Designing Geographic Inquiry: Preparing Secondary Students For Citizenship

Abstract

Social studies professionals advocate linking discipline-based content to citizenship learning goals. However, research suggests that students rarely encounter inquiry-based instruction in their geography coursework and have few opportunities to explore how geography impacts civic decision making. In this article, we present a problem-based geographic inquiry model that organizes geography instruction around civic problems that require ethical decision making. This model is being used as the basis for a lesson study professional development project called the Bridging Divides Project. A curricular exemplar on population change illustrates how the design process results in a product that supports learners in reasoning about a social issue.

Key Words:

• geography education
• problem-based geographic inquiry
• disciplined civic inquiry
• lesson study
• geographic inquiry.

Acknowledgment

The authors are very thankful to Dr. Lisa Keys-Mathews for her expert contributions as the project geographer during this study.

Additional information

Funding

We thank the National Council for Geographic Education, the University of North Alabama, and the University of Southern Mississippi for grants that helped to fund this research.