Active Learning and Student Engagement: International Perspectives and Practices in Geography in Higher Education

This book examines significant issues in geography teaching and learning from the perspectives of an international network of academic geographers and postgraduate students. Drawing on classroom experiences and research in a wide variety of educational settings, the authors describe conceptually interesting and practical applications for enhancing student learning through inquiry, problem-based learning, field study, online collaboration, and other highly engaging forms of pedagogy. Other articles focus on approaches for improving the experiences of distance learners, strategies for enhancing the employability of geography students, and preparing students to engage ethical issues in the discipline.

An international audience of educators will find much of value through the use of comparative examples, literature reviews encompassing research in multiple national contexts, and an underlying awareness of the diversity of practices in higher education internationally.

This book is a collection of articles previously published in two special issues of the Journal of Geography in Higher Education.

Mick Healey is Professor of Geography, University of Gloucestershire, UK, and Senior Adviser for Geography for the National Subject Centre for Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. He is a National Teaching Fellow and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has twice been awarded the Journal of Geography in Higher Education Biennial Award for Promoting Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

Eric Pawson is Professor of Geography, University of Canterbury, New Zealand. He is a teaching award winner, a former Head of Department, and member of the Social Science Panel of the Royal Society of New Zealand’s Marsden Research Fund.

Michael Solem is Educational Affairs Director at the Association of American Geographers, where he directs several federally funded initiatives supporting geography education in the United States and internationally. His research (with Ken Foote) on geography faculty development was recognized by the Journal of Geography in Higher Education’s Biennial Award for Promoting Excellence in Teaching and Learning.