PRESENTER:  SAMANTHA SERRANO | STRAND: HIGHSCHOOL/SECONDARY EDUCATON | ROOM: LEXINGTON A

With the evolving capabilities of OpenAi and the likes of ChatGPT, classrooms are once again tested with the newest technology disruptors. Some will fight it, some will embrace it, and others will ignore it. Regardless, it is here to stay. This session will focus on defining Ai and identifying the main players that are showing up in our classrooms, namely, ChatGPT. We will explore the challenges and benefits of embracing Ai bots in the geography classroom, and reflect on ways that this evolving technology pivots our curriculum and instruction. Come ready with your questions, concerns, and current best practices to share. Bring a laptop and create a ChatGPT account prior to the meeting if you want to explore during the session.

PRESENTER: LISA DeCHANO-COOK & CINDY BLOOM | STRAND: MIDDLE SCHOOL/JUNIOR HIGH | ROOM: LEXINGTON B

Discover how to enhance students’ map reading skills. Participants will work through a set of activities using Playdoh and Legos© that will excite students and will be ready for classroom use. Participants will have access to lesson plans for classroom use.

PRESENTER: CELESTE REYNOLDS | STRAND: APHG | ROOM: RICHLAND A

Introducing students to OpenStreetMap provides many benefits such as understanding how data is collected today to make maps, develop spatial relationships at various levels of scale, comprehend the importance of reliable data and ethical use of geographic data, and how their map contributions make an a powerful impact for local and global communities. OSMTeenMaptivists was created by high school students to inspire students everywhere to start mapping to help build better communities through providing missing map data. Come learn how you can help your students get involved in participatory mapping through OSMTeenMaptivists. This is a great opportunity for teachers to send students to monthly MapAlongs and learn how to map as well as learn how OSM is used in the professional career. Students can help you build a community of mappers that will enhance your APHG classroom and begin to meet OSM professionals as well as skills that could help them earn internships in college. One of your students can spark a mapping movement in your community and learn how they can be civically engaged just through mapping. Come learn how to get your students involved in the Mapping Revolution,showing students how to make a better world through mapping!

PRESENTER: INJEONG JO & BOB BEDNARZ | STRAND: ALL GRADE LEVELS | ROOM: RICHLAND B

The editors of the three geography education journals – the Geography Teacher (Rebecca Theobald), the Journal of Geography (Injeong Jo), and the Journal of Geography in Higher Education (Bob Bednarz) – invite you to learn about the publication process for the journals and how you can become a successful author. Take half an hour to learn about submitting manuscripts, completing the publishing process, and supporting the discipline as a reviewer. Attendees will be able to ask questions and solicit publication advice for the rest of the session.

PRESENTERS: DENISE STEWARDSON | STRAND: MIDDLE SCHOOL/JUNIOR HIGH | ROOM: RICHLAND C

Within the past two centuries, as global population has grown from one to eight billion, societies have left their indelible marks on the planet’s landscape. Our agricultural footprint, industrial footprint and growing urbanization and deforestation have changed ecosystems and the atmosphere. As our global family continues to grow and gain affluence, what will be the future for this human-made landscape?

This inquiry-based session addresses these topics and also provides teachers with creative ways to engage students with a variety of learning styles. Participants will engage in a series of hands-on activities including a large-group simulation on world population history, a 3-D demonstration of global land use, a small group concept mapping activity and the sharing of digital classroom tools that students can use in or outside of the classroom. Presented activities build skills in critical thinking, data analysis and collaborative problem solving. Participants will receive lesson plans and background readings in an electronic format, matched to state standards, as well as to the AP Human Geography Framework.

PRESENTER: THOMAS MAVOR & AMY PEAVEY | STRAND: HIGH SCHOOL | ROOM: BALLROOM A

Brainstorm and plan with geography, anchor texts, and ELA skills to create interdisciplinary lessons that bolster literacy, increase academic vocabulary, explore local issues, and build questioning and presentation skills.

