By immersing students in scenarios or problems reflective of real world scenarios, educators can promote deeper geographic understanding, independent decision-making skills, and the ability to transfer powerful geography knowledge to novel situations. Introducing Geo-Strat: A thrilling geo-political game that supports geography education through scenario-based and problem-based learning (S/PBL) adventures! Geo-Strat is an online gameplay app designed to emphasize and make use of geography’s powerful disciplinary knowledge. Initially a research tool for finding effective means in promoting Geo-Capabilities, 75 high school students readily volunteered to play Geo-Strat throughout a semester and participate in a mixed methods study. Results showed students who connected geographic content knowledge to their cooperation in S/PBL gameplay expressed increased awareness of global citizenship, problem-solving skills, and confidence in applying geographic knowledge and perspectives.
All Grade Levels | Gameplay | Geo-Capabilities | Scenario/Problem-Based Learning | Curriculum and Instruction
Joshua Tree
Hello! I’m Dr. Penir, a geography and teacher educator out of California. I have a passion for teaching the power of geography and building geographic thinkers. With over 15 years of teaching geography in high school and at California State University, Fresno, I am convinced geography is essential to our curriculum and have dedicated my studies to exploring ways to understand and teach geography’s use and purpose. Through my research in geography education, which received the NCGE’s 2023 Dissertation Award! Yay!, I’ve had the opportunity to practice and build varying approaches which focus on promoting geo-capabilities and global citizens. I am grateful to the NCGE for providing opportunities for educators to share our ideas and learn new strategies!
