Teaching Geography: About This Workshop

About the Contributors

Teaching Geography Commentators and Content Advisors

James B. Binko - Program Host, Pedagogical Content Advisor
Dr. James Binko is professor emeritus of education at Towson University and a consultant in teacher training for the Geography Education Program. He is the author of Teaching Geography: A Model for Action and co-author of Inductive Reasoning in the Secondary School, as well as author of numerous monographs. He has been involved in curriculum development programs for the National Geographic Society, helping to create the national network of Geography Education Alliances, as well as planning and conducting staff development and in-service components of summer geography institutes. He is a member of the National Council for Geography Education, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the American Educational Research Association.

James Binko Gil Latz - Regional Geography Commentator, Regional Geography Content Advisor
Gil Latz is professor of East Asian geography and international studies at Portland State University in Oregon, specializing in economic and political geography. Since his appointment to Portland State University in 1984, his research has focused on regional development policy (agriculture and urban) in Japan, East Asia, and North America. This work continues with a specific focus on sustainable management of forested areas in Europe and the U.S. Dr. Latz's secondary interests focus on two areas: international trade and educational video development. The latter has included extensive work as an educational consultant in developing the Annenberg Media telecourses The Pacific Century (1992) and The Power of Place: World Regional Geography (1996), as well as working with Cambridge Studios on their National Science Foundation-funded multimedia project, Interactive World Issues (ongoing). Latz authored both the study guide and the faculty guide for the Power of Place: World Regional Geography telecourse. He was the statewide coordinator of the Oregon Alliance for Geography Education.

Susan Hardwick - Human Geography Commentator, Human Geography Content Advisor
Susan Hardwick is a professor at the University of Oregon, specializing in ethnic geography and geographic education. She is the 2002 president of the National Council for Geographic Education (GENIP) and is a member of the Steering Committees for both GENIP and the Association of American Geographers' ARGWorld Project. Hardwick currently directs a U.S. Department of Education-funded three-year project that is developing, assessing, and disseminating an international distance-learning master's degree in geography education. She is a co-author of the best-selling textbook in the geographic education realm, Geography for Educators: Standards, Themes and Concepts. The book was written specifically for use in in-service workshops and teacher-training institutes and has been used by the National Geographic Society at its summer teacher-training institute as well as by Geographic Alliances all across the country. She was a secondary teacher for many years prior to entering university-level teaching and publishing and remains strongly committed to improving the preparation and professionalization of social studies and geography teachers.

Featured Educators

Andy Aiken, 9th- to 12th-Grade AP Human Geography Teacher, Boulder High School, Boulder, Colorado
Andy Aiken teaches AP Enriched Economics at Boulder High School and is active in the Colorado Geographic Alliance, having assisted in the creation of their state geography standards. He recently received a grant from the Foundation for Boulder Valley Schools to teach other area high school educators to incorporate world geography and history computer software into their curriculums. In our program on Europe, Mr. Aiken leads a classroom discussion on supranationalism in the European Union and North America.

Marlene Brubaker, 10th-Grade Environmental Science / Biology Teacher, Philadelphia Mennonite High School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Marlene Brubaker has been teaching at Philadelphia Mennonite High School for the past four years. As part of her efforts to work for the betterment of her students and give them opportunities for their success, Ms. Brubaker's Environmental Science course provides a number of field trips in partnership with the Peopling Philadelphia Cooperative throughout the students' freshman year. These trips provide students with a wealth of experience and help put all incoming students on a common playing field, regardless of their socio-economic background.

Craig Cogswell, 11th- and 12th-Grade Geography Teacher, Westminster High School, Westminster, Colorado
Craig Cogswell renewed his interest in geography after attending the Colorado Geographic Alliance Summer Geography Institute (ASGI) in 1990. Since then, he has been teaching geography at Westminster High School. He received the Dave Hill Award for the advancement of geographic education in Colorado in 1999 and was named Colorado Teacher of the Year 2000. He has master's degrees in secondary education and educational technology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and has taught at ASGI and as a guest lecturer at the University of Northern Colorado. Mr. Cogswell's lesson for this program encourages critical thinking about urban organization in Amsterdam.

Mary Pat Evans, 7th- and 8th-Grade Science and Field Studies Teacher, Londonderry School, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Mary Pat Evans, who earned her B.S. in chemistry and biology at Cabrini College, has taught various levels of chemistry and biology in her career. For five years, she has been using Graphic Information Technologies, a set of technology tools whose use she helped support as chair of the Pennsylvania K-12 GIS Alliance. She has made presentations on her work at the ESRI User Conference, the National Imaging Technology in Education Conference, and the Pennsylvania State GIS Conference. In her lesson, Ms. Evans's students partake in a field trip in order to gain hands-on GIS experience.

