Note: You can access the AP® Human Geography Course Description here:
  AP Human Geography Course Description (.pdf/2.2KB)

What Is Human Geography?
Why Should We Teach Human Geography?
These two questions usually stand out in any discussion of the AP Human Geography course. Students, parents, and administrators usually ask the first question. Administrators and department chairs often ask the second one. I will answer both questions below, but the answer to the second question, especially, could not be more critical in today's post-9/11 world. What course could be more relevant and important than AP Human Geography? Given the course content and ideas, and the connective power of geographic thinking, AP Human Geography is a course to which every student must have access today.

When I first offered the AP Human Geography course, many parents and students asked the same question: "What is human geography?" After six years, AP Human Geography has become the largest AP course in our school. The fact is that students are becoming aware of what human geography is because of AP Human Geography. Students have become excited about the course work and the ideas in the subject. My personal mantra is that "geography is everything, and everything is geography." There is something exciting in the course for everyone. AP Human Geography allows students to learn about world population issues, border disputes, and international conflicts. In addition, the course exposes students to economic theories and models as well as world religions and the origins and diffusion of languages. They study urban development, industrialization, and city planning, experiencing these topics through field trips, if possible. Overall, AP Human Geography students and teachers explore topics ranging from farming to pandemic disease. 

Professional Development for Teachers
Many teachers do not think they can teach AP Human Geography. The main problem prospective teachers face is a lack of formal training in geography, and most states do not require preservice social science educators to take much geography. If you are committed and willing to learn, however, then AP Human Geography offers many wonderful opportunities and challenges. Becoming an AP Human Geography teacher requires following a few steps:

• Prospective teachers should attend an AP Summer Institute in human geography, where they will learn tips on teaching the course from experts who have already taught it. Teachers can later get refresher training at one- or two-day AP workshops or College Board-sanctioned online training.
• Teachers should use the printed and electronic resources available from the College Board.
• They can go to their state geographic alliance for further assistance. Most states have an alliance, which conducts institutes, training, and workshops for teachers who want to incorporate geography into their curricula.
• Teachers can take a geography course or two to build personal content knowledge. Mainly, as all good teachers already know, it just takes commitment and training to develop a good AP course.

Teaching a College Course in the High School Context
AP Human Geography, unlike many AP courses, represents only a three-credit college offering. Some high schools teach this course in a semester format; most teach it as a yearlong course even though students might earn only three college credits. The way to teach AP Human Geography depends on the level of training of the teacher, the school schedule, student enrollment policies, and other offerings in geography available to the students. If the prospective AP Human Geography teacher has a degree in geography and has taught AP courses before, then teaching the course in one semester is feasible. If the school is on block scheduling, which can allow for extra time in each semester, then a one-semester approach might work.

Generally speaking, however, it is probably best to teach AP Human Geography as a yearlong course because most teachers do not have enough formal training in geography. In addition, unlike students taking AP U.S. History, most students have little to no background in geography. For example, most high school pupils have never studied land rent or core-periphery models. The concepts, models, and information in AP Human Geography are fascinating, but the ideas are usually new. Therefore, the yearlong approach is recommended to give teachers and students more flexibility. It also provides more opportunities for applied learning and field experiences.

Resources for Teachers
Teachers will need other tools as they begin an AP Human Geography course. They should obtain copies of three or four different human geography textbooks in addition to the one the students are using (participants generally receive free texts at AP Summer Institutes). Many texts address the same issues in quite different ways, and the teacher can integrate these differing viewpoints or emphases into classroom activities. The Internet can be a valuable tool to the AP Human Geography teacher if used with reasonable caution. For example, the Census Bureau and the Population Reference Bureau offer a wealth of data that students can not only view but also manipulate:
  US Census Bureau
  Population Reference Bureau

AP Human Geography teachers should guide students to apply critical thinking skills as they use resources such as these to develop geographic skills essential to helping them connect geographic ideas. The Web sites noted above are just two examples among many that teachers can use to teach geographic thinking. A more exhaustive list is available in the Teachers' Resources area, also on AP Central®.
  Teachers' Resources

Exams are a part of any AP course, and AP Human Geography students must take rigorous exams in class to prepare them for the AP Exam in May. Multiple-choice questions should do more than ask for simple recall. Teachers should strive to reach the top tiers of Bloom's taxonomy on multiple-choice questions. Writing and scoring free-response questions is the toughest transition for teachers. Questions should have multiple parts designed to get the student to tie concepts, models, and other information together. It is imperative that teachers design rubrics as they formulate the questions to maintain focus on how students should answer and to ensure equitable scoring.

Teaching Human Geography Through Field Trips
Finally, teachers should try to schedule a field trip or field work at some point during the year. It is important to note the difference in these two terms. Field trips might involve visiting food-processing plants or taking an urban walk. Field work may involve the preceding, but students should collect data to collate or process in developing classroom hypotheses. Another way to take AP Human Geography out of the classroom is to have students take photographs of their local cultural landscape. Signs, cemeteries, religious structures, and countless other examples from the built environment will help students think beyond their textbook and make critical academic connections to the real world around them. A nearby college or university may also be an excellent resource. Here, geography professors are usually more than glad to share their expertise with you and your students.

The sky is the limit when it comes to teaching AP Human Geography. Give this course a try, and you too will discover that geography is everything, and everything is geography.

In 1993, Paul Gray became a geography teacher at Russellville High School in Russellville, Arkansas, where he continues to teach today and serves as Social Studies Department chair. In 1999and 2005, Gray began teaching regional geography and human geography, respectively, as an adjunct instructor at Arkansas Tech University. Since 2001, Gray has served as Reader, Table Leader, Question Leader, and Exam Leader at the AP Human Geography Exam Reading and is currently a member of the AP Human Geography Development Committee. He is a National Board Certified Teacher. Gray is also a consultant for the College Board and the Arkansas Geographic Alliance. He received the Distinguished Teaching Achievement Award from the National Council for Geographic Education in 2003 and was named Russellville's Teacher of the Year in 2004. Gray completed a bachelor's degree in history and secondary education and a master's of education in social science at Arkansas Tech University. Gray has additional graduate hours in geography from the University of Central Arkansas.