Search Results (49)

This study examines students’ perceptions of the subjects geography, mathematics, and computer science in integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) lessons. Although the importance of an integrated approach in STEM education is emphasized, researchers are not clear about whether students perceive connections between the subjects on the one hand and subject-specific working methods and content in integrated lessons on the other. Data was collected in an integrated teaching unit on the sustainability of apples using an open-ended digital questionnaire in to two ninth grade classes in Hamburg, Germany (n = 38); this data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results reveal that students perceive the subjects differently, but similarities can also be identified. While subject-specific content is perceived—such as the use of maps in geography, the calculation of volumes in mathematics, and Dijkstra’s algorithm in computer science—methodological connections, such as calculating, analyzing diagrams, or solving problems, are anchored across disciplines. This suggests that the subject-specific contents are not lost in integrating lessons, and that connections among the subjects are, to a certain extent, promoted. Full article

Creole writer Sidonie de la Houssaye (1820–1894) registered the threat of anglophone dominance after the Civil War on behalf of a host of characters drawn from the geographies and ideologies in and around her home in Louisiana. Her little-known literary tales depict the period as a cultural and linguistic border zone. In addition to the texture of Louisiana French and Creole heritage, the tales depict the vexed social dynamics of prejudice and fragility. In the context of this special issue on good and evil, the poorly known children’s tales offer insight into these pernicious tensions that persisted under the surface of moral victory after the Civil War. La Houssaye’s lessons for children take up the moral panic of a Louisiana reckoning with its legacies of racial violence and cultural erasure. This article argues that morality in these tales takes shape in interpersonal practices that can be learned to heal social ills. What I have called La Houssaye’s “ethics of social life” relies on education rather than condemnation to redefine human bonds. If a broader lesson emerges from the stories taken together, it suggests that structural change is slow to heal cultural wounds. We must ourselves be the agents of a healthier community. Full article

The 2024 cut-off low-pressure (DANA) event had a devastating impact on the province of Valencia (Spain), resulting in 227 fatalities. This extreme weather event highlighted the urgent need to enhance education on flood risk and prevention, particularly through geography lessons in schools. This paper presents a didactic experience conducted during the 2024–2025 academic year at a primary school in Alicante (Valencian Community, Spain), within the sixth-grade subject of “Natural, Social, and Cultural Environment Studies”. The initiative aimed to increase knowledge of the causes of flooding and safety measures, with a particular focus on the DANA event of 29 October 2024. Through hands-on and collaborative activities, the project sought to raise awareness of the importance of risk prevention and management. Ultimately, this educational approach aspires to foster a more resilient society, one that is better prepared to face the challenges posed by current and future climate change scenarios. Full article

The present study investigates the influence of peer coaching on the depth of reflection on the content of digital games in geography education. The results show that the combination of a reflection diary and reflection coaching in the debriefing session significantly increases the depth of reflection at different levels. In particular, students were able to formulate more precise and critical statements at the level of comparison between the game world and reality, as well as at the level of self-reflection. Working in tandem and targeted questions from the trainers proved to be key success factors in promoting depth of reflection. The study shows the importance of combining written and oral reflection after using digital games and provides impetus for integrating digital games and reflection methods into the classroom. Full article

The flipped classroom is a blended learning model that combines metacognitive activities in classrooms with the independent exploration of low cognitive levels outside of school using digital platforms such as videos, slides, articles, and class notes. The subject of research includes the study of the innovative approach of the flipped classroom model in the teaching of geography. The goal of this research is a deeper understanding and evaluation of the effectiveness of the flipped classroom model in the teaching of geography to Year seven elementary school students in the Republic of Serbia in the context of scholarly success. The study used an experimental design, with random assignment across six classes. A total of 192 students participated in the research in both schools. For the purposes of research, a post-knowledge acquisition test was given to students. The results of the research showed that there is a difference in average grades using the flipped classroom. Approximately 8.33% of students in the experimental group received the highest grade of 5, compared to just 3.65% in the control group. Namely, it was shown that male students achieved slightly better results compared with female students but with no statistically significant difference. Suggestions for future research are that geography teachers can record more lessons over a longer period with more teaching activities. Full article

This study applies a systems analysis to further our understanding of the many pathways linking climate stress to human (im)mobility and interpersonal violence via natural resource stress within eight countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan) across the Sahel region. To illustrate the multiple pathways within the climate–(im)mobility–violence–health nexus, contextual and conceptual systems maps were drawn out based on secondary qualitative data from 24 peer-reviewed journal articles selected from a search result of 394 publications. Even though the geography, environment, socio-political context, traditions, and cultural history were highly diverse, the overarching factors that determined people’s (im)mobility and health outcomes, in association with natural resource stress and violence, were very similar. These vulnerability pathways included gendered immobility, interpersonal conflict, and lack of social protection, which provide important lessons and offer tangible opportunities for policy interventions. The vulnerability pathways often eroded access to natural resources and positive (im)mobility and (mental) health outcomes, which ended up entrapping people in extended cycles of violence and exploitation—especially certain intersectional positions and disadvantaged groups (whether within a household, society, or country). Full article

