The Association of American Geographers (AAG), through its Center for Global Geography Education (CGGE) project, recently published a collection of online educational resources examining important geographic issues affecting people, places, and environments in India. The resources were created by a delegation of high school teachers and academic geographers participating in a workshop held from 12 March 2012 to 16 March 2012 in Bangalore, India, under the local auspices of The Indian Institute for Geographical Studies (TIIGS).
As co-organizers of the workshop, we hope the India-themed CGGE resources help to catalyze educational collaborations between schools and universities in the USA, India, and elsewhere. This JGHE Symposium presents the outcomes of the workshop and offers three thematic articles that explore conceptual and practical issues for building collaborative educational relationships with geographers in international settings.
The mission of CGGE is to provide open access to six online modules offering geography educational resources supporting collaborative online international learning. The modules focus on the topics of National Identity, Global Climate Change, Population and Natural Resources, Migration, Water Resources, and Global Economy. Each module consists of the following materials (Figure 1):
- The foundation of a CGGE module is a conceptual framework (CF), approximately 5000 words and several web pages in length, that presents some of the key theories and perspectives used by geographers to examine issues related to the module's topic.
Graph: Figure 1 Major components of a CGGE module: CF, CS, and CP. The "hub-and-spoke" design allows for future growth of the modules through the addition of new regional CSs and CPs.
- Drawings on the CF are regional case studies (CSs), currently 4–5 per module and each around 3000 words in length, based on geographic research and written by geographers in those regions in collaboration with the US scholars. The CSs feature a variety of activities and interactive animations for teaching spatial thinking, mapping, and methods of geographic analysis. In September 2012, CGGE will conduct a workshop in Tokyo which will produce new CSs focusing on the 2011 Japanese tsunami, earthquake, and nuclear crises (these materials will be published on the CGGE website in early 2013).
- Each CS is supplemented by one or more collaborative projects (CPs) that use various Internet technologies to connect geography classes regionally and internationally for collaborative online international learning projects and discussions.
All of the CGGE modules are accessible as free online educational resources at
The CSs developed by the Bangalore workshop participants draw on geographical research primarily by American and Indian geographers to offer comparative analyses of issues related to the CGGE module topics. The workshop process emphasized principles of inclusion, cooperation, and mutual consideration of perspectives and practices. Working in small groups, the participants formulated the details of their CSs and CPs, using guidelines for writing inquiry-based activities and interactive hypermedia prepared by workshop facilitators Dr Phil Klein (University of Northern Colorado), Dr Osvaldo Muñiz (Texas State University), and Waverly Ray (Ph.D. Candidate, Texas State University). Their efforts were further supported by a field study of the information technology industry in Bangalore and a cultural GeoArts program featuring performances representing geographic themes in traditional Indian song and dance by students on the campus of the Army Public School.
In addition to the online resources, the AAG will produce print editions of the CSs and a related guide for Advanced Placement (AP) Human Geography teachers will appear in a future issue of The Geography Teacher, published by the National Council for Geographic Education. The materials will also be published in the Hindi and Kannada languages to extend the dissemination of the resources throughout India.
Since CGGE began in 2003, the project has expanded geography education networks, principally through workshops, in different regions through partnerships with organizations including Universidad de La Serena, Liverpool Hope University, Nanyang Technological University, TIIGS, Association of Japanese Geographers, and The University of Tokyo. The workshops are also designed to produce new CSs for the CGGE modules, and we will continue offering them in regions that are presently missing or underrepresented in the modules (e.g., Africa, Central America, and the Middle East). The goal is to create resources and communities of collaborators beyond the "Anglo-American" modes of practice that characterizes much of geography's international collaborative work in education (Hay, [
Prior to the Bangalore workshop, India was conspicuously absent in the CGGE modules, a situation which we have now rectified. Even 60 years after independence, Indian geography education has not achieved what it has the potential and duty to achieve. Efforts at improvement have been disparate. At the K-12 level, geography education suffers from insufficient vertical integration from year to year and integration with the lived lives of students. Nor are there a set of nationally articulated geography education standards which could set a sound framework for rigorous and systematic geography education.
Teachers in India are in dire need of capacity-building in both content and pedagogy. School administrations and the Indian state consistently have looked at the natural sciences (physics, chemistry, biology) and mathematics as "core subjects" marginalizing social sciences, the aegis under which geography is taught. The same kind of educational qualifications that are demanded of teachers of the "core" subjects are not demanded of those teaching social sciences.
