World Regional Geography
Course Outcome Summary
Organization / South Central College
Developers / Willy Mekeel and Ray Schmidt
Development Date / 12/20/2011
Course Number / GEOG 105
Potential Hours of Instruction / 48
Total Credits / 3
Description
This course will allow students to examine the political, economic, cultural, and physical differences between the world's major regions. These differences will help foster a better understanding of how world citizens interact in the global age. Place-location literacy will be emphasized to enable students to apply information learned in this course beyond the confines of the classroom. Map and data interpretation skills will also be learned. An appreciation of world current events will be developed throughout the semester. (MNTC 8: Global Perspective; MNTC 10: People & The Environment; Pre-requisite: Accuplacer Reading Comprehension Score of 78 or above or completion of READ 0090)
Instruction Type / Contact Hours / Credits
Lecture / 48 / 3
Prerequisites
Accuplacer Reading Comprehension Score of 78 or above or completion of READ0090.
Exit Learning Outcomes
Core AbilitiesA. / Civic Knowledge and Engagement--Local and Global
B. / Intercultural Knowledge and Competence
C. / Analysis and Inquiry
Program Outcomes
A. / Goal Area 8: Global Perspective Goals: To increase students' understanding of the growing interdependence of nations and peoples and develop their ability to apply a comparative perspective to cross-cultural social, economic and political experiences. Student competencies: Students will be able to o Describe and analyze political, economic, and cultural elements which influence relations of states and societies in their historical and contemporary dimensions. o Demonstrate knowledge of cultural, social, religious and linguistic differences. o Analyze specific international problems, illustrating the cultural, economic, and political differences that affect their solution. o Understand the role of the world citizen and the responsibility world citizens share for their common global future.
B. / Goal Area 10: People & the Environment Goal: To improve students' understanding of today's complex environmental challenges. Students will examine the inter-relatedness of human society and the natural environment. Knowledge of both bio-physical principles and socio-cultural systems is the foundation for integrative and critical thinking about environmental issues. Student competencies: Students will be able to: o Explain the basic structure and function of various natural ecosystems and of human adaptive strategies within those systems. o Discern patterns and interrelationships of bio-physical and socio-cultural systems. o Describe the basic institutional arrangements (social, legal, political, economic, and religious) that are evolving to deal with environmental and natural resource challenges. o Evaluate critically environmental and natural resource issues in light of understandings about interrelationships, ecosystems, and institutions propose and assess o Alternative solutions to environmental problems. o Articulate and defend the actions they would take on various environmental issues
Competencies
1. / Demonstrate knowledge of basic geographic terms, locations, concepts, and theories.
Learning Objectives
a.Explain the five themes of geography: location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region.
b.Define spatial perspective and how it applies to all human and physical phenomena.
c.Express the difference between the theories of environmental determinism and possibilism.
2. / Define the tools geographers use when analyzing world regions.
Learning Objectives
a.Use maps to describe physical geographic locations.
b.Describe map projections, scales, types of grid lines, and symbols.
c.Be aware of the key elements of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
d.Explain how Remote Sensing is used in geography.
e.Utilize an atlas to locate notable places in world regions.
3. / Demonstrate the regional concept as a key method for geographic studies.
Learning Objectives
a.Illustrate the historical background of the regional concept.
b.Define regional concept as it is used today in geography literature.
4. / Comprehend the interdependence of the world's major regions.
Learning Objectives
a.Recognize that world regional geography combines the human and physical qualities of a region to better understand their uniqueness and interdependence among other regions.
b.Demonstrate an understanding of the world's need to protect and share finite resources.
c.Identify the patterns and networks of economic interdependence.
5. / Discuss how the physical aspects of major regions affect the human systems within each region.
Learning Objectives
a.Classify the dominate physical features within a region to include the corresponding climatic conditions.
b.Recognize how physical features affect economic development in a region.
c.Illustrate the interplay between peoples within their immediate physical surroundings.
6. / Evaluate how humans have modified the physical environment in each major region.
Learning Objectives
a.Outline the major types of agricultural practices within a region and how they impact land use.
b.Contrast development with urban patterns focusing on high population areas within a region.
c.Name the major industrial areas to include bulk-reducing industries that heavily impact the environment such as open pit mining operations.
7. / Describe the diversity of cultures within the major regions of the world.
Learning Objectives
a.Explain how cultural and political ideals including language, religion, and traditions gives people unique identities.
b.Diagnose the role of migration and distribution patterns of human populations has on historical conflicts within a major region.
8. / Recognize the methods that remove cultural and physical barriers between regions thereby increasing globalization.
Learning Objectives
a.Explore the roles of dominate languages, such as English as an international business language, on globalization.
b.Analyze how popular culture and the diffusion of popular media, especially the Internet, has impacted traditional barriers between regions.
c.Access the main modes of transportation between major regions.
9. / Write short essays and create annotated maps to show a comprehensive knowledge of the major regions within Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
Learning Objectives
a.Study the following major regions: North America, South America, Central America, Europe, Russia, Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Oceania, and Australia.
b.Employ basic geography literacy in regional description and analysis.