Fall

 

While You Were Out

We have had a great summer and start to fall at FGA!

Our team member, Amy Bridgewater, was able to sit down with the AP Human Geography Chief Reader, Don Zeigler.  He gave great insight on the AP test, as well as, his opinions on geography education.  

We found many opportunities for our educators!  There are also Edcamps coming up that we would love for you to be a part of!

Geography Awareness Week is rapidly approaching, and we are so excited!  The theme this year is food, and with the ongoing social media campaign, we are looking forward to seeing how many people can be reached this year regarding geography literacy in our communities and state!

A new resource is available called "Little Passports".  It helps encourage children to be involved in geography of the world.  Parents can sign up for monthly newsletters or for packages in the mail that include stickers, letters, souvenirs, photos, and more!  It's a great resource for families.  Thanks so much to John Foxen for the suggestion.

 

An Interview with Don Zeigler

Don Zeigler is the AP Human Geography Chief Reader and a professor of geography at Old Dominion University in Hampton Roads, Virginia, where he has taught since he graduated from Michigan State University in 1980.  He has had a passion for geography since he discovered it in 7th grade.  Don joined the National Council for Geographic Education and the Association of American Geographers when he was in high school.  His favorite aspects of geography are the cultural units which lead to an understanding of the landscape.  Don has a special Interest  in the geography of the Middle East and has made many trips there as a Fulbright-Hays Scholar and with help from other public and private sources.  The people, the culture and the landscape are of special interest to Don.  He doesn’t like taking only a problem-centric approach to geography.  The Middle East is shaped by different forces, but the people and the problems they face are fundamentally the same.

 

Q: You are the Chief Reader for the College Board’s AP Human Geography exam.  The Reading takes place in Cincinnati each June.  What does overseeing the “Reading” of over  139,000 AP Human Geography Exams entail?

 

A:   “As the AP Human Geography Chief Reader, I work throughout the year serving on the AP Human Geography Test Development Committee.  Members develop and improve upon multiple choice questions and free response questions.  There are two meetings a year in which members accept, reject or revise multiple choice and free response questions.”  Questions that endure this rigorous process are then field tested in select college classes.  If the questions succeed, then they are added to a large test bank.  Other duties of the Chief Reader include accepting, rejecting and recruiting of readers for the AP Reading.”

 

 Don helps develop rough drafts of the rubrics for FRQ’s before the reading.  At the reading he and question leaders compare the rubric with student responses and make modifications to rubrics before readers arrive in Cincinnati.  Don must also make sure that there are enough readers at the reading and recruits up until the last minute.  AP human geography has grown tremendously since its inaugural year in 2001.  If you have three years of experience and would like a substantial honorarium, professional development experience and a week of camaraderie with like-minded souls, please sign up to be a reader.  Don’s advice to AP Human Geography teachers is to “follow the course outline and not teach solely what is in the text book.”

 

Q: Geography has long been recognized as a “core academic subject” in federal education legislation, but here is no dedicated federal funding stream to advance geography education.  Florida has geography standards as part of the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards, but does not require a single k-12 course in geography.  What implications this has for our nation?

 A: “This generation of students don’t know as much about the world as a generation ago.  Americans have become a bunch of “scaredy cats” afraid to venture outside the US, frightened to do business with foreign countries and threatened by diversity.  History is important, but more important when you connect it with contemporary issues and current geography.  “It is absolutely necessary to have individual standalone classes in geography.  It just doesn’t work when you try to integrate geography into other classes.”

 

In conclusion, Don told me that in 2004, “the US Department of Labor identified geotechnology as one of the three most important emerging and evolving fields, along with nanotechnology and biotechnology.” (Nature, Vol. 727, p376)  As a result, in the decades ahead, our nation is looming towards a crisis in geographic literacy that is threatening our position of diplomatic leadership, global competitiveness, and our ability to meet the demand of the growing and vital field of geospatial technology.  Students need a foundation in geography.  Don stated that “students that were geoliterate would have fuller, more enriched lives in their community, and their travels.  Students would be less fearful of cultural differences and better equipped to deal with globalization.  Other places and countries deserve respect and students need to know something about them.”

