In the Encoding Geography Researcher Practitioner Partnership, researchers and teachers work together to explore the benefits and opportunities related to the integration of computational thinking and computer science into geography instruction. The intersection of geography and computer science connects directly to important research topics and impactful careers in many fields. These fields are likely of high interest to students, even though they may associate the subject of geography with something other than their own futures. An updated approach to geography instruction can tap into student interests and aspirations and infuse energy into the learning of geographical concepts and the pursuit of geographic inquiry. This session shares lessons that teams created for a 9th grade course. These lessons can be adapted for use in middle or high school classes and serve as models for further lesson development and revision.
Secondary/High School | Computation | Analysis | Inquiry
Covetto
Kelly León is an Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay and a former geography teacher and curriculum specialist for the Sweetwater Union HS District in San Diego County. Kelly’s research interests include K12 geography education, teachers’ curriculum-making, and K12 ethnic studies.
Thomas Herman is a Research Fellow in the Department of Geography at San Diego State University where he is the Project Director for the Young People’s Environments, Society, and Space Research Center. He also contributes to teacher professional learning, the development of teaching and learning resources, and advocacy for geography education as Director of the California Geographic Alliance, a member of the California Environmental Literacy Initiative, and Chair of the NCSS Geography Community.
Atsushi Nara is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and the Associate Director of the Center for Human Dynamics in the Mobile Age at San Diego State University. He holds a PhD in geography from Arizona State University. His research interests include spatial data science, spatiotemporal data analysis and modeling, human dynamics and movement behaviors, complex adaptive systems, and geocomputation education.
Jessica Embury is a doctoral student in the Departments of Geography at San Diego State University and the University of California Santa Barbara, and a researcher at the Center for Human Dynamics in the Mobile Age. Embury’s research focuses on spatial modeling, spatiotemporal data analysis, and the integration of big geospatial data into geographic applications. Embury has experience conducting geographic research and producing spatial models related to social equity issues such as food access, pollution burden, and disease vulnerability.
Coline Dony is Senior Grants and Project Manager at the American Association of Geographers. She manages sponsored partnerships that support AAG’s mission. To support the sustainability and broadening of the geography discipline, Coline’s research focused on creating educational pathways between middle school and college to be exposed to a geography curriculum that is better aligned with the work of geographers today, and that incorporates more recent concepts such as geocomputational thinking.
