In this study we designed, implemented, and evaluated a Problem-based Learning (PBL) course to teach undergraduate students about Viral Hepatitis from a Health Geography perspective. The course was attended by undergraduate students with no previous experience with PBL from a college in the Brazilian Amazon state of Acre. The course design was…

In this paper, the dissolution of the silos between geography and business faculty to form a teaching partnership with a common set of questions and goals and how that partnership changed their academic perspectives will be explored. Faculty deepened the challenges for students, re-thought pedagogical models, and re-thought grading and evaluation.…

This article identifies what can be learned from seeking to adapt teaching and learning styles in a post-disaster environment. It focuses on the development of student research through community-based learning as a means of increasing engagement and contributing to recovery in an earthquake-damaged city. It urges consideration of the…

Management of "wicked problems", messy real-world problems that defy resolution, requires thinkers who can transcend disciplinary boundaries, work collaboratively, and handle complexity and obstacles. This paper explores how educators can train undergraduates in these skills through applied community-based research, using the example of…

As universities increase their international study opportunities, enormous potential exists to create geography field courses that provide undergraduates and graduate students with primary research experience and intercultural collaboration. This paper draws from our experience leading a two-week collaborative field course in Panama. We outline…

World regional geography textbooks rarely focus on the process of region formation, despite frequent calls to reincorporate a regional approach to teaching global geography. An instructional strategy using problem-based learning in a small honors section of a large world regional geography course is described. Using a hypothetical scenario…

Teaching geographic information systems (GIS) requires linking concepts with technical skills, which can be challenging, especially in standard lecture and laboratory-format courses. This paper reports on an introductory undergraduate GIS course that incorporated a community-driven problem-based learning exercise as a major component of the…

Many universities have strategies for exposing students to international experiences, but little is reported on their implementation. One example of an implemented activity is the multidisciplinary research project for undergraduate environment students, at RMIT University, that both prepares students to work in the environment profession and…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a teaching technique that uses problem-solving as the basis for student learning. The technique is student-centred with teachers taking the role of a facilitator. Its general aims are to construct a knowledge base, develop problem-solving skills, teach effective collaboration and provide the skills necessary to be a…

Problem-based learning (PBL) works with a series of problems that form the syllabus for a course or the basis of a curriculum. Learning occurs through the definition of the problem and its attempted resolution. PBL is challenging but offers much potential for geography with its interdisciplinary character. The challenge to geography lecturers is…

Results are presented of a series of focus-group sessions held at Lancaster University during May 2002. Participants consisted of 12 undergraduate geography students chosen from amongst those identified as having strong antipathy towards quantitative material. The intention was to mine these students' perspectives on courses covering quantitative…