This class supports the Virginia Standards of Learning for teaching World Geography and is designed to help teachers incorporate more geography into the curriculum. Participants who complete the course will be eligible for license renewal points, or it may be taken for three graduate credits through Old Dominion University.The class will be offered on the Internet at http://geoconnectscontemporaryregions.pwnet.org. Registration may be completed online at that Web site. Teachers may register from September 10 through October 12, 2012, and the class starts October 15, 2012. The course ends November 26, 2012.
The goals of the course are as follows:
- to understand relationships between human beings and their environment in different regions of the world;
- to understand the cultural forces, including language and religion, which unite and divide the world’s people;
- to understand the role of cities in shaping the modern world and the role of urbanization in the development process; and
- to understand the human and physical geography of contemporary Africa and its connections to African history.
In order to take this course for graduate credit, participants must register at http://geoconnectscontemporaryregions.pwnet.org and with Old Dominion University. It is listed in the Old Dominion University catalog as Geog 650 – Course Reference Number: 27596. Participants are responsible for graduate course costs.
Dr. Don Zeigler, a professor of geography at Old Dominion University since 1980 and VGA member, will teach the course. Please contact him at dzeigler@odu.edu or at (757) 368-4113 for more information. Although the course content is the same for everyone, teachers enrolled in World Geography Connects: Contemporary Regions for graduate credit will be required to complete a lesson or unit plan.