PRESENTER: DEBRA TROXELL | STRAND: SECONDARY/HIGH SCHOOL | ROOM: LEXINGTON A

The Armenian Genocide which occurred in the Ottoman Empire during WWI is call “the Forgotten Genocide” in part because Turkiye continues to deny the 1.5 million deaths was a genocide. Learn about the genocide, the impact of geography on the Armenians, the current tensions due to Turkiye’s denial, and receive teaching materials.

PRESENTER: REBEKAH DRISCOLL | STRAND: MIDDLE SCHOOL/JUNIOR HIGH | ROOM: LEXINGTON B

As a South Carolina 7th grade Geography teacher, I have tried both regional and thematic units. The years we went regional, my team got bogged down with content rather than concept. We also faced time constraints, having to use the first few months teaching base level Geography skills and foundational information; our students had no previous experience in Geography. After two years of feeling like we were a content and memorization heavy class where our students were bored, we decided to switch to thematic units. Our first challenge was creating the curriculum and shifting our own mindset to believing it worked. After two years of teaching regional, two years of teaching thematically, writing both thematic and regional units for the SCDoE, and centering my dissertation on the two methods, I would like to share a model for thematically based curriculum and also describe the role geo-inquiry plays in both regional and thematic.

This is not an attempt to claim thematic is better than regional at the middle level, it is an attempt to give teachers a starting place if they are interested in switching to thematic units/curriculum.

PRESENTER: PETER AMOSUN| STRAND: ALL GRADE LEVELS | ROOM: RICHLAND A 

Geography Curriculum (GC) at the Senior Secondary
School (SSS) aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills required to interact with their physical environments. However, evidence has shown that this objective is hardly met owing to poor implementation of the curriculum. Previous studies have concentrated more on interventions to improve students’ learning outcomes in geography than on evaluation of the implementation of its curriculum. Therefore, this study was carried out to evaluate the implementation of GC in SSS in southwestern Nigeria.

The study was premised on the General Systems Theory and the Context, Input, Process, Product (CIPP) Model. The mixed methods design was adopted. The multi-stage sampling technique was deployed. Some of the instruments used were; Students’ Perception of Geography Curriculum Questionnaire (r=0.79); Geography Achievement Test (SSS1, r=0.91; SSS2, r=0.93 Most of the schools (84.6%) had insufficient time to implement the GC. Many of the teachers (67.1%) deployed lecture method, while 84.1% considered non-availability of materials, 89.4% lacked opportunity for professional development and 78.7% had insufficient allocated time, as major problems inhibiting implementation of the GC. Fifty-
two percent of the students had poor achievement. Students’ perception of GC relatively contributed significantly to students’ achievement (b=0.08; t= 4.02). Students had a good perception of the GC (2.82), threshold = 2.50. The pedagogical practices were good (3.40), threshold =3.00, but the material resources were not
available (0.83) threshold= 1.00. The perception of the implementation of the Geography Curriculum in southwestern Nigeria was poor. Sufficient time should be allocated to teaching and learning of geography in schools

PRESENTER: JOSEPH KERSKI | STRAND: ALL GRADE LEVELS | ROOM: RICHLAND B

Scale is an important topic not only in geography, but in other disciplines. Scale is a cross-cutting theme that enables better understanding of change across space and across time, and the phenomena that cause those changes. This workshop features 4 different ways to teach about map scale. Each way uses easy-to-use tools and maps in ArcGIS Online, requires no sign-in, and yet each is powerful in teaching this concept in hands-on mode!

PRESENTER: HEATHER MOLL & GAIL EKISS | STRAND: AEARLY CHILDHOOD/ELEMENTARY | ROOM: RICHLAND C

Join the Arizona Geographic Alliance while we take an adventure through different activities offered in our K-7 “Adventures in Geography” activity books. These booklets were designed to supplement learning of geography concepts and allow teachers and students to unplug while learning. Copies will be provided (while supplies last) and online PDF copies are available.

