Educational Reform in Action
Daniel C. Edelson, Ph.D.
Vice President, Education
National Geographic Society
Stop and Think…
What are the three biggest challenges facing human
society?
Societal Challenges?
Common answers:
– Lack of access to basic necessities (safe food, water & air;
shelter; sanitation; healthcare; education)
– Unsustainable use of natural resources and environmental
degradation
– Violent conflict
Two questions:
1. Will these challenges affect the lives of Americans?
2. Where in school are students being prepared to address
these challenges?
Preparedness for the workplace…
Business and government challenges:
– Transportation in an era of increasing fuel costs
– Working with overseas suppliers and offshore
service providers
– Global marketplaces
Where in school are students being prepared to
address these challenges?
Where would they be addressed in school?
Geography!
C’mon…
Map coloring?
Memorizing place names?
Obscure facts about remote locations?
What is geography really?
Interconnectedness:
– What happens here influences what happens elsewhere.
– What happens elsewhere influences what happens here.
Location matters:
– What happens here is influenced by what it’s like here.
– What happens here is influenced by its relationship to other
places.
Downstream
• Watersheds
• Viewsheds
• “Air”sheds, “Food”sheds
• “Idea”sheds
Processes
• Resistance
• Obstacles
• Diffusion
• Radiation
• Land topography
• Network topology
What’s going on?
What’s going on?
What’s going on?
What’s going on?
NGS’s Model for Educational Reform
Citizens prepared for decisions about:
Physical resources
Social systems
Ecosystems
Citizens prepared to participate in:
Social and Economic Activities
Increase Quantity and Quality of
Geographic Learning Experiences
Increase Demand
Increase Supply
Increase Demand
Consumer Demand
Policy Demand
Families
Policy Makers
Public
Students
Business & Civic
Leaders
COMMUNICATION
Public
Communication
Repositioning geography in the minds of others…
Education of a different sort.
15
Repositioning Geography
• What is geography?
• Why is it important?
• What does effective
geographic education
look like?
16
Geography is…
The study of systems:
1. Physical
2. Biological
3. Human
…and their interactions
Increase Supply
Develop
Learning
Resources
Formal
Schooling
Pre-K
K-12
Postsecondary
Lifelong
Develop
Educator
Capacity
Informal
Institutions
Develop
Organizational
Capacity
Community
Family
Learning Resources
• Instructional materials
• Geographic resources
• Technology
– Xpeditions
Human Resources
National Network of Geography Alliances
– State-based grassroots organizations
– Collaborative between geographers and educators
– Professional development and advocacy
Organizations
• School districts
• Informal institutions
• Community organizations
• Families
Learn more…
www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions
www.nationalgeographic.com/foundation
www.nationalgeographic.com/education