Advanced Placement Human Geography Course
Offered Online 2012-2013 Academic Year
Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Alliance for Geographic Education
The Pennsylvania Alliance for Geographic Education is pleased to announce that they will be offering an on-line Advanced Placement Human Geography course available during the 2012-2013 school year. This course is available to students in grades 9-12 in all school districts and all private schools in Pennsylvania.
The tuition for this year-long class is $550.00 per student (the exam fee and 2 textbooks will be an additional cost). An exam score of 3, 4, or 5 (out of a possible 5) enables the student to transfer 3 college credits to the college of their choice that accepts these credits. This course will be taught in an asynchronous format and is ideal for an independent study or an enrichment class!
AP® Human Geography is the fastest growing and newest AP subject. This is a year-long course for students in grades 9 through 12 ; the course is designed to meet or exceed the experience of an introductory one-semester college human geography course. The purpose of the course is to use geographic processes to systematically study and understand spatial patterns that are evident in the world in which we live. The AP Human Geography course serves as an excellent AP gateway experience for students in grades 9 and 10.
The course consists of a full academic year broken into units. The main topics of the course are: Geography: Its Nature & Perspectives, Population, Cultural Patterns & Processes, Political Organization of Space, Agricultural & Rural Land Use, Industrialization & Economic Development, and Cities & Urban Land Use. Geographic skills such as using and thinking about maps and spatial data, recognizing and interpreting relationships at different scales, and defining regions are learned in this course. The AP Human Geography course is taught by an experienced public school teacher with a Ph.D. in geography who has taught AP Human Geography for six years, has been an AP Human Geography Exam reader for ten years, and is the author of “5 Steps to a 5 Human Geography,” part of McGraw-Hill’s series on successful AP exam preparation .
Since geography is a spatial science and is learned best by “doing,” a combination of required readings, virtual field trips, and hands-on activities make this an exciting and relevant course. On-line video clips, case studies, and other special features make this a diverse and fascinating experience in learning about the world and the people who are its inhabitants. A thorough exam content review as well as extensive practice writing solid FRQ’s provides students with excellent opportunities to be successful in this course.
A limited number of seats will be available. If you are interested in providing your students with this wonderful new opportunity, please contact Dr. Jan Smith, Pennsylvania Alliance for Geographic Education Coordinator at Shippensburg University, as soon as possible for additional information and to register. Contact: jssmit@ship.edu