Clearly, greater and deeper interventions are needed. Indian academic geographers have not engaged adequately with school teachers to build their capacity to teach geography effectively in relevant and exciting ways. Nor have professional (non-academic) geographers been visible in the public arena where they speak out about what geography has meant to their profession, and how they have benefited from a sound geography education (in terms of job satisfaction, career progress, income, social prestige, and so forth). Consequently, the misconception has become deeply entrenched in India that geography is just a subject to be endured for the sake of exams and that it does not offer any career choices of its own or contribute to a career in any way. Sadly, very few Indian geographers are engaging with these issues at the K-12 level. As a direct consequence of this state of affairs, undergraduate and graduate geography education is suffering significantly in India.
TIIGS was established in this context in 2000 to help contribute to addressing the situation (
In the time since its inception, TIIGS has reached out to over 1000 teachers and over 3000 students (combined) in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh states. TIIGS is now partnered with the Army Public School, Bangalore, and the Central University of Karnataka, Gulbarga. This partnership is rapidly expanding. A geography center called the GeoVidyaa Geography Centre of Excellence has been established at the Army Public School where many activities are held. TIIGS is also in the process of laying the groundwork for starting a similar center in another district in Karnataka and one in a district of Andhra Pradesh state in the very near future.
As part of the work that TIIGS does, it was very opportune to co-host the CGGE workshop in Bangalore. In the near future, TIIGS hopes to take the partnership in new directions by making available online content and pedagogy resources for teachers in Kannada and English. Subsequently, these will be made available in other Indian languages also. However, despite the belief that India is a high-tech country, most schools do not have access to computer resources. These will have to be helped through printed materials and in-person interactions only.
The CGGE workshop has opened many avenues of thought to take the online materials and make them available in print format, in English and Indian languages to increase a more rigorous engagement with the world through geography. Finally, TIIGS also is planning to prepare a wide variety of Indian and South Asian case studies at various scales for students from middle school and above all the way to undergraduate level. Furthermore, by collaborating across boundaries, geography education in all the CGGE participants can benefit from adding the Indian context and case to their repertoire. Indian geography educators can also view the topics as they relate to India, in a global context and explore global interconnections.
As examples of the materials developed by the workshop participants, Boxes 123 illustrate CSs and CPs developed by three of the Bangalore workshop groups. The authors introduce the topic of their CS and discuss what makes it a geographically significant issue to study in the context of India. They summarize the learning objectives and content coverage of the CS, and describe how the associated CP helps to reinforce and engage students in the ideas presented in the CS. The authors also offer reflections on how the group's own composition, interests, and research backgrounds affected decision-making and the resulting collaboration.
Is labor migration changing the landscape of Kerala?
Pablo S. Bose, University of Vermont on behalf of group members:
Elizabeth Chacko (George Washington University, USA)
Shawna Morgan (Nova High School, USA)
Sulochana Shekhar (Central University of Karnataka, India)
Migration is a central concept in global geographic education, a way of explaining historical and contemporary movements of populations as well as the different "push" and "pull" factors that motivate relocation. India has experienced multiple forms of internal and international migration and has a long history of being both a sending country and a receiving country for migrants. As a way of illustrating the complexities, challenges, and nuances of these spatial flows, our work group chose to focus on the case of labor migration from Kerala and the various types of economic development and landscape change these population movements have engendered in both new and old homes. As one of the most typical spatial flows, labor migration can be considered as part of long-term movements as well as temporary movements and is an important way for us to understand contemporary as well as historical flows of people, goods, cultures, and economies across the world (Levitt & De la Dehesa, [
Kerala is an illustrative example through which we can examine these broad global migration dynamics in a local context. The state has a long history of labor migration and has a strong reputation for achieving many human development goals including high levels of education, health, and civic engagement, as well as urbanization (Pani & Jafar, [
There are four major learning objectives that we want students to accomplish through this CS. We ask them to do the following:
- Describe patterns of labor migration and the associated economic, demographic, and socio-cultural changes in Kerala.
- Understand the role of local and global economies in the flows of migrants to and from Kerala, from the past to the present.
- Explain and analyze the types of changes to the landscape – cultural, ideological, material – we see in multiple destinations as a result of these migration patterns from Kerala.
- Evaluate and critique the vulnerabilities and sustainability of a remittance-based economy such as Kerala's in fostering long-term development.
In order to achieve these objectives, we introduce students to the broader context of migration in and from India, focus specifically on Kerala and contemporary flows, explore the transnational practices of non-resident Keralites, examine the role of migrants in the transformation of landscapes in both old and new homes, and raise the question of possibilities and challenges of basing a regional economy on migrant remittances. Sample activities we ask our students to engage with include viewing a number of testimonies (in the form of video clips) from migrants regarding their own lived experience of movement, a comparative analysis of spatial patterns from India and other major sending and receiving destinations such as the USA and Mexico, and analyzing the activities and services of a Kerala state agency dedicated to the needs of non-resident Keralites.
