This session brings together innovative pedagogical approaches that enhance geographic learning across cultural, environmental, and institutional contexts. Presenters share experiential and place-based teaching methods, explore emotional and interdisciplinary responses to global crises like climate change, and reflect on the role of Indigenous knowledge and international fieldwork. From Taiwan to Costa Rica and across Canadian universities, the session emphasizes student engagement, decolonization, gratitude, and the transformative potential of geography education.

• 8:30 AM
  Assessing the Effectiveness of Environmental Education Activities for Indigenous Elementary School Students
  Shyue-Cherng Liaw, National Taiwan Normal University

• 8:45 AM
  Geographies of Gratitude: Investigating the Intersections Between Place-Connection, Geographical Theory, and Gratitude in Students Enrolled in a First-Year Human Geography Course
  Robin Elizabeth Westland, Thompson Rivers University

• 9:00 AM
  Geography Pedagogy for Countering Climate Change Distress with Resilience, Empowerment, and Hope
  Tara Holland, Simon Fraser University

• 9:15 AM
  Translating for Allies: Unpacking the Role of Indigenous Sovereignty in Indigenous-Academic Research Partnerships
  Emily Beacock, Western University

• 9:30 AM
  Wẽ́shkẽ: Reflections on Nipissing University’s Geography Field Courses to Costa Rica in 2023 and 2025
  Dan Walters, Nipissing University

• 9:45 AM
  Incorporating Field Work Best Practices into University Classroom Experiences
  Mike Bitton, Wilfrid Laurier University