The Geography of Despair (or All These Rubber Bullets)
Aretina R. Hamilton This article was originally published on Medium. Follow Dr. Hamilton on Twitter at As a scholar, I entered the world of academia as a planner. I examined urban planning and the devolution of American cities — and then I discovered Geography. The original scene of the crime. This original technology was used…
The “Nation’s Report Card” on Geography Reveals a World of Opportunities
Periodically since 1994, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has released its “report card” on geography education in America, providing a snapshot of student achievement. The most recent assessment was conducted in 2018 with a nationally representative sample of nearly 13,000 8th grade students. NAEP assesses geography achievement in three content domains: Space and…
2018 NAEP Geography Report Card Offers Crucial Insight into Geographic Literacy
April 23, 2020 marks the date for The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB)’s release of the 2018 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Geography Report Card, along with the nation’s 2018 assessments of History and Civics education. This year’s Geography Report Card is particularly important, as the NAEP is not due to assess geography again…
AAG’s Encoding Geography Initiative Sees Successes in First Year
Launched by AAG Staff Member Coline Dony in 2018, the Encoding Geography initiative seeks to build capacity for all - for computational thinking (CT) in geography education at all levels to further strengthen our discipline. Throughout the initiative’s first year, a variety of activities and connections were established and the AAG was able to secure…
Teaching Modern GIS
As educators, we are always faced with challenges on how we structure our curriculum activities to ensure that we are in line with modern industry practices. This is easier said than done—for one, there is likely no consensus on what a "modern geographic information system (GIS)" means; and two, it takes a tremendous amount of…
Nora Newcombe and David Lambert to Keynote Geography Education Research Track at 2018 AAG Annual Meeting
The National Center for Research in Geography Education (NCRGE) is pleased to announce keynotes by Nora Newcombe and David Lambert for a special track of geography education sessions during the 2018 AAG Annual Meeting in New Orleans. The keynotes by Professors Newcombe and Lambert are respectively scheduled for 1:20 – 3:00 PM and 3:20 –…
Nominations Sought for the ‘Journal of Geography in Higher Education’ Prize for Promoting Excellence in Teaching and Learning
Since 2001 the Journal of Geography in Higher Education (JGHE) has presented an award to the author(s) of the paper published in the previous three years on the subject of teaching and learning geography in higher education judged most outstanding. The purpose of the award is to promote excellence in the field of geographic education…
Geography Is Still an Important Part of K-12 Education Bill
As you are likely aware, Congress has been working throughout 2015 to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA; currently known as No Child Left Behind) – the primary federal law dealing with K-12 education policy. We have been monitoring the process throughout the year and have engaged with Congressional leaders to stress the…
GENIP Calls for Proposals to Research Status of K-12 Geography Education
Geography Education National Implementation Project Request for Proposals Status of K-12 Geography Education Research Project The Geography Education National Implementation Project (GENIP) Coordinating Committee seeks proposals from non-profits, educational institutions, or individuals to conduct guided research on the status of K-12 geography education in the US and report findings to the committee. GENIP is offering…
Senate ESEA Reauthorization Bill Includes Geography Grant Program
The Every Child Achieves Act (ECAA), the given name of the Senate’s legislation reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) – which is currently known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) – includes a program that awards competitive grants “to promote innovative history, civic, and geography instruction, learning strategies, and professional development activities and…
Reauthorization of ESEA (No Child Left Behind) Heating Up
A draft reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which is currently known as No Child Left Behind, has been released by Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), the new Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. By taking this step so early in the newly-convened 114th Congress, Alexander is signaling…
AAG’s GeoCapabilities Project Researching Purposes, Values of Geography in Schools
The AAG’s Michael Solem (pictured center) recently visited a class of pre-service geography teachers at Beijing Normal University. Dr. Solem taught a short course based on the AAG’s GeoCapabilities initiative. How does geography education contribute to human potential and wellbeing? How do different national curriculums express the purposes and values of geography? The AAG’s GeoCapabilities…