Rick Gindele, 12th-Grade AP Human Geography Teacher, Smoky Hill High School, Aurora, Colorado
Rick Gindele received his geography education at the University of Connecticut and his M.A. at the University of Colorado. In his experience as a geography educator since 1993, he has taught World Regional Geography, IB Human Geography, AP Human Geography, and IB Physical Geography. His accomplishments include experience as a high school staff member for the Colorado Alliance Summer Geography Institute, co-director of the Colorado Geographic Alliance AP Human Geography Institute in 2000 and 2001, and a Distinguished Teaching Achievement Award from the National Council for Geographic Education in 2000. Drawing on his background as a cartographer and urban planner, Mr. Gindele helps his students personalize their understanding of geography by using GIS technology to investigate the Denver metro area.

Sharon Goralewksi, 7th-Grade Geography: Eastern Hemisphere Teacher, Oxford Middle School, Oxford, Michigan
Sharon Goralewski has taught for 22 years with Oxford Schools. She has experience teaching a variety of classes but most enjoys geography and seventh graders because, as she says, "They will always laugh at my jokes." She received her undergraduate and masters degrees from Wayne State University in Detroit and has an advanced degree from Oakland University. Among other professional associations, she is a member of the Michigan Geographic Alliance. For this workshop, she contributed a lesson on Israel which you can find in our Featured Lesson Plans for Workshop 4.

Ungennette Brantley Harris, 9th-Grade Introduction to Geography Teacher, West Point High School, West Point, Mississippi
Ungennette Brantley Harris has been teaching for the past 28 years in the West Point School District, having received her B.S. from Jackson State University and a Masters of Education from Mississippi State University. She was selected Teacher of the Year in 1989 and 1999 and received the Bronze Award from Junior Achievement for Outstanding Service in Enterprise Education. She is a member of the Mississippi Geographic Alliance, the Mississippi Council of Social Studies, and both the Mississippi and National Associations of Educators. A teacher consultant for the National Geographic Society Education Program, she is featured in our program leading a lesson on the spatial organization of refugee camps.

Randy Hoover, 7th-Grade World Geography Teacher, Dover-Sherborn Middle School, Massachusetts
Randy Hoover teaches seventh-grade world geography and is social studies curriculum leader at Dover-Sherborn Middle School, a public school in suburban Boston. A former member of the Massachusetts Council for Social Studies Board of Directors, Mr. Hoover is a National Geographic Society teacher consultant and has presented workshops at the National Council for Geographic Educators' conference and the Northeast Regional Conference for Social Studies. He is the recipient of three summer fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and is featured here teaching about human migration issues in Mexico.

Connie Hudgeons, 12th-Grade AP Government/Enriched Economics Teacher, Cibola High School, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Connie Hudgeons has been teaching since 1978 and at Cibola High School since 1987. There, she teaches courses in geography, history, economics, and government. She has served on the Character Counts Committee, the North Central Steering Team, the Staff Development Committee, the Site Restructuring Committee, the Curriculum Committee, and as special education coordinator. Additionally, she has been a teacher consultant for the New Mexico Geographic Alliance since 1993. In connection with the Dagestan case study, Ms. Hudgeons's students negotiate the division of land among competing culture groups.

Shirley Hutchins, 8th-Grade U.S. History and 7th-Grade European Studies Teacher, West Point High School, West Point, Mississippi
Shirley Hutchins has 14 years of teaching experience and a B.S. in social science education from Jackson State University. She is a member of the Mississippi Geography Alliance, the Mississippi Association of Educators, the Mississippi Social Studies Council, and she is a teacher consultant for the National Geographic Society. In our program, she leads a lesson on AIDS diffusion in sub-Saharan Africa.

Carole Mayrose, 10th- to 12th-Grade Environmental Science Teacher, Northview High School, Brazil, Indiana
Carole Mayrose teaches all levels of high school Earth science. As part of her teaching mission, she endeavors to provide students of all abilities with the tools and skills that will help them complete school and succeed in life. She is featured teaching a class about the relationship between the locations of earthquakes and volcanoes and the effects of living near such natural hazards.

