From seasons to cisterns: The nature of geographical intuition

Abstract

This chapter makes the argument that - at least with respect to the relationship between humans and the natural environment and the way this relationship is approached in the formal curriculum - alignment between the assessment of children and their day-to-day lived experience is critical to developing enduring understanding beyond rudimentary textbook recitation. It is suggested that an overlooked element of this alignment has been the role that intuitions about geography play in shaping such understanding and how these intuitions can sometimes be very powerful in lensing understanding either accurately or inaccurately. The challenge - from the point of view of curriculum designers (who are, by definition, disciplinary experts) - is in reminding ourselves of just how subliminal some of these day-to-day lived experiences might be.