In one of our major CPs in this module, students work in small groups to research and reflect upon the experiences of Keralite immigrants to the Gulf region. We begin by asking students to warm up for the exercise by reflecting on their own family's history of migration – forced or voluntary, recent or historical. Students are then divided into smaller groups of three to four for the main exercise, in which they are asked to research one of the major Gulf destination countries for non-resident Keralites. Guided by a set of prompts, students explore spatial patterns of migration, volume of population flows, motivations for leaving, and the political, social and cultural contexts and impacts of these migrations. Based on this research, students are then asked to write a letter from the perspective of a Keralite migrant to one of these countries to their family in Kerala. The letters from each group are then shared with the larger class. The purpose of this exercise is to dig deeper beyond the data and statistics on migration and for students to supplement their knowledge through narrative and imagination to embody at least a portion of the migrant experience.
The collaborators within our group bring a range of interdisciplinary approaches and backgrounds to our effort. Dr Chacko has conducted extensive fieldwork in both India and the USA in projects on immigration, ethnicity, gender, and community development. Dr Shekhar's work on informal settlement analysis using geographic information systems (GIS) draws on an understanding of migrant flows that are swelling the size of Indian slums. Dr Bose's research on diasporas and transnationalism explores the various cultural and economic practices that are changing land-use patterns as well as identities in both Indian cities and overseas locations. Ms Morgan's teaching expertise includes the use of comparative case studies of migrant experiences to help students situate and individualize their understanding of national and international flows of people. Together our group was able to pool our knowledge of broad context (migration and development theory, remittances, and transnationalism), regional trends (labor migration, community-building), tools and methods (political economy, urban and regional geography, GIS, personal narrative), and local impacts (landscape change in both Kerala and the Gulf).
How do market forces shape the management and distribution of potable water?
Jody Smothers-Marcello (Sitka High School, USA)
Lawrence Osen (San Marcos Middle School, USA)
Mahesh Gaur (Government Bangur PG College, India)
Nupur Chatterjee (Azim Premji Foundation, India)
Majed Akhter (University of Arizona, USA)
The privatization of water is a growing worldwide phenomenon. As our group met in March 2012, the topic was on the front page of the newspapers with stories describing the impacts of water privatization in Bangalore. The connections among regions of the world with privatization were highlighted with members of the group including an educator from Sitka, Alaska, as the City of Sitka has a contract to sell bulk water to a company whose vision is to transport that glacial water to the west coast of India in order to create a global water hub. Meanwhile, the contrast of regions of the world lacking water contrasted with regions of the world containing an abundance of water dominated many of our discussions. Does it make sense for water to be privatized and transported across the globe, just as is any other commodity such as oil, coffee, or gold? Meanwhile, group members have extensive research interests in water (see Gaur & Gaur, [
Objectives for this CS include the following: (
Meanwhile the CP asks students to use Google Earth to study their water infrastructure, discuss it with their collaborative partners, and generate a new collaborative study. In comparing and contrasting each other's water infrastructure, students apply the concepts discussed in the CS and construct their own knowledge using first the familiar and then the unfamiliar concepts. Finally, they ask and explore geographic questions as they engage in the inquiry process, a vital aspect of geographical studies. By using Google Earth and having access to persons on the ground in another locale, students will engage in a modified version of fieldwork, another vital aspect of geographical studies.
With experts on water issues at the table (one expert on the Thar Desert and the other expert on the Indus River treaty) and three geography educators with a high interest in water issues, the group as a whole coalesced easily because of this mutual focus. In addition to the expertise in the content, the educators came to the table with a depth of experience in pedagogy developed over long professional careers, including at the national and international levels. Professional respect was accorded from the beginning given the age of the group members, the extensive publication records, and the professional activities which created five diverse perspectives. Collaboration thus flowed easily. By being able to meet and talk over the course of 5 days, the group members had a chance to come know one another, which allowed for a healthy collegial respect once the group members departed for their respective homes in Pakistan, Rajasthan, the southwestern USA, and Alaska.
How can geographic interpretation of streetscapes provide local and global perspectives on transportation and manufacturing?
Eric Pawson (University of Canterbury, New Zealand)
Pratyusha Basu (University of South Florida, USA)
Valerie Morgan Mervine (Landstown High School, USA)
David Palmer (Eaglecrest High School, USA)
The challenge facing us in creating a new Global Economy CS was to introduce students to key concepts in economic geography through the use of an engaging CS that could be linked to both everyday experiences and global economic processes. The "hook" that we ultimately devised was the notion of "streetscape," and it was a term that seemed quickly to fire the imaginations of participants at the workshop. We linked the notion of "streetscape" to Massey's ([
In our CS, we define "streetscapes" as local landscapes of transportation that included streets and buildings, and the people and vehicles that they contain and channel. The learning objectives for our CS are as follows:
- Link local streetscapes to the global transport economy.