PRESENTER: PAUL MCDANIEL & ULRIKE INGRAM| STRAND: HIGHER EDUCATION | ROOM: CONGAREE A/B

Amid the shift to virtual teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, educators across disciplines were faced with developing new teaching strategies for active learning and significant learning experiences. This presentation discusses findings from a case study of integrating ArcGIS Online for assignments and semester projects in three systematic geography courses—health, population, and urban geography—at a large, public, comprehensive university. The study assesses the process of incorporating use of this technology into these upper-division undergraduate courses, with a mix of both geography and non-geography majors, and student perspectives on their learning of and engagement with this technology. With broader applications to different course, discipline, and education contexts, findings suggest increased student success/engagement, enhanced understanding of course topics and their practical applications, and an appreciation for the opportunity to learn within and work with geospatial technology.

PRESENTER: LAURA KMETZ| STRAND: MIDDLE SCHOOL/JUNIOR HIGH | ROOM: BALLROOM A

The National Geographic Society describe the Anthropocene Epoch as an “unofficial unit of geologic time, used to describe the most recent period in Earth’s history when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems.” In fact, as our species’ population has grown from barely a billion to over 8 billion since the Industrial Revolution, human settlements and
natural resource use have changed the planet’s physical geography and ecosystems. Teaching about the Anthropocene integrates life sciences with world history and geography, making for interdisciplinary lessons rich in content, real-world data and problem-solving challenges.

In this hands-on session, participant will discover ways to
create and implement interdisciplinary, inquiry-based lesson
plans around human geography/human ecology themes that
can be team-taught with science educators to provide social sciences, while applying learning to authentic problems. Activity formats include data analysis and interpretation, modeling and group problem-solving. The presenter will also share digital tools to enhance the lessons. Participants will receive lesson plans and background
readings matched to state standards for several disciplines.
multiple perspectives on our changing planet. The presented
activities build knowledge and skills in life and

PRESENTERS: TYLER MCCABE & EMILY BOLLINGER | STRAND: SECONDARY/HIGH SCHOOL | ROOM: LEXINGTON A

Provide your students with a deep dive on the complexities of immigration and displacement of peoples while building empathy and compassion for those who are often marginalized in society. Through an interdisciplinary unit, this presentation will provide a detailed plan with accessible and ready-to-use lessons that incorporate the novels “Everything Sad is Untrue” by Daniel Nayeri and “The Map of Salt and Stars” by Zeyn Joukhadar alongside the cultural and historical context of the issues facing Iranian and Syrian refugees.

PRESENTERS: SANDRA MAKIELSKI & DEB FREITAG | STRAND: MIDDLE SCHOOL/JUNIOR HIGH | ROOM: LEXINGTON B

Were your students obsessed with the World Cup? Do you find teaching about the Middle East to young people challenging? This workshop will be divided into three segments designed to build confidence when teaching about the Middle East. The first part is crafted to provide basic content material to build foundational knowledge about the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. Participants will examine key vocabulary, explore major themes, and break down stereotypes/misconceptions. The second part will be a fast-paced, round robin of lesson plans, resources, and hands-on activities geared towards the middle level, but easily adapted to higher grades. Educators will leave with ready-made lessons and a list of vetted resources. The third portion of the workshop offers a creative way to “bring your students with you” when you travel. Learn how two teachers “included” their students on a recent trip to Qatar and the positive impact the experience had on their students.

PRESENTER: FRANCES COFFEY | STRAND: APGH | ROOM: RICHLAND A

The preamble of the Constitution of Kenya states that Kenyans are “respectful of the environment, which is our heritage, and determined to sustain it for the benefit of future generations.” Tanzania’s Constitution of 1977 similarly states that “the use of national resources places emphasis on the development of the people.” This session examines how AP Human Geography students can examine the progress which Kenya and Tanzania are making in achieving the UN SDGs. This inquiry-based lesson showcases 5E strategies that include analysis of primary and secondary sources and student generated proposals for funding various development projects focusing on SDGs 4 (Quality Education), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and 15 (Life on Land). This session will highlight ways in which educators can positively teach about a region often neglected and/or portrayed negatively in curricula. This lesson is the product of a 2023 East Africa Summer Institute for Educators, which was funded by the Fulbright Hays grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

