Author: Julia Heslin

In this blog post, we’ll meet Allison Ewing. She is a teacher and the Social Studies Department Chair of the Upper School at the Bullis School as well as the coordinator for the Maryland Geographic Bee. On March 31^st, you can find Allison at the Bee, alongside co-coordinator Jill Ferris and many young geography enthusiasts from around the state. Unlike some of these young minds participating in a geography competition, Allison got her start elsewhere. During her Bachelor’s program at the University of Michigan, Allison majored in history and Spanish. Her love for geography and geographic education, however, was first cemented during graduate school at Peabody College at Vanderbilt University. During this time, she interned with 7^th grade geography and AP Human Geography teacher. It was her experience teaching 7^th grade geography that encouraged Allison to continue working within the field.

 

Allison’s multidisciplinary background has informed her teaching style as a geography educator. She often begins a new unit by teaching the first lesson exclusively in Spanish. Allison explains that starting off a lesson in this manner helps students empathize with those who do not speak the primary language and realize the cultural significance of any language. Allison noted that she thinks she was always destined to teach geography despite majoring in other subjects. Allison is also a proponent for using technology in the classroom. She’s recently used GIS (Geographic Information Systems) in her class and plans to continue in the years to come. She also uses classroom technologies like EdPuzzle, Pear Deck, and NoodleTools. Her teaching style is truly indicative of geography’s role as the bridge discipline, as Allison is able to draw upon other disciplines to contextualize the importance of geography.

 

Allison continues to stay busy during summers by attending conferences and professional development opportunities. Last summer alone, Allison, along with 14 other educators, spent 18 days trekking around China, traveled to South Africa with her husband, and came back to the United States to attend the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) conference in Tampa, FL and an AP Institute in Atlanta, GA. This summer, she plans to return to the NCGE conference, to be held in Albuquerque, NM (her hometown). Her service outside of the classroom continues during the school year as the coordinator for the Maryland Geographic Bee. She had the opportunity to coordinate the Bee for the second time this year. Allison recalls the enthusiasm and passion for geography from last year’s contestants – sure to be seen again this year. Unlike most other state Bees, the Maryland Geographic Bee will be televised via Maryland Public Television – a good opportunity for students to see how a show goes from the studio to the television set. This year, with help and coordination from Jill, contestants will be receiving their very own Bee “swag”!

 

If this wasn’t impressive enough, it should be noted that Allison is expecting a baby very soon (due shortly after the Maryland Geographic Bee) and continued to work above and beyond as an educator and coordinator throughout her pregnancy. Allison plans to take her daughter to geography conferences, starting this summer with the NCGE conference. I always ask why geography should be more prevalent in K-12 curricula; but with plans to bring her daughter to geography conferences in the future, Allison proves it’s never too early to start thinking spatially. Allison states “geography is the window through which the world is made sense of.” And if in the current time and space we occupy may be confusing and overwhelming, geography is able to provide the explanations and solutions.

 

Read the full Q&A here.

Our next featured “Geography Educator of Maryland” is Cathy Cooper. As a valued steering committee member of the Maryland Geographic Alliance, Cathy is no stranger to the field of geography. Geography education was not Cathy’s first vocation, however. Her first job after college was in London working for a British bank. Working here helped spur her interest in geography as many of her colleagues seemed to know where every place in the world was. Living in London provided the opportunity for extended travel in Europe. Cathy spent most of her career in commercial banking. Eventually she had the opportunity to take a few geography courses at Montgomery College, and she decided to pursue geography.

 

Cathy went on to complete her M.A. in Geography and Ph.D. in Geographic Education at George Washington University and Texas State University-San Marcos, respectively. Throughout her geography career, she has been a part of many different organizations and always looks forward to seeing her “geo-friends.” As a member of the American Association of Geographers (AAG), she has organized some bird-watching field trips during the organization’s annual meetings. Cathy also recently attended the conference for the Middle Atlantic Division of the AAG. Among the highlights was the GeoBowl, a geography knowledge competition amongst university students in the region. Cathy is looking forward to the intriguing field trips offered at the National Council for Geographic Education Conference this July in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

 

Cathy also serves as a contributor for different publishers and academic journals. Her most recent contribution for the Journal of Geography was a review of Choptank Odyssey by Tom Horton and Dave Harp. Cathy has also written a textbook on Ukraine and continues to follow the political developments of the country. She particularly enjoys studying and writing about her home region of the Chesapeake, as evidenced by her article about Captain John Smith’s explorations of the Chesapeake Bay and the coastal bays region near Assateague Island. While Cathy is not attending conferences or writing for academic journals she is busy helping out the Maryland Geographic Alliance with outreach events for the Giant Traveling Map of Maryland (find out more about this program here).

