Geographic information provides context for understanding spatial relationships and human–environment interaction.
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The goals and objectives of this module are to:
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ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
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WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY?
When you think of geography do you think about memorizing capitals, rivers, mountains, and states or coloring maps? Sadly, this is how geography is taught too often in K12 schools. In reality, geography is one of the most high-tech scientific disciplines in the science community. Geography is the scientific study of the earth and is one of the original disciplines along with philosophy in trying to understand the world humans live in.
When you think of geography do you think about memorizing capitals, rivers, mountains, and states or coloring maps? Sadly, this is how geography is taught too often in K12 schools. In reality, geography is one of the most high-tech scientific disciplines in the science community. Geography is the scientific study of the earth and is one of the original disciplines along with philosophy in trying to understand the world humans live in.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PHYSICAL AND HUMAN GEOGRAPHY?
The geographic discipline has two sub-categories, PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY and CULTURAL (HUMAN) GEOGRAPHY, which allows geographers the scientific credibility to look at cultural issues of economics, demographics, culture, language, religion, or urban planning. It also allows geographers to focus on climate, climate change, biogeography, geomorphology, or environmental issues of pollution, desertification, deforestation, or species extinction. This unique ability also allows geographic scientists to study how the cultural environment influences the physical environment and vice versa. So geography is a physical science and social science, but also has the academic credibility to study the interaction between the two. |
KEY CONCEPTS
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WHAT ARE GEOGRAPHIC QUESTIONS?
Geographic inquiry involves the ability and willingness to ask and answer questions about geospatial phenomena. The key geographic questions ask Where is it located? Why is it there? What is the significance of the location? As students pose additional questions, they seek responses that help to organize spatial understandings: What is this place like? With what is it associated? What are the consequences of its location and associations? As geospatial technologies advance, students will still need to be able to ask these basic questions to select and apply the appropriate technology to conduct geographical research, thereby gaining geospatial understanding. (SOURCE: National Geographic) These questions help us examine the world using a SPATIAL PERSPECTIVE. |
KEY CONCEPT
SPATIAL PERSPECTIVE: Geographers concentrate on the "where" and by doing this they may be able to gain a better understanding of what is being studied than if the "where" were ignored. This is the "Spatial Perspective" that is peculiar to the study of geography.
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WHERE DO GEOGRAPHERS GET THEIR INFORMATION?
Geographers gather their data and get their ideas from many different places. FIELDWORK is often how geographers obtain their data. Field-based skills:
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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A FIELD OF INQUIRY?
Geography, as a field of inquiry, looks at the world from a spatial perspective. Geographic information provides context for understanding spatial relationships and human-environment interaction.
All societies practice geography whether they have a written language or not. For students beginning to study geography, it is important to understand that geography is essentially a survival skill and that everyone in the world has a personal geography. Every individual that moves around stores information about the nature of the world. It is important that students understand the link between an individual's geography and academic geography. The nature and quintessential contribution of geography to their education is to give them a global perspective and the ability to use geographic concepts on different scales, thus expanding their personal geographies to the entire globe. GEOGRAPHERS ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WORLD AND USE THE INQUIRY PROCESS TO DISCOVER THE ANSWERS. (SOURCE: AP Central)
Geography, as a field of inquiry, looks at the world from a spatial perspective. Geographic information provides context for understanding spatial relationships and human-environment interaction.
All societies practice geography whether they have a written language or not. For students beginning to study geography, it is important to understand that geography is essentially a survival skill and that everyone in the world has a personal geography. Every individual that moves around stores information about the nature of the world. It is important that students understand the link between an individual's geography and academic geography. The nature and quintessential contribution of geography to their education is to give them a global perspective and the ability to use geographic concepts on different scales, thus expanding their personal geographies to the entire globe. GEOGRAPHERS ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WORLD AND USE THE INQUIRY PROCESS TO DISCOVER THE ANSWERS. (SOURCE: AP Central)
THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS OF GEOGRAPHY
Geography is considered a science and thus also uses the scientific method for data collection, analysis, and interpretation. There is no true definition of the scientific method because it varies so much between scientific disciplines. There are various methods to acquire scientific knowledge from the physical sciences, biological sciences, social sciences, and everything in between. A simplified version of what most scientific disciplines follow are:
Geography is considered a science and thus also uses the scientific method for data collection, analysis, and interpretation. There is no true definition of the scientific method because it varies so much between scientific disciplines. There are various methods to acquire scientific knowledge from the physical sciences, biological sciences, social sciences, and everything in between. A simplified version of what most scientific disciplines follow are:
- Observe a particular feature, phenomenon, or event in the world that stimulates a series of questions and thought process.
- Develop an educated thought that tries to answer the questions posed, called a hypothesis.
- Design an experiment or way to "test" your hypothesis.
- Implement the experiment and observe the results using unbiased data and measurement techniques.
- Propose a solution, answer, or rule that explains the hypothesis and experiment.
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