Geographers (https://www.youtube.com/user/GeographyAAG).

2 NCRGE has received new funding from NSF to expand Powerful Geography through new research networks in different states (e.g., California) and disciplines like computer science and geoscience. This work will include studies of the approach’s impact on student attitudes that studies suggest are important precursors to career choice and participation in science, such as student interest in science, confidence to do science, and perceived utility of science (Sheldrake, Mujtaba, and Reiss 2017). The authors invite readers to join this effort by visiting the Powerful Geography website, downloading a copy of the student aspirations instrument, and testing the approach with students.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by funding through the Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education at Texas State University.

Notes on contributors

Thomas Barclay Larsen

Thomas Larsen is an Instructor in the Department of Geography at the University of Northern Iowa. He explores how geographic knowledge can inform decision-making at the interface between environment and society. As a researcher, he works on projects that map the paths students take to learn geographic concepts as well as elevate geography’s relevance to society and K–16 education.

Michael Solem

Michael Solem is a Professor of Geography at Texas State University. He also serves the American Association of Geographers as Senior Advisor for Geography Education and Co-Director of the National Center for Research in Geography Education. Michael has been principal investigator on several large-scale, federally funded projects spanning geography at all levels of education, focusing on professional development, international education, and teacher education.