Teaching Geography: Assessment Strategies and Instructional Technology Use
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My department is Geography. The undergraduate courses I will be teaching over the next academic year are geography 160: which is the geography of south Asia. I usually teach a class on population geography, which I may or may not in the spring. But I am teaching a dean seminar which is for freshmen which I hope to use for the bells and whistles, and it is called Cities in a Globalizing World. The graduate courses I teach are Geography 250; The Geography of Development and Geography 223; Population and Health. So these are some of the strategies I’ve used over the years to assess student learning.
I found it useful to have an informal ongoing assessment. So for example, in the process of teaching a course, after a lecture, before the start of the next class, I ask questions to the class that draw on the previous lectures. When there is a blank response, it is usually an indication that they do not understand, so then I go back and review and bring the material back so they do understand it. I also start off by asking questions like “Do you remember what we talked about last class?” I give them the opportunity to ask questions about things they are unsure about or need further explanation.
Sometimes, I randomly give them plain maps. For example, if you are studying the economy of a particular country and are looking how that is affected by urbanization and global flows. It is not just knowing the places, but marking and mapping the flows, the visualization helps cement something they have learned.
Besides that, I have normal things of assessment, which can be pop quizzes or midterms and finals. Students have different ways of learning things. Some students are good test takers while others know the material and are not good test takers. I try to employ different kinds of strategies so I can use objective questions; the short answers and the more visual GIS mapping exercises, and the essays. Different strengths of students can be brought into play. No one way of teaching is prioritized over another.
In terms of Instructional Technologies, I have found it extremely useful to use Blackboard, in all its manifestations. I first started to use it to email students if I wanted them to read something, to remind them that it is on blackboard. I also post information on blackboard; links to articles, discussions. Some students like discussions, some don’t. I do like blackboard because it is so multi-faceted. You can send the answers to everyone even if only one person has a query on a question.
There are also things I put on briefly; lecture powerpoints and such. When we use a spatial analysis lab, we get them to come over so they can use the software and understand it. Once they do the mapping and analysis, they can use that and incorporate it in their papers.
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