PRESENTER: MICHAEL MEWBORNE & JEFF EARGLE  | STRAND: ALL GRADE LEVELS | ROOM: RICHLAND B

We hold that studying the Holocaust spatially using geographical skills moves students away from the potential limits of studying the Holocaust temporally using only historical skills. This means that the distance between past and present, although not ignored, is narrowed through inquiry into spatial patterns and characteristics, providing the potential to bring greater focus on present-day antisemitism, authoritarianism, and fascism. In contemplating the use of the Holocaust as a historical example in the geography curriculum, we created a series of questions focused to determine is the historical example tests geography as a discipline, addresses current problems, and support student inquiry. Additionally, we consider potential challenges that geography teachers may have in teaching the geography of the Holocaust and call upon professional organizations to provide stronger support for teachers around Holocaust geography.

PRESENTERS: KAREN GUERRERO, DIANNE MCKEE & ELIZABETH FUIAVA  | STRAND: ALL GRADE LEVELS | ROOM: RICHLAND C

Explore GeoCivics lessons developed by K12 teachers following a place-based experience in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

Participants learned from experts in the field, leaders and historians who shared their stories, government agencies, other teachers, and by visiting historic sites. Participants came from nine different states and five territories. As we explored Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, they participated, collaborated, and each created three lessons based on their experiences. These lessons provide connections to new knowledge they can bring back to their classroom and provide support for all students, including linguistically diverse students. GeoCivics is funded by the US Department of Education and operates through the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University.

PRESENTER: JOEL HELMER & BRYNNA BRUXELLAS | STRAND: ALL GRADE LEVELS | ROOM: CONGAREE A/B

Thinking about using drones in your classroom? Are you already using drones, but want to learn more? Want to see some cool drone imagery from Peru? Discover how Concordia University, Nebraska (CUNE) students learn how to operate, collect geospatial data, and conduct research (Including in Peru!) with small unmanned aerial systems, or drones. We began integrating drones into geography courses in 2015, eventually creating a stand-alone, hands- on course dedicated to this emerging geospatial technology.

This session focuses on sharing practical lessons we’ve learned, including selecting drone models, instructional costs, legal and safety issues, supportive software, and the specific assignments students complete. Brynna Bruxellas, a recent CUNE geography/geospatial technology graduate, and current graduate student at North Carolina State University, shares her drone imagery and videos collected during a May 2023 geography study tour to Peru, a trip partially funded by a CUNE Undergraduate Research Grant. Brynna explains how flying drones assisted in completing a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates program while also facilitating her current graduate work in Crop Science.

PRESENTER: ANNIE EVANS & LYNN BROWN | ALL GRADE LEVELS | ROOM: BALLROOM A

Museums, universities, EduOrgs and libraries serve as networks of support for K12 history and geography teachers and students. How might we build GeoNetworks between them? A model convening will demonstrate the ease and need for frequent collaboration.

PRESENTERS: JEANNINE KUROPATKIN & FRANCES COFFEY | STRAND: SECONDARY/HIGH SCHOOL | ROOM: LEXINGTON A

The forced migration of the Long Walk (Hwééldi) and internment in Bosque Redondo is a critical event that has shaped the history and cultural identity of the Navajo (Diné) people of the Southwest. This inquiry-based lesson showcases 5E strategies that include: 1) an analysis of a variety of primary and secondary sources, including multimedia and maps, to explain migration routes and connections to traditional sacred places of the Navajo, 2) an examination of articles from the Navajo Treaty of 1868 to evaluate how it impacted tribal sovereignty, and 3) an opportunity for student choice to write different types of poems from the point of view of the Navajo Treaty of 1868. This culturally responsive lesson appeals to educators of Geography or US History, as well as AP Human Geography, serving as a case study for Population, Migration and Political Geography. This lesson is the product of the 2022 Summer Academy field study of The GeoCivics Project: “Westward Expansion Through the Lens of Indigenous Communities.”

The GeoCivics Project is funded by the US Department of Education and operates through the ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College.

