Ever wonder why so many American students can’t find Vietnam on the map or are hard-pressed to explain why the District of Columbia isn’t a state? It may be because they aren’t exposed to an active learning environment when they study geography in school, says Associ ate Professor of Geography Dorothy Sack, who has studied students’ attitudes toward the subject.
In the study, Sack surveyed students in grades four through six in San Marcos, Texas, and found that many children considered geography their least favorite of six subjects. Researchers also found that some of the San Marcos teachers had no college-level training in geography. Sack says educators who aren’t trained in geography probably find it more difficult to teach the subject in a way that makes it i nteresting for students.