 

Plastic: The Real Sea Monster

For years now, phrases like "reduce, reuse, recycle" have become major platforms in our society.  Land and water protection have been advocated for, and the problem of waste has been brought to the forefront.  In this new available DVD, Plastic: The Real Sea Monster shows just how dangerous our habits can be.  In this 53 minute presentation, the alarming results of the world's scientists are presented to audiences so that the phenomenon they discovered can be addressed.  This is an incredible opportunity for educators and advocates to purchase the film that will have people talking for years about what it means to truly protect our resources.

 

Film synopsis:

Plastic floats. The World’s biggest plastic dumps are at sea. Millions of tons enter the ocean every year, pouring out from rivers and shores, ships and platforms. The world’s scientists have studied the phenomenon with alarming results. Plastic contains synthetic hormones that are released when it breaks down into tiny particles through wind, waves and exposure to sun. Once in sea, plastic absorbs toxic substances known as POP’s (persistent organic pollutants). This process allows these toxins to accumulate in a million times higher than normal. What happens when fish and seabirds mistake the plastic for food? Scientists have found evidence that these toxins are entering the food chain, ultimately winding up in our bodies. Even worse, plastic does not biodegrade. It becomes trapped in massive maelstroms of garbage. Scientists have identified five of these so-called gyres. A few of them are larger than Spain and Portugal combined.

Many questions remain. Scientists have noticed that the amount of plastic in the gyres has remained constant for the past twenty years, leaving millions of tons unaccounted for. Where has the plastic gone? The world’s scientists are on the verge of solving a mystery that might uncover one of the biggest ecological disasters of our time.

 

To purchase this DVD, please visit this link.

 

Florida Geography Awareness Week

Geography Awareness Week is coming upon us quickly!

A few things to remember:

• Dates: November 16-22

• Main Site: www.GeoWeek.org 

• Theme: Food (Food Education resources here: http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/food-education/?ar_a=1)

• Reporting: Will be done via the AARF. Please stay tuned for more info.

 

Things to do:

• New GeoWeek Coordinator? Email geographyawarenessweek@gmail.com with their name and email address.

•  We're looking for bloggers! This year for Geography Awareness Week we would love to showcase some professional geographers. If you or someone you know would like to write a blog about geography (why you care about it, what you study, why it's important, etc.) in about 400-1,000 words, please email "The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home.  The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change the past...we cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one thing we have, and that is our attitude...I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of out Attitudes.".

 

Opportunties for Educators

Joseph Kerski is hosting a 5-week online course entitled " Teaching Geography in the 21st  Century. The following links will help you learn more about this opportunity!

 

Video: http://youtu.be/WmoCgGrTXE8   

 

Course description:

http://www.enetlearning.org/professional-development/geography-for-the-21st-century/ .

 

 

National Geographic Education will offer two FREE online courses for educators looking for content and resources on watersheds and water. Sign up for our courses to learn about environmental topics and explore strategies to implement environmental education in your classroom, as well as develop action plans for your teaching. These courses can be applied toward your professional development requirements.

 

FLOW Education - Sept. 17-Oct. 29 - for teachers of grades 4-9 to learn about watersheds and outdoor education, using the Chesapeake Bay watershed as an example.

 

Water: The Essential Resource - Oct. 15-Dec. 17 - for teachers of grades 4-8 to learn about ocean and freshwater topics and teaching strategies.

Click here to find out more about these courses! 

 

Edcamp Lake

 

Active, successful participants in this 21st century global society must be able to

• Develop proficiency and fluency with the tools of technology;

• Build intentional cross-cultural connections and relationships with others so to pose and solve problems collaboratively and strengthen independent thought;

• Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes;

• Manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information;

• Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multimedia texts;

• Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments.

-National Council of Teachers of English

 

Find out how to take develop these characteristics at edcamp lake!  Professional development for teachers, by teachers.

 

Click here to find the link to the flyer!

 

www.edcamplake.weebly.com

Twitter: @Edcamplake

Email: edcamplake@gmail.com

Phone: (352) 507-5484