PANELISTS: JODY SMOTHERS MARCELLO & LARIANNE COLLINS | STRANDS: APHG | ROOM: LEXINGTON B

Sustainability and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) permeate the AP Human Geography (APHG) course. Chart the connection among sustainability, the SDGs, and APHG. Examine general ways sustainability connects to APHG and geography courses as well as direct correlations between APHG and the SDGs. Analyze lessons designed to highlight teaching the SDGs as well as sustainability topics within APHG throughout the course as well as for exam review. Explore corresponding assessments tied to the APHG course skills. Briefly evaluate ways in which shared resources can also be used at the university level in introductory geography and sustainability courses. Receive handouts and access to instructional ready digital materials. Walk away with multiple tools for enhancing the teaching of one of the principal and crucial concepts of present day geography.

PRESENTERS: DEREK ALDERMAN, GEORGE TOWERS &  GREGG SUZANNE FERGUSON | STRAND: SECONDARY/HIGH SCHOOL | ROOM: RICHLAND A

Place names or toponymies have long held an important place in the geography classroom, but they are largely treated as memorized locational markers or passive artifacts of the past. Ongoing struggles over removing place names that valorize oppressive historical figures and causes illustrate the need for a different pedagogical approach.

This session introduces participants to field of critical toponymic studies, which has gained popularity over the past few decades and examines place names as highly charged sites of identity, memory and rights important to reinforcing or challenging the legacies of racism, settler colonialism, and patriarchy. Presenters provide foundational concepts, geospatial methods, and instructional strategies to help students make critical sense of why current place name struggles matter. 

Discussion focuses on the wider discriminatory “namescapes” that form around traditional toponymies, why many marginalized groups see a connection between place names, well-being, and social justice, and how to apply historical responsibility, geographical ethics, and civic imagination to plan inclusive landscapes. Presentation is part of I-NAME Initiative (Interventions in Naming American and Mobilizing Equality), which creates workspaces to generate intellectual, policy, and educational innovations that can advance public debate and decisions about place name inequalities.

PRESENTERS: JAYSON EVANIUCK | STRAND: ALL GRADE LEVELS | ROOM: RICHLAND B

This session explores Poetical Geography as a springboard for recapturing place with poetry. Poetry will be utilized to study the poetic power of place with geographic poetry resources provided.

In 1848, George Van Waters published Poetical Geography, a textbook in verse to facilitate rote learning of geography.

Columbia stands upon the Congaree; And Georgetown dwells upon the Great Pedee, As Charleston lives just seven miles from the sea. Hamburg, by the Savannah, keeps her station, Just at the head of steamboat navigation

While this pedagogical approach to learning geography is outdated, the aesthetic power of verse and poetry in learning geography persists. Poetry is an effective and affective form for capturing NGSS’s essential element of Places and Regions. The element is embedded with terms like meaning, character, pride, significance, experience, and perceptions. Terminology indispensable for denoting the
concept of place, yet challenging to teach.

Consider how Carol Aronoff captures perhaps an unfamiliar place:
The smell of pinon, pungent as chile, follows me down Old Santa Fe Trail. Sand blows across the road, settling in my hair like stardust. Sage and chamisa wave at coyote fences, colored by hollyhocks, lavender. Behind them, cottonwoods and the soft curved shoulder
of adobe wall.

PRESENTER:  KAREN GUERRERO, DIANNE MCKEE & ELIZABETH FUIAVA  | STRAND: ALL GRADE LEVELS | ROOM: RICHLAND C

Through hands-on activities, teacher-created lessons, discussions, and small group collaborations, participants will learn how to gamify geography and history content!  Participants will learn tips and strategies for making lessons exciting and effective while making content more accessible to English learners. GeoCivics is funded by the US Department of Education and operates through the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University.

PRESENTERS: SARAH BEDNARZ & ROBERT BEDNARZ | STRAND: ALL GRADE LEVELS | ROOM: CONGAREE A/B

How well do geography journals reflect the dramatic and most meaningful events of the past? This is the question centering research on the content and nature of the Journal of Geography in two key time periods: 1930-1945 and 1960-1975. Did the Journal feature research and teaching materials relevant to the changed economic circumstances of the 1930s and global conflicts of the 1940s? Were the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and Civil Rights core to articles of the 1960s and early 1970s? Is there “fashion” in the nature of geography
education research and publication?

