Welcome to our GeoCircle for The Best Strategies for teaching Political Geography. We hope you will join us for a great chat on how to engage students and deliver content. Whether you are teaching on-level Geography in Middle School or High School or teaching AP Human Geography, this topic is always challenging. Come to gain new ideas for content and/or share your best strategies. Come ready to participate so we can all help one another. See you soon!
Jeanne Shin-Cooper is an AP Human Geography teacher at Buffalo Grove High School, located in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. Serving as an educational consultant and exam reader for the course, she has experience helping new and seasoned teachers across the country develop curriculum. Having traveled to over 25 countries, she has witnessed various geopolitical issues and border conflicts, including a visit to Panmunjom situated between North and South Korea. Her favorite lesson to teach in Unit 4 is Topic 4.4, Types of Political Boundaries.
Matt Poleski has been teaching for 15 years at his alma mater, including 13 years teaching AP Human Geography. He graduated with his teaching degree from the University of Nevada – Las Vegas (UNLV) and earned his master’s degree in GIS from Elmhurst College in Illinois. He has been an AP Reader for seven years and also taught as an adjunct professor at Elmhurst College for five years. He is passionate about incorporating technology into the classroom and creating opportunities for his students to “do” geography. He belongs to the Geographic Alliance in Nevada (GAIN), National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) and American Geographic Society (AGS) and served as one of the AGS Teacher Fellows in 2019 and 2024.