- Use geographic interpretation of streetscapes to understand local and global perspectives on transportation.
- Analyze how transport options differ across class and gender.
- Assess how markets for new cars and two wheelers are being created both locally and globally.
- Evaluate the environmental and social impacts of private vehicle use and future transportation projects in India.
We begin the CS by introducing students to some of the key elements of location theory that loom large in AP Human Geography classes. We also examine how traditional locational concepts, such as agglomeration economies, retain some value, but have less purchase in explaining what happens once firms become transnational, or start to operate across borders in a globalizing world. Cars in particular are the product of complex commodity chains, different parts of which may be located in different locations all over the world.
India is a key node in the manufacture and sale of cars by multinational and domestic producers. The adoption of India's New Economic Policy in 1991 was designed to encourage foreign direct investment in manufacturing and service industries (Ahmed, Kundu, & Peet, [
Another key aspect in our CS is the focus on advertising campaigns of major car manufacturers to reflect their construction of the "global consumer." Our CS used advertisements available on the Tata Nano website. On the basis of these advertising visuals, the Tata Nano seems to target young, single people with leisurely lifestyles. In one the advertisements, a young woman in Western-style dress proclaims that the Nano is her "new BFF."
However, India's streetscapes are filled with more than cars. The most popular motorized vehicles here are two wheelers: mopeds, scooters, and motorbikes, in part, because they are relatively affordable, fairly fuel efficient, maneuverable in crowded streets, and easier to park. Two wheelers thus provide mobility to those who cannot afford cars or want greater ease of travel on congested roads. Social inequalities also come to the fore in discussions of pedestrianism, since roads that are not suitable nor safe for walking often restrict the mobility of women in low-income households. Environmental issues are another important aspect of burgeoning traffic, with congestion, pollution, and sprawl being the negative effects of increasing car ownership in India.
Two CPs were devised for the CS: (i) an analysis of streetscapes through a "global sense of place" and (ii) a mapping of car components to visualize the global production of cars. The streetscape analysis project begins with one representative photograph of a local streetscape drawn from those taken by a team of students. This photograph can then be analyzed based on various criteria (e.g., kinds and brands of vehicles, presence of people, and so on). The next step is for each team of students to compare their photograph with those taken by other teams (ranging from teams within the same class to teams in international locations) in order to gain an understanding of similarities and differences across streetscapes. The CP on car components requires students to locate various sites of manufacture and to assemble components of an individual car brand on a world map, thus visualizing the car as a globally produced commodity. Car component maps can subsequently be compared for different cars by aggregating data from several group projects. Students can subsequently share their maps and analysis by contributing to discussion threads in an online forum.
The group for the Global Economy India CS consisted of four members: two AP Human Geography teachers from US high schools, one from a university in New Zealand, and one from a US university (whose main research interests and fieldwork experiences focus on India and who is originally from India). The topic for the CS emerged from the experience of one of the team members who had a pleasant conversation with a managerial employee associated with BMW in the Bangalore hotel that was the workshop venue. The notion of "streetscape" as a more overtly geographic concept for discussing transport and manufacturing emerged in the first formal group meeting and the CS question and themes evolved from there. Our "method" throughout was to subject each content and style element to rigorous criticism from our various perspectives as well as in keeping with the needs of diverse groups of students, so that our collective understanding was built through open-ended discussions. We also incorporated formal and informal comments from other workshop participants, helping us add components that would make the CS more useful to different teaching contexts.
Following this introduction are three articles addressing different dimensions and issues related to building international collaborations involving geography educators in economically developed and developing regions. The first of these is a critical discussion of Robert Hanvey's "An Attainable Global Perspective," published in [
The second paper situates the CGGE project within the broader literature on distance learning and online education. The author explores the role of modern communication and information technologies, and CGGE in particular, in distance education and in relation to the globalization of education. The paper also raises questions as to the extent that CGGE and related technology-driven initiatives offer a means of building equitable and ethical relationships among educational practitioners in different world regions.
The final paper focuses on the opportunities and challenges inherent in building international collaborations across the educational continuum from schools to universities. It presents the AP program, which offers exams in high schools leading to college credit, as a possible nexus of collaboration linking internationally geography educators at all levels. The authors reflect on their experiences in the CGGE-India workshop and propose ideas for improving future workshops of this nature.
Funding for the CGGE-India workshop was provided by a grant from the National Science Foundation (Award OISE-1065935). We are also grateful for the additional funding support provided by the AAG, the Journal of Geography in Higher Education, and Taylor & Francis. The International Network for Learning and Teaching Geography in Higher Education provided important logistical support.
By Michael Solem and Chandra Shekhar Balachandran
Reported by Author; Author