The study on which the article is based investigates which learning strategies multilingual pupils use when using a multimedia and multilingual media offer in geography lessons and how these influence their subject-related learning success. By way of introduction, the potential of multilingualism for geography lessons is presented theoretically and with reference to neurobiology. A multimedia and multilingual learning platform was developed for the study and trialled in geography lessons. The pupils’ usage strategies were recorded using screen recordings and sound-thinking protocols and mapped in a differentiated way in a model. The most common usage strategies that can be observed include “reversion”, i.e., processing the same information medium first in one language and then again in another, the use of reading strategies, multilingual notetaking, the use of image and map information, bundling information and structured summarising. These utilisation strategies show a positive influence on learning outcomes. Full article

This study reconstructs the agricultural landscape of the southern coastal plain of late Ottoman and British Mandatory Palestine (today southwestern Israel) utilizing late 19th and early 20th century cartographic materials and aerial photographs. Immense human effort and ingenuity were required to maintain sustainable agricultural on the fringes of the desert. Given today’s increasingly severe climate crisis, the lessons drawn from these historical agricultural practices have particular resonance. The agricultural land use described in this work extended into the coastal dunes of the region where the shallow water table was exploited to create complex agricultural systems that enabled the growth of citrus trees, grapes, and other crops for export and trade. Aerial photos and maps reveal the critical aspects of this region’s neglected agricultural history. The stability and resilience of these systems, some of which are still in existence 76 years or more after they were abandoned, as seen in the survey conducted for this study, point to the importance of understanding and preserving this chapter of the region’s agricultural heritage. The unique varieties of fruit trees adapted to the local climate of the western Negev still have significant economic value and are threatened with extinction from rapid urban encroachment. The remnants of this tradition serve as historical testimony of a bygone agricultural era which was replaced by mechanized monoculture. The discussion centers on the ways n which the study of heritage agriculture in rapidly changing areas can contribute to the broader field of historical geography by reconstructing landscapes that preserve the knowledge and societal patterns of behavior of past communities for future generations. Full article

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant stay-at-home mandates, local governments in some cities in the United States implemented programs in response to the pandemic. This article focuses on Slow Streets, which were several programs implemented in eleven cities (Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit, Boston, and New York) in the United States. The programs were intended to keep people healthy by providing temporary public spaces on residential roads where residents were allowed to exercise and socialize. Some practitioners characterized the programs as tactical urbanism or tactical placemaking and as agile responses to the public health crisis. The programs deserve a critical reflection, considering their potential impact on community health and the limited amount of the literature on the program in terms of design justice, which is an approach to design that prioritizes marginalized communities and challenges their structural inequality. This reflective study attempts to fill that gap in the literature of architecture and urban design. This article aims to examine whether the Slow Streets programs promoted design justice. To address that aim, we propose a social justice framework to evaluate the program, because social justice is essential to design justice. Data from publicly available information online about the eleven cities’ Slow Streets programs, interviews, surveys, focus groups, and the interdisciplinary literature support the qualitative research. The study outcomes suggest that the Slow Streets program had limited success because their attention to the priorities of underserved populations was ineffective. We argue that while the programs provided a timely response to the pandemic, the programs did not adequately address the vulnerability of low-income communities of color due to the limited consideration of design justice. Building on the lessons from social justice and human geography, the article concludes with recommendations for future practices including place-cultivating and human geography-informed design to better serve vulnerable communities of color. Full article

Virtual learning environments (VLEs) in physical geography education offer significant potential to aid students in acquiring the essential skills for the environmental interpretation of glacial and periglacial environments for geoscience careers. Simulated real-world field experiences aim to help the student evaluate landscapes for natural hazards, assess their intensity, and translate and communicate this information to various stakeholders in human systems. The TREE-PG framework and VRUI model provide a philosophical and practical foundation for VLE architects, aiming to cultivate students’ knowledge, skills, and identity as geoscientists, specifically as physical geographers and geomorphologists. These frameworks emphasize the importance of translating scientific knowledge from physical features into engaging, accessible online lessons, exemplified by landscapes like those in Glacier National Park, Montana. Open-source software and open educational resources (OERs) can broaden access and incorporate diverse perspectives in these experiences, which are necessary to address the impacts of vulnerable communities to global deglaciation. Designing and creating virtual proxies of field-based education may help address issues associated with inclusion and belonging within geoscience disciplines to connect all students with dynamic physical environments beyond the classroom. Ethical AI approaches and discipline-specific repositories are needed to ensure high-quality, contextually accurate VLEs. AI’s tendency to produce output necessitates using domain-specific guardrails to maintain relevance and precision in virtual educational content. Full article

