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THE
FIVE COLLEGE-LEVEL GOALS
OF
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY
STANDARDS
The particular topics studied
in this course are based on the Five College-Level Goals of the
National
Geography Standards developed
by
the National Council on Geographic Education. On successful
completion of the course,
students should be able to:
- 1 •Use and think about maps and spatial data sets. Geography
is fundamentally concerned with the ways in which patterns on Earth’s
surface reflect and influence physical and human processes. As such,
maps and spatial data are fundamental to the discipline, and learning
to use and think about them is critical to geographical literacy. The
goal is achieved when students learn to use maps and spatial data to
pose and solve problems, and when they learn to think critically about
what is revealed and what is hidden in different maps and spatial
arrays.
- 2 •Understand and interpret the implications of associations
among phenomena in places. Geography looks at the world from a spatial
perspective--seeking to understand the changing spatial organization
and material character of Earth’s surface. One of the critical
advantages of a spatial perspective is the attention it focuses on how
phenomena are related to one another in particular places. Students
should thus learn not just to recognize and interpret patterns, but to
assess the nature and significance of the relationships among phenomena
that occur in the same place and to understand how tastes and values,
political regulations, and economic constraints work together to create
particular types of cultural landscapes.
- 3 •Recognize and interpret at different scales the
relationships among patterns and processes. Geographical analysis
requires a sensitivity to scale--not just as a spatial category but as
a frame-work for understanding how events and processes at different
scales influence one another. Thus, students should understand that the
phenomena they are studying at one scale (e.g., local) may well be
influenced by developments at other scales (e.g., regional, national,
or global). They should then look at processes operating at multiple
scales when seeking explanations of geographic patterns and
arrangements www.collegeboard.org/ap 5
- 4 •Define regions and evaluate the regionalization process.
Geography is concerned not simply with describing patterns, but with
analyzing how they came about and what they mean. Students should see
regions as objects of analysis and exploration and move beyond simply
locating and describing regions to considering how and why they come
into being--and what they reveal about the changing character of the
world in which we live.
- 5 •Characterize and analyze changing interconnections among
places. At the heart of a geographical perspective is a concern with
the ways in which events and processes operating in one place can
influence those operating at other places. Thus, students should view
places and patterns not in isolation, but in terms of their spatial and
functional relationship with other places and patterns. Moreover, they
should strive to be aware that those relationships are constantly
changing, and they should understand how and why change occurs.