Teaching spatial thinking with the national atlas of korea in U.S. secondary level education

Summary

Spatial thinking, defined by the U.S. National Research Council (NRC) as a way of thinking that integrates spatial concepts, representation tools, and reasoning processes, is a key competency in K-12 geography education. However, secondary classrooms often lack well-designed resources to teach these elements. This paper documents a project that utilized the National Atlas of Korea—a freely accessible, content-rich atlas—to develop geography lesson plans for U.S. secondary education. Four experienced geography teachers were invited to design four "AP Human Geography" (APHG) lesson plans that integrate spatial concepts, thematic map interpretation, and reasoning processes, covering topics such as urban planning and urbanization, cultural diffusion, population dynamics, and development. Since the fall of 2015, these lesson plans have been implemented 19 times in secondary classrooms and 2 times in university classrooms, reaching over 800 students in Utah, Georgia, Minnesota, and Tennessee. Qualitative observations from teachers indicate that students were able to comprehend thematic maps of varying complexity, identify spatial patterns and associations, and enhance their spatial reasoning, critical thinking, and collaborative learning skills; they also gained background knowledge about Korean geography and culture. Additionally, a companion APHG curriculum alignment document helped teachers connect atlas resources to course standards. This project demonstrates that national atlases can serve as effective tools for teaching spatial thinking and provide reusable materials for APHG courses. Future efforts will expand the lesson plans by utilizing newly published volumes on the physical and human geography of Korea.