A Bridge between Two Worlds: Why Advanced Placement Human Geography Is Good for the Discipline of Geography

Abstract

Amidst ongoing debates regarding the pros and cons of Advanced Placement Human Geography (APHG) for the field of geography, this article asks whether it has been good for the discipline in the United States. The authors argue that APHG has strengthened U.S. geography because it has been remarkably effective at building bridges between high school and college geography educators, providing professional development opportunities for K–12 teachers, supporting the pipeline of new geographers entering college classrooms, offering a rigorous and comprehensive course, and increasing the number of K–12 students who have been exposed to geography. Rather than focusing on narrower questions about test performance, this article contributes to the literature by assessing the broad question of whether APHG is good for the discipline and by shedding light on the connections APHG has fostered between the often separate worlds of university professors and high school teachers. These insights are based on empirical evidence as well as several decades of combined author experiences at APHG readings.

在人文地理学先修课程(APHG)对地理学的利弊辩论中, 本文探讨了APHG是否有益于美国的地理学科。作者认为, APHG架起高中和大学地理教育工作者之间的桥梁, 为K-12教师提供职业发展机会, 支持地理学新人迈入大学课堂, 提供严格而全面的课程, 增加接触过地理学的K-12学生数量。因此, APHG强化了美国的地理学科。本文并未关注考试成绩这个狭义问题, 而是评估了APHG是否有益于学科这一广泛问题, 阐明了APHG建立起大学教授和高中教师这两个经常割裂的世界之间的联系。本文的观点来自于实证以及作者在APHG阅读上的数十年综合经验。

En medio de los debates en curso sobre los pros y contra de la Advanced Placement Human Geography (APGH) [Geografía Humana de Nivel Avanzado] para el campo de la geografía, este artículo pregunta si eso ha sido bueno para la disciplina en Estados Unidos. Los autores sostenemos que la APHG ha fortalecido la geografía americana en cuanto que ha sido notoriamente efectiva en tender puentes entre los educadores de geografía de la escuela secundaria y de la universidad, proporcionando oportunidades de desarrollo profesional para los maestros de K-12, estimulando la llegada de nuevos geógrafos a las aulas universitarias, ofreciendo un curso riguroso y completo, e incrementando la exposición a la geografía del número de estudiantes de K-12. En vez de centrarse en cuestiones restringidas sobre el rendimiento en las pruebas de conocimiento, este artículo contribuye a la literatura mediante la evaluación de la cuestión más amplia del grado como APHG ha ayudado en los mundos a menudo separados de los profesores universitarios y los maestros de la secundaria. Estas percepciones se fundamentan en evidencia empírica, lo mismo que en varias décadas de experiencias combinadas de los autores en cosas relacionadas con APHG.

Key Words:

• Advanced Placement Human Geography
• discipline
• K–12 education
• place
• social networks

关键词::

• 人文地理学
• 学科
• K-12教育
• 位置
• 社交网络。

Palabras clave::

• APGH
• disciplina
• educación K–12
• Geografía Humana de Nivel Avanzado
• redes sociales

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank three anonymous reviewers, as well as David Lanegran, for their feedback on earlier versions of this article. We also wish to express our gratitude to the community of APHG readers who gather every year in Cincinnati to assess exams. We have learned much from you! Last but not least, we acknowledge former Geography Department Chair Laura Smith, and the Office of Institutional Research, especially Adam Johnson, both at Macalester College, for developing Figures 4, 5, and 6 related to the impacts of APHG on geography majors at Macalester College.

Notes

1 ETS is an affiliate of the College Board that administers AP exams.

2 Although some colleges accept an AP score of 3 for transfer credit, the Macalester College Geography Department only accepts a score of 4 or 5.

3 See TedX talks at https://geographyeducation.org/presentations/tedx/.

4 See, for example, the situation in the state of Texas (https://tea.texas.gov/academics/curriculum-standards/teks-review/2021-2022-social-studies-teks-review).

5 See proposed cut to sixth-grade world cultures course in Texas at https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/k-8-ss-framework-one-pager.pdf. Furthermore, for several years in Texas, World Geography was a requirement to secure a high school diploma. With the passing of House Bill 5 of 2013, however, students now have the choice of taking World Geography or World History. Many guidance counselors in middle schools encourage their students to take World History based on the belief that it would better help them on the U.S. History State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR). As a result, school districts across Texas drastically reduced the number of sections of World Geography offered on their high school campuses.

6 According to the AGS Education report, they awarded forty-one grants in 2021 and seventy-six in 2022 (AGS 2022).

7 Although the AAG’s 2020–2022 strategic plan advocates for strengthened education initiatives (see https://www.aag.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/AAG_Strategic_Plan_20202022.pdf).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

William G. Moseley

WILLIAM G. MOSELEY is DeWitt Wallace Professor of Geography in the Department of Geography, Macalester College, Saint Paul, MN 55105. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include food security, food systems, tropical agriculture, environment and development, and Africa.

Max Lu

MAX LU is a Professor in the Department of Geography and Geospatial Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include population migration, regional development, human dimensions of environmental change, and China.

Greg Hill

GREG HILL is a Teacher in the Department of Geography and Ethnic Studies, Dr. John D. Horn High School, Mesquite, TX 75181. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include urban land use, Black geographies, human geography, Latin America, and open source mapping.