Phil Rodriguez, 10th- to 12th-Grade World Geography Teacher, Holmes High School, San Antonio, Texas
A native Texan, Phil Rodriguez has over 20 years' teaching experience, having received his bachelor's degree in secondary education with specializations in Earth science and geography. He is active in the Texas Alliance for Geographic Education, a teacher consultant for the National Geographic Society, and a participant in the Educational Technology Leadership Institute. In the 1997-98 school year, he was selected Campus Teacher of the Year at Holmes High School. He employs the Internet and maps to help students better understand the geography of their own metropolitan area. Mr. Rodriguez believes in the value of primary source materials and uses his own background in population geography in collecting the data his students analyze in his classes. They use this data as they analyze census figures in order to predict San Antonio's future growth.

Cynthia Ryan, 7th- and 8th-Grade World Geography Teacher, Barrington Middle School, Barrington, Rhode Island
For the past six years, Cynthia Ryan has been teaching seventh- and eighth-grade world geography at Barrington Middle School in Rhode Island. Prior to that she spent nine years with the public elementary schools in Yonkers, New York. In 2000, she completed a workshop with ESRI, and she is now working to incorporate GIS into her classroom. This summer she will attend a development workshop for the Mission Geography curriculum developed by GENIP and NASA at Texas A&M University. She is a member of the Rhode Island Geography Education Alliance and, in our program, is featured leading her class in mapmaking and investigating resource issues in the Nile River Valley.

Herschel Sarnoff, 10th-Grade U.S. History Teacher, Jordan High School, Los Angeles, California
Herschel Sarnoff has been teaching for the past 30 years at Los Angeles's inner-city Jordan High School. With academic training at California State College at Long Beach, UCLA, and California State University at Los Angeles, he has had an extensive career in geography education. A leader in technology-based education, he has participated in numerous GIS and social studies conferences and has operated HMS Historical Games, an educational simulation publishing company, for the past 20 years. The ESRI Web site lists many of his lessons, and his class mapped the Digital Divide for the 2001 Teaching for Change L.A. Conference at UCLA. First introduced to GIS in 1998, Mr. Sarnoff has educated himself on its use and created the GIS course at Jordan as a means to engage students and provide them with skills they can use in future careers. The fruits of his students' labors are featured in an interactive activity in Workshop 3.

Maureen Spaight, 9th-Grade Civics and Government Teacher, East Providence High School, East Providence, Rhode Island
Maureen Spaight has taught a variety of subjects but believes that geography is the integrating force. Prior to teaching at East Providence High School, she taught government at an area middle school. In 1998, she was named Rhode Island Teacher of the Year. In 2001, she received a Fulbright award to conduct research in Africa. For Teaching Geography, Ms Spaight leads a multimedia role-playing lesson on South Africa.

Fred Walk, 11th- and 12th-Grade Geography Teacher, Normal Community High School, Normal, Illinois
Fred Walk brings 30 years' experience teaching geography and economics at Normal Community High School in Normal, Illinois. He has conducted numerous geography workshops, reviewed textbooks, and consulted on curriculum development. He conducted a National Diffusion Network workshop, "Teaching Geography: A Model for Action," for the National Geographic Society at numerous sites across the country. He was invited to serve as a site visitor for the Secondary School Recognition Program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. Mr. Walk is past president of the Illinois Geography Society and is a teacher consultant for the NASA/GENIP Institute to present lesson plans using Mission Geography curriculum at Texas A&M University. He is featured in two classroom segments in Teaching Geography: one on Russia's shrinking Aral Sea and the other on measures of the quality of life in Southeast Asia.

Judy Ware, 7th-Grade World History Teacher, Crossroads School, St. Louis, Missouri
Judy Ware serves as program director for the Missouri Geographic Alliance. Among her experiences, she presented on AP Human Geography at the 2001 National Council for Social Studies Conference. She is featured leading her students in an investigation of the historical development of Russian city location.

Artis West, 9th-Grade Social Studies Teacher, North Cobb High School, Kennesaw, Georgia
Artis West received his B.A. in geography from San Diego State University. From there, he went on to pursue graduate study in history, political science, Arabic language and culture, and geography. Applying this diverse educational background, he has been teaching social studies to high school students for just over a decade. He has served as coordinator for Geography Awareness Week, coach for the Geography Bowl Team, and teacher consultant for the Georgia Geographic Alliance. Additionally, he participated in the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program in Estonia in 1999. For this workshop, he contributed a lesson on health ratings in sub-Saharan Africa.

Teaching Geography: About This Workshop

About the Contributors

Teaching Geography Commentators and Content Advisors

Other Content Advisors

Featured Educators