Sarah Stanlick

Redefining the Longitude/Latitude Experience with a Scaffolded Geocache

Latitude and longitude are foundational concepts for geography education, yet they are typically poorly understood by students and receive indifferent attention from instructors and publishers’ materials. Social studies teachers can take advantage of increasingly ubiquitous geolocating devices such as Global Positions Systems (GPS) to provide students with a hands-on experience of latitude and longitude to promote spatial thinking skills. We present one such approach, a simplified, scaffolded version of a geocache designed to fit within a single class period: working in pairs, students will use a GPS (or other geolocating device, such as a smartphone) to navigate among several targets set up by the teacher. Students’ conceptions and opportunities for extension and application are discussed.