Cities worldwide are facing varying degrees of ongoing threats closely tied to climate change. Research is emerging that addresses climate risks as a pressing issue, especially for vulnerable cities in the Global South; however, there is a significant lack of systematic and application-oriented research on ecosystem-based adaptation to urban climate change. This study uses Shenyang in Northeast China as a case study, employing multisource data and integrated methods to examine and depict the dynamics of urban ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change amid rapid urbanization. The results indicate a decline in capacity for climate change adaptation during the study period. A framework for mainstreaming ecosystem-based adaptation is proposed, identifying specific strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation in urban policy and planning processes in Shenyang. It also has significance for other cities to draw lessons from. By linking urban ecosystem dynamics, the capacity for urban climate adaptation, and sustainable urban governance, this study bridges the gap between research and practice in urban climate change adaptation, and expands the contribution of geography-based interdisciplinary integration to urban resilience. More practically, it provides references for Shenyang in adapting to climate change and transitioning to sustainable development. Full article

In this study, a diary was developed and used by students to reflect on digital games in geography lessons. The students’ reflection results, through the use of the diary, were compared with reflections without instructional guidance. These results show a significant improvement in reflection through the use of the reflection diary compared to a previous study. Through the combination of lessons, play phases, and the reflection diary, a learning arrangement that enables in-depth reflections at different levels of reflection was created. The medium plays a decisive role by taking the pupils out of their role as players and enabling a critical distance to the game. With the help of the reflection diary, students should be able to better reflect on the game. The reflection diary is integrated into the lessons. It also shows that subject-specific lessons are indispensable for reflecting on the gaming experience in order to counteract subject-specific misconceptions. Full article

Climate change has increasing impacts of hydro-meteorological extremes on water resources. Projections indicate a similar trend and challenge in the effectiveness of conventional engineering solutions in climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies. Nature-based solutions (NbSs) have been promoted as viable approaches and measures that complement engineering solutions. While the effects of NbSs have been increasingly demonstrated, their broader implementation can be favoured by NbSs knowledge integration in higher education curricula. Knowledge on how the research practice is translated into the educational landscape is missing. This paper adopts the concept of knowledge translation and analyses the integration of NbSs in the study programs of higher education institutions in three European countries (Croatia, Czechia, and Slovenia). Specifically, it explores the extent, thematic areas, and curricular settings of NbSs related to water resources management in implemented curricula at public universities. The results show that NbSs are integrated in a limited number of courses within the relevant study programs (in the fields of, e.g., natural sciences, geography, and engineering and technology) and represent rather an extension of compulsory curricula. Bibliometric analysis revealed that most courses involving the NbSs approach still represent a personalized knowledge, i.e., developed by professors during their research activities. The barriers impairing a broader integration of NbSs in the studied programs are then discussed. Our results therefore indicate that NbSs do not represent a mainstream knowledge that would proliferate into higher education curricula through accreditations procedures, but that the knowledge that is mostly integrated through direct incremental implementation of NbSs in the individual compulsory lessons or facultative courses. We assert that without broader and systematic NbSs knowledge translation to study programs, the effectiveness of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies cannot be fully achieved. Full article

Achieving universal access to clean cooking requires a significant mobilization of capital to close the current funding gap of around US$7 bn per year. The clean cooking landscape has changed considerably with substantial innovation in terms of technology, business models, and services. The transition towards higher-tier, modern energy cooking (MEC) solutions provides key opportunities for innovative financing models to scale MEC globally. Transitions from cooking with polluting fuels to MEC have significant positive impacts on the environment, gender equality, and health. Impact Finance to monetize these co-benefits for MEC solutions is widely seen as an outstanding opportunity to channel funding into MEC transitions. However, except for climate funding, opportunities to channel finance for wider impact SDG benefits arising from MEC have proved challenging to realize in practice. This article explores in detail two new approaches which are taking advantage of features of digital technology to overcome some of these obstacles. It adds to the recent debate around climate finance for clean cooking and presents key learning lessons from developing and piloting the ‘Metered Methodology for Clean Cooking Devices’ as the current most accurate approach to estimate carbon savings for MEC and the ‘Clean Impact Bond (CIB)’ which aims at monetizing health and gender-co-benefits. The paper demonstrates how robust methodologies can help to accelerate funding for MEC and calls for joint approaches to standardize and streamline climate and outcome finance approaches to enhance their impact by making them more accessible for a wider range of MEC technologies, geographies, and projects. Full article

Texts represent the most frequently used medium in geography teaching, although they do not belong to leading subject-specific media. Despite their undisputed didactic importance, they have not yet been sufficiently researched. In this article, we consider the use of authentic and personal narratives in geography lessons. We first show their theoretical potential for realistic, multi-perspective and motivating teaching. Then, we present a school study in which the use of authentic, personal narratives was investigated in comparison to a factual text. The areas of investigation were the students’ understanding of the content of a geographical topic, their memory performance and their motivation to work. The results show that authentic, personal narratives are better suited than factual texts to convey a topic to pupils in a multi-perspective and differentiated way. They also confirm their potential to empathise better with other people and to understand their actions through changes in perspective. Regarding recall performance, however, the results show no difference between the two groups. Finally, the results of the school study are considered in the context of forming suggestions for the use of authentic, personal narratives in geography lessons. Full article