• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.181-200
• /
• 2013

The Chinese Geography Standards for Senior Secondary Schools(trial) was released in 2003. The Standards put forward some changes for senior geography education, the changes in geographical education are reflected explicitly and implicitly by the textbooks. The purpose of this descriptive study was to review of the improvement of Chinese senior geography education by analyzing contents organization and coherence of the new standards-based geography experimental textbooks. The results of study are as follows. The textbooks adopts a student-centered approach through the way of 'more chapter topics with slimmed contents' and by introducing four type activities, geographical inquiries. These student activities are implicity encourages students' active acquisition of geographical knowledge what they have learned in their real lives. The organic coherence of the textbooks' contents rests on the compulsory and the elective subject relating to diversification of the learning areas. The organic coherence between the compulsory and the elective subject rests on diversification of the learning areas. More, looking at the arrangement of the four basic concepts(population, resource, environment, sustainable development) among the textbooks, it was imbalanced by subject.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.269-278
• /
• 2008

This research analyzed the effect of lessons with the GIS application as an alternative scheme of teaching and learning of geography in elementary school. Two classes in the third grade at Y elementary school in Andong were selected to conduct lessons on 'The Landscape of My Hometown' from March 6 through June 30, 2006. In the experimental class, the lessons were conducted with the GIS application; while, in a comparative class, the lessons were carried with usual teaching and learning method. To find out the effect of lessons with the GIS application, differences of spatial cognition of students were figured out between groups, and before and after lessons. The difference between the spatial concept development stages and materials on the textbook discouraged students to pursue their learning as well as made them hard to achieve the goals of lessons. The GIS application had been suggested as an alternative teaching and learning method to overcome the difference; however, it has been hard to find any empirical research to verify the effect of the lessons with GIS application in elementary school. The ability of spatial cognition of the third graders at an elementary school was very low as the result of that curricula in the first and second grades dealt with sketch maps as teaching and learning media. The map learning of third grader on the transitional stage would play the critical role to develop the spatial cognition ability in the future. The field study contributing to developing spatial cognition ability would not be conducted at school. It was required to have the alternative learning schemes such as lessons with GIS application. The lessons with GIS application verified effect of GIS application as the alternative method. The GIS application helped students to recognize landmarks, directions and distance effectively as well as reduced the spatial cognition difference among individuals and/or groups.