Abstract
It has been documented that for the past half century geography, as a viable subject in our American educational system, has been grossly misrepresented. Too often, the subject is perceived as nothing more than the memorization of places and locations to play games such as Trivial Pursuit. Recently, a concerted effort has been made by many geographers and educators to change this mind-set. Organizations such as the National Geographical Society, Association of American Geographers, and the National Council for Geographic Education have begun a campaign to re-educate our society on the need for geography to be taught in the American education system. Techniques, other than games and map coloring, are being used in the classroom to make geography "come alive" so that the student can see the relevance of the subject and can make connections with the world around them. Multimedia presentations allow students to become acquainted with industry located in the community and examine how these industries are globally interconnected. A multimedia illustrated lecture and discussion focused on the global economic nterconnections of Mineral Wells, Texas, was presented to two groups of students. A pre and post presentation questionnaire measured changes in student perceptions. A learning module was designed that can be adopted by teachers in any community to show community-globe economic links. It is the intent of this study to show that geography, as a subject in the classroom, can be presented in such a way as to make it relevant in today's world.
Benjamin, Jerry Lee (1996). Arousing geographic awareness by exposing students to local global connections. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1996 -THESIS -B46.