 

From Cathy’s perspective, not only is geography the foundation for and gateway into a wide range of careers; it also engages students of all grade levels in building their knowledge and problem solving skills at increasing levels of complexity. Students of geography are also able to apply a spatial perspective to civic issues of varying scales – from the local to the global.

 

Biography: Cathy spent most of her career in commercial banking. She then picked up an interest in academic geography and earned an M.A. at George Washington University and then a Ph.D. in Geography at Texas State University-San Marcos with a concentration in Geographic Education. She is particularly enthusiastic about online GIS and encourages its use as a tool in its own right and as a gateway to entice students into the content of geography.

Read the full Q&A here.

Our next interviewee for the Geography Educators of Maryland series is Daniel Whalen. We recently talked with him about his recent visit to South Korea for the 7^th International Conference on Geographic Naming and Education, his experience as a geography educator, and the importance of a geographic education.

Mr. Whalen’s experience in geography stems from his expertise in history. Before arriving to university, he generally viewed geography through an historical lens. He remembers a particular class assignment, however, that helped broaden his scope on the geography discipline. He recalls riding through downtown Albany, New York in the comfort of a ’95 Ford Escort, observing the distribution of low income communities across the neighborhoods. The changes in the human landscape helped him understand his own cultural identity and relative privilege.

From then on, Mr. Whalen has been very involved in the realm of geography education. During his first teaching assignment, he taught three seventh grade classes of Geography of the Western Hemisphere. In a few years, he was writing AP Human Geography curriculum for Prince George’s County Public Schools, eventually going on to be a Reader for the ETS and College Board.

Mr. Whalen has also taken part in many different geography education conferences and institutes. In the summer of 2015, he attended the NCGE Conference, where he volunteered and networked with the presenters. The Virginia Geographic Alliance sponsored Mr. Whalen in an introductory, five week long ArcGIS online course called “Putting Social Studies in its Place.”

The most recent conference he attended, the 7^th International Conference on Geographic Naming and Education, was held in Seoul, South Korea. The Northeast Asian History Foundation graciously sponsored his trip. While there, Mr. Whalen gave a presentation on geographic connections between Southern Maryland and South Korea. He was also able to visit the Seonunsa Korean Buddhist Temple, where a monk led the group in morning prayers and meditation.  Take a look below for some photos from his visit. You can check out more posts about Mr. Whalen’s trip here.

 

In an ever-globalizing world, people have more opportunities to participate in international and cross-cultural events like this. Mr. Whalen explains that the impact from globalization along with social media means K-12 students and interconnected more than ever. With that, geography education should be more prevalent within K-12 curricula as it would allow students to realize the importance of “global thinking for a world that’s shrinking.”

Read the entire interview here.

Check out Daniel Whalen’s blog at http://www.metaman.edublogs.org

The Maryland Geographic Alliance has been at its new home at Towson for about six months. Since that time, we have launched this website and a companion Facebook page (Maryland Geographic Alliance) and put together a steering committee. We are planning professional development, workshops, summer institutes, and student programs centered on four major foci: AP Human Geography, middle school World Cultures, geospatial thinking and technology, and environmental literacy.

 

So far, we have held a number of events across Maryland geared toward these four foci. At the Baltimore Kid’s Mapping Project Workshop, twelve public school teachers came to Towson to develop their GIS skills through ArcGIS Online. These teachers constructed neighborhood story maps to commemorate the first anniversary of the death of Freddie Gray. We also helped support the week-long BioBlitz in Howard County that turned over three hundred HCPS students into citizen scientists.  Last weekend, we helped support the National Aquarium’s BioBlitz out at Masonville Cove.

 

Let me tell you about the Masonville Cove BioBlitz. It was fantastic! Students, educators, and other community members were able to learn about the biodiversity of the area thanks to the coordination of the National Aquarium and Masonville Cove. There were six well-planned stations that covered mammals, reptiles and amphibians, plants, insects, birds, and aquatic species. Seasoned experts and young newcomers worked together through thoughtful and engaging activities. To top it off, it was a gorgeous day just to be outside and enjoy nature.

 

So what was the issue?

 

The issue was that there weren’t enough people taking advantage of the beautiful weather and fascinating activities to increase their environmental literacy. Similar issues arose at the Baltimore Kid’s Mapping Project; though it was a thoughtful event, it could have greatly benefitted from more teachers. How do we get the word out to get more people to participate?

 

That is where you come in! Choose to get involved by sending your ideas or telling us what kind of support you need. Attend an event; suggest an event. Consider applying for Teachers Teaching Teachers GIS (a workshop every summer held by ESRI) or the American Geographical Society Teaching Fellowship. (For more information about those, check out our Facebook page). Spread the word to your friends and colleagues. Are there non-profit organizations or professional groups who are natural fits? Could we work with Scouting groups or 4-H? What about private schools? And how can we reach these groups?

 

As you can see, I have a lot of questions – but I know that you have the answers!