Building Capacity for Learning Progressions Research in Geography

本项目旨在培养开展地理学习进阶研究的能力。学习递进法为教育工作者提供了一种方法，以确定学生如何学习地理事实、概念和技能，以及他们是否在达到特定课程标准或一套标准的轨道上。现有的地理教育研究基础主要集中在学生对个人思想或技能的理解（或学习）上，而不是不同内容领域之间的关系或跨年级逐步学习的技能类型。通过该项目，地理学家和教育研究人员将接受培训，开发和验证基于《生活地理学：国家地理标准（第二版）：如何使用地图和其他地理表征、地理空间技术和空间思维来理解和交流信息》标准1的学习进度和评估。能力建设将包括四项活动：1)与地理学家和学习进展专家的规划会议；2)研究的清单和前景研究；3)与研究生、早期职业学者和教师导师的研究培训研讨会；4)为协调和实施研讨会制定的研究计划做准备。该项目是第一个开发参照国家地理标准设计学习进阶方法的项目。目标是激发兴趣，并为有兴趣开展这类研究的研究生和早期职业学者提供培训和指导支持。长期愿景是培养具有强大研究和分析技能的未来研究人员骨干，他们可以参与所有18个国家地理标准的学习进度的创建和测试。该项目的成果将包括共同撰写的研究手稿和美国地理学家协会（AAG）研究成果的在线交换中心。

This project is designed to build capacity for conducting research on learning progressions in geography. Learning progressions offer a means for educators to determine how students learn geographic facts, concepts, and skills, and whether they are on track toward attainment of a particular curriculum standard or set of standards. The available research base in geography education is primarily focused on students' understanding (or learning) of individual ideas or skills, but not on the relationships between different areas of content or types of skills learned progressively across grade levels.Through this project, geographers and education researchers will receive training to develop and validate learning progressions and assessments based on Standard 1 of Geography for Life: National Geography Standards (2nd Edition): How to use maps and other geographic representations, geospatial technologies, and spatial thinking to understand and communicate information. The capacity building will involve four activities: 1) a planning meeting with geographers and learning progressions experts, 2) an inventory and prospect study for the research, 3) a research training workshop with graduate students, early career scholars and faculty mentors, and 4) preparations for the coordination and implementation of the research plans produced by the workshop.This project is the first to develop a methodology for designing learning progressions referenced to national geography standards. The goal is to stimulate interest, and provide training and mentoring support for graduate students and early career scholars interested in carrying out this type of research. The long-term vision is to educate a cadre of future researchers with strong research and analysis skills who can participate in the creation and testing of learning progressions for all 18 national geography standards. The outcomes of this project will include co-authored research manuscripts and an online American Association of Geographers (AAG ) clearinghouse of research results.