AAG Takes Part in National Science Foundation Project to Strengthen Introductory Geography

The American Association of Geographers (AAG) will facilitate a new two-year project aimed at strengthening teaching and student engagement in introductory geography courses.

“Beyond the Survey: Sparking Innovation in Introductory Geography Courses,” is the project of Dr. Tamar Rothenberg, a geography professor in BCC’s Department of History, and Dr. Marissa Isaak Wald, geography professor and associate dean of the School of the Liberal Arts at Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque. The National Science Foundation (NSF, awards #2521676 and #2521675), awarded BCC and CNM a total of $188,166 through an IUSE: Innovation in Two-Year College STEM Education (ITYC) planning grant.

“We started this project because, as community college introductory geography instructors, we were frustrated by the structure of survey courses that provide a broad sweep with little depth and a lot of vocabulary,” Rothenberg said. “We wanted to give our students room to connect geographical concepts to their local as well as regional and global worlds, and who see themselves as geographers not just in our classes, but potentially with a career in a geography-related field.”

AAG’s role in the project is to support outreach, communications, organizational expertise, and feedback to help inform future collaborative research efforts, including strategies for developing communities of practice, nationwide outreach and engagement approaches, and connections with key stakeholders.

“Introductory geography courses offer a key entry point to the discipline for many students,” said Gary Langham, executive director of AAG. “AAG is grateful for the opportunity to support this investigation led by geographers whose work with students has equipped them to frame the questions and solutions for education breakthroughs in geography.”

A first step will be a survey of introductory geography instructors and geography program leaders in the United States, gaining insight into the types of introductory courses offered, as well as teaching approaches, resources used by faculty, and student enrollment.

The project also supports creation of a community of practice for introductory geography instructors, and faculty-led workshops to develop free, shareable Open Educational Resources (OER) and active-learning materials on an open-access platform developed with the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College (SERC).

Beyond the Survey: Sparking Innovation in Introductory Geography Courses is supported by the National Science Foundation under Award Nos. 2521676 and 2521675. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. For additional information, contact AAG.