a*****g
发帖数: 19398 | 1 By Lauren Camera Oct. 16, 2015 | 2:04 p.m. EDT
It's no secret that U.S. students are horrible at geography and have been
for some time.
Nearly three-quarters of eighth-graders tested below proficient in geography
on the 2014 National Assessment of Educational Progress – also known as
the Nation's Report Card – and that's almost exactly the same result as in
1994.
It's a similar case when looking at prior NAEP assessments of fourth- and
12th-graders, approximately 80 percent of whom tested below proficient in
2010.
But now there's a better understanding for why that might be.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office found that more than
half of social studies teachers spend 10 percent or less of their time on
geography. Social studies is the umbrella subject under which geography is
taught, along with things like history, civics and economics.
What's more, a majority of states do not require geography courses in middle
school or high school. As of 2013, only 17 states required a geography
course in middle school and 10 states required a geography course for
students to graduate from high school.
[READ: U.S. Faces Shortage of Bilingual Teachers]
"A key challenge to providing geography education is the increased focus on
other subjects," said Jacqueline Nowicki, the GAO's director for education,
workforce and income security issues and the lead author of the report.
State education officials and K-12 teachers interviewed as part of the
investigation told the GAO researchers that spending time and resources on
geography education is difficult due to the heavy emphasis placed at both
the national and state levels on reading, math, and science. Federal law,
for example, requires students to be tested in all three areas.
"One state official told us how the state had eliminated geography from the
curriculum for over a decade, and only recently added geography courses back
amid concerns from the community that students were lacking essential
geography skills," Nowicki said.
Teacher Veronica Munoz goes over fractions with her students in fourth
grade math class at Piney Branch Elementary School in Takoma Park, Md., on
May 16, 2013.
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The growing use of geographic information and location-based technology
across multiple sectors of the economy, the GAO researchers explained, has
prompted questions about whether K-12 students have the adequate skills and
exposure to geography they'll need to fill workforce needs later in life.
Those concerns are valid: According to the Department of Labor, the
employment of geography specialists is projected to grow 29 percent from
2012 to 2022 – much faster than the average 11 percent growth for all
occupations.
Some of those positions require skills and knowledge in areas like
maintaining roads and other types of transportation infrastructure; quickly
responding to natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, and fires; and
tracking endangered species.
The report noted that many geography teachers do not have an educational
background in the subject and took few, if any, geography courses in college.
The GAO researchers also identified other challenges to educators being able
to adequately teach geography and students being able to grasp it,
including a lack of teacher preparation and professional development in the
subject, poor quality of geography instructional materials, and limited use
of geographic technology in the classroom.
[ALSO Education Reforms Are Here to Stay]
Half of teachers interviewed for the report described difficulties accessing
resources for geography education – meaning everything from getting
quality classroom materials to being able to take field trips. Seventy
percent reported frustrations – such as outdated software, lack of
technical support at their school and poor Internet connections – with
using technology to teach the subject.
Strapped for federal dollars as it is, the U.S. Department of Education has
a limited role in geography achievement rates. It's behind the NAEP exam,
but even that doesn't annually test students on the subject. Since 1994, the
geography NAEP has been administered just four times. Officials expect to
administer it next in 2018.
"K-12 education is critically important for learning the fundamentals of
geography," Nowicki said. "However, throughout the country, states and local
school districts are striving to balance limited resources against
requirements to ensure students are proficient in reading, math and science." | a*****g
发帖数: 19398 | 2 打小 spatial thinking 被搞坏喽
geography
in
【在 a*****g 的大作中提到】
: By Lauren Camera Oct. 16, 2015 | 2:04 p.m. EDT
: It's no secret that U.S. students are horrible at geography and have been
: for some time.
: Nearly three-quarters of eighth-graders tested below proficient in geography
: on the 2014 National Assessment of Educational Progress – also known as
: the Nation's Report Card – and that's almost exactly the same result as in
: 1994.
: It's a similar case when looking at prior NAEP assessments of fourth- and
: 12th-graders, approximately 80 percent of whom tested below proficient in
: 2010.
| u*****a
发帖数: 6276 | 3 不是有 Google Map 和 Google Earth 吗？ | a*****g
发帖数: 19398 | 4 问题在于GPS的运算能力和脑子的空间想象力不能相互替代
而且主次不能颠倒啊
则仍然以诚相待，言之有信。你是哪一类呢？
去妈妈来批斗！
【在 u*****a 的大作中提到】
: 不是有 Google Map 和 Google Earth 吗？
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