PRESENTERS: JENNIFER GARNER & BRITTANY POPE-THOMASON | STRAND: SECONDARY/HIGH SCHOOL | ROOM: BALLROOM A

In this session, we will share how we collaborate to teach AP Human Geography and 9th grade literature, providing students with a truly cross curricular experience. We will address how we meet the standards of both courses, infuse literature into human geography and develop geographic and literacy skills while developing high student interest in both geography and literacy.Participants will engage in interactive, cross curricular activities the presenters have used successfully in their own classrooms.Participants will leave with resources, rubrics, and examples to replicate and/or adapt for their own classroom.

PRESENTER: SEAN CORRIGAN |  STRAND: HIGH SCHOOL | ROOM: LEXINGTON A

Investigate how Human Rights Education (HRE) can help
teachers frame and globalize issues of social justice. Examples provided demonstrate how to approach LGBT history, anti-Blackness, and Indigenous resistance to colonialism by using a human rights lens to highlight international and cross-cultural connections amongst these subjects.

This interactive session will begin with a discussion of human rights issues commonly addressed in geography and/or social studies classrooms. Following this think-pair-share activity, I will provide participants with a brief history of human rights concepts and outline a HRE framework. This portion of the session will include an overview of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Each of the aforementioned examples connects topics and events in the United States with similar matters abroad. I will then guide participants through the process of using the previously outlined HRE framework to analyze these events. As a culminating task, participants will work in small groups to make their own global connections amongst the human rights issues offered in the opening activity.

PRESENTER: JACKIE MCCANN & LARIANNE COLLINS | STRAND: ALL GRADE LEVELS | ROOM: RICHLAND B

Join us for an immersive session that delves into the unique GeoCamp experience in the Amazon. Learn from participants who have traversed the rainforest, as they showcase innovative methods to translate their experiences into engaging lessons for students of all ages, from elementary to college. Learn how to inspire curiosity, environmental awareness, and global understanding in your classroom through real-world exploration and adventure. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect learning and nature in a way that resonates with students at all levels.

PRESENTER: STEPHEN CORSINI | STRAND: EARLY CHILDHOOD/ELEMENTARY | ROOM: RICHLAND C

Come explore a birds eye view of your perfect community while experiencing an adaptable demonstration lesson to help students explore geographic concepts and inquiry and engage in real problem solving opportunities. Participants will experience portions of the lesson and leave empowered to adapt to individual classroom and curricular needs. While constructed to enhance understanding of rural, suburban and urban, this lesson is easily adaptable to a variety of social studies courses.

PRESENTERS: LISA TABOR | STRAND: HIGHER EDUCATION | ROOM: CONGAREE A/B

We completed a systematic literature review on teaching World Geography. The review spans 40 years of literature, from 1982-2022, focusing on USA publications. Change over time of this body of knowledge is analyzed for best pedagogical practices, suggested content and skills, and teaching tools. Disciplinary departments of researchers and significant movements in geographic education and national public education are compared to dates of publications for
further insight. A discussion of progress in geography education concludes.

PRESENTER: SOPHIA KREUTZ | STRAND: ALL GRADE LEVELS | ROOM: BALLROOM A

Throughout the COVID 19 pandemic, many schools invested heavily in virtual learning technology (projectors, Smartboards, tablets, laptops, etc.) and educator training around the use of video conferencing tools. Now, after adapting to virtual spaces, schools are grappling with how to return to “normal” educational best practices, while retaining the best of virtual learning. As I will demonstrate in this session, virtual exchange represents the best of virtual learning, especially when it comes to making geography, geographic literary and an evolving sense of place highly personal for K-12 students. How can your students travel the world, experience global cultures and expand their mental maps without leaving their classroom? Virtual exchange! These types of bespoke programs are interactive, flexible and responsive to student needs and interests. See how technology breaks down barriers to global engagement while inspiring the next generation of global citizens to be curious about the broader world and their place in it.