Read the publications below to
learn more about Powerful Geography
Raphael, Marilyn. 2022, November 9. President's Column: Geography and Geographers in a Changing World. American Association of Geographers Newsletter.
Solem, Michael, Vander Weil, Brendan, Boehm, Richard G., and Zadrozny, Joann. 2022, November 8. Powerful Geography at Work. American Association of Geographers Newsletter.
Larsen, Thomas B. and Solem, Michael. 2022. Conveying the Applications and Relevance of the Powerful Geography Approach through Humanitarian Mapping, The Geography Teacher, 19(1), 43-49.
ABSTRACT: The Powerful Geography approach entails strengthening the relationship among curricula, student aspirations and motivations, and applications and practices of geographers in business, government, and nonprofit organizations. As a practical response to the GeoCapabilities project’s vision of future geography curricula based on conceptions of powerful knowledge, Powerful Geography is the idea that curricula connecting geography careers to student aspirations can help teachers make powerful knowledge accessible for students, specifically by helping students recognize relationships between geography and life beyond the classroom. Powerful Geography is a replicable approach to creating curricula that account for differences in state standards, course topics, student demographics, and school contexts. To illustrate this method in practice, the authors designed a humanitarian mapping lesson according to the approach.
Larsen, Thomas B., Solem, Michael, Zadrozny, Joann and Boehm, Richard G. 2022. Contextualizing powerful geographic knowledge in higher education: Data-driven curriculum design to interweave student aspirations with workforce applications, International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 31(2), 139-151.
ABSTRACT: This article describes a data-driven approach to contextualize geography subject matter using student aspirations and workforce data. To test this teaching strategy, undergraduate students in two world geography courses taught at Texas State University were surveyed and interviewed about their career and life aspirations. Using this information, the course instructor selected relevant geography resources and applications using workforce data obtained from a sample of geographers employed in private and public sectors. Over the semester, students encountered those applications through class presentations, videos, and individual advising sessions. At the end, students completed a post-test survey. Resulting datasets offered the instructor a means to reflect upon and select geographic content that is accessible and applicable to what students aspire to be and do in the future. Analysis of the pre- and post-test survey data indicate positive gains in student attitudes but suggest additional culturally relevant pedagogical enhancements are needed to account for student diversity and context. The article concludes with a critical assessment of how future instructors might leverage aspirations and workforce data to address the underrepresentation of women and minorities in the discipline and workforce.
Boehm, Richard G., Solem, Michael, and Zadrozny, Joann. 2018. The Rise of Powerful Geography, The Social Studies, 109(2), 125-135.
ABSTRACT: The Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education and National Center for Research in Geography Education propose a new framework for geography called Powerful Geography, which revolutionizes the traditional notion of standards in geography education. Combining Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum's principles of human capabilities, Michael Young's theory of powerful disciplinary knowledge, and Wesley Null's concept of a liberating curriculum, Powerful Geography offers a new conceptual approach to professional development for teachers. The approach aims to help teachers model geographic knowledge and skills that offer a diverse group of students the best preparation needed to attain personal and career goals and aspirations. This article argues the logic and value of Powerful Geography, sets up the rationale for Powerful Geography, describes how it builds on prior research, and presents a multiyear research and development plan involving social studies teachers.
Solem, Michael and Boehm, Richard G. 2018. EDITORIAL: Research in geography education: Moving from declaration and road maps to actions International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 27(3).
Here are some posts about Encoding Geography - an NSF-funded grant (NSF Awards CNS-2031380,
CNS-2031418, and CNS-2031407) that uses the principles of Powerful Geography focused on Geocomputation
Dony, Coline, Nara, Atsushi, and Solem, Michael. Attracting students of all backgrounds to programs in geography or geocomputation starts before they enter college. American Association of Geographers Resources, September 26, 2022. DOI: 10.14433/2017.0116
León, Kelly. Geography education needs an urgent transformation. From the Meridian, ArcNews, Spring 2022, Vol 44, No 2.
Take a look at these recent newspaper articles that address the underlying ideas of Powerful Geography in other subjects such as History and Civics
Mathews, Jay. We must dump marginal learning standards and other annoyances in return to classrooms. The Washington Post, March 20, 2021.
Mathews, Jay. Is Congress falling for scheme to ruin civics and history classes? The Washington Post, April 10, 2021.
Mathews, Jay. Why our many big plans to raise education standards will never work. The Washington Post, April 17, 2021.
Heim, Joe. Massive investment in social studies and civics education proposed to address eroding trust in democratic institutions. The Washington Post, March 1, 2021.
America needs history and civics education to promote unity. The Wall Street Journal, March 1, 2021.
Jindal, Bobby and Ricketts, Joe. Covid provides a rare chance to transform public education. The Wall Street Journal, April 9, 2021.