US/USSR Curriculum Materials Development Project

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Leading geographers from the Association of American Geographers together with secondary school teachers will produce a curriculum materials package for use in existing and emerging social science classes in the secondary schools. The materials will focus on population, patterns, economic regionalization and political geography as factors that shape the pattern of human-environment interaction throughout the nation. The aim is a broad contextual understanding of environmental issues with particular emphasis on the kinds of global problems that require coordinated action at the global, regional and local levels. The materials will consist of a concise geography text, a set of classroom and individual student activities, related readings, and a detailed teachers' manual. Student assessment instruments will also be developed. The materials will incorporate features that reflect trends in several aspects of the secondary curriculum as recommended by "Guidelines for Geographic Education," the NCTM Standards, the report, "Charting a Course: Social Studies Curriculum for the 21st Century" published by the National Commission on Social Studies in Schools. Formative evaluation will be conducted by an outside expert and the network of Geographic Alliances will play a central role in materials dissemination and teacher enhancement.