by Lisa Colson and Roger-Mark De Souza
(April 2005) In late 2004, the Population Reference Bureau, with the assistance of the Minnesota Alliance of Geography Education and with support from the Minneapolis Foundation, conducted a survey of secondary school teachers who teach population and related topics in their classrooms. The survey questions sought to determine the degree to which population is taught, the types of materials that teachers are using to teach population topics, the specific topics that teachers cover, and teachers' information needs.
Profile of Respondents
The survey targeted teachers in Minnesota, highlighting Minnesota state teaching standards that relate to population topics. PRB collected 304 responses from a pool of more than 2,000 educators. As expected, the majority of the respondents (93.7%) teach in Minnesota. Most respondents (60%) teach Geography at the 7th to 12th grade levels. Teachers of American History, Science, AP Human Geography, AP World History, and many other subjects were also represented in the survey, as well as a wide range of grade levels. The four courses taught most often were 8th grade Geography (59 respondents), 11th grade World History (46 respondents), 10th grade American History (44 respondents), and 12th grade Sociology (39 respondents).
Results Summary
Most respondents teach domestic and/or international population topics in their classrooms, with many of them devoting at least 10 percent of the school year to population topics. Overall, respondents showed a high interest in utilizing the Internet as a source of information and for developing teaching materials. They also showed a high interest in data, many specifying the need for recent data and population trends. In addition, teachers were particularly interested in having access to new lessons and videos. The survey showed that most teachers rely heavily on textbooks for population topics, while a few do not use one nor have access to one. Most important, the survey showed that a wide range of materials are used and of interest to teachers. Teachers find maps very useful and are especially interested in finding more maps and map-based activities that can be used in the classroom.
Details of Results
Time Devoted to Teaching Specific Population Topics
On average, two to three hours are devoted to each of the major population themes (see Figure 1) required for Minnesota teachers to cover. When only the 11th and 12th grade teachers for geography, AP human geography, and AP world history are considered, the average time spent increases to about three to four hours.
Figure 1
Time Devoted to Teaching Specific Population Topics
At the same time, most teachers noted that they devote about 10 percent of the school year to teaching population topics.
Information Sources Used by Teachers
Textbooks and the Internet have been highly used by teachers when they are preparing their lessons. Table 1 highlights the sources used by teachers.
Several teachers provided other sources that they tend to use. These include: magazines/newspapers/periodicals (13 responses out of 39), books, videos and TV, personal creativity and experience, and primary sources.
Table 1
Sources Used by Teachers
|
Potential Sources |
Most Used |
Often |
Sometimes |
Rarely |
Never Used |
| Textbooks |
28% |
37% |
26% |
9% |
1% |
| Internet |
17% |
40% |
37% |
5% |
2% |
| Colleagues |
7% |
27% |
45% |
20% |
1% |
| Workshops/conferences |
4% |
27% |
50% |
17% |
2% |
| Libraries |
3% |
31% |
42% |
22% |
2% |
| Government agencies |
3% |
15% |
47% |
25% |
10% |
| Education associations |
2% |
9% |
40% |
37% |
12% |
| Non-profits |
1% |
9% |
33% |
37% |
20% |
| Private groups |
0% |
4% |
23% |
48% |
24% |
Source: Survey responses to question 4 on survey: "Please rate the following according to what you use most to prepare lessons?"
Types of Materials Used to Teach Population Topics
The types of materials on world population topics that the respondents have found useful cover a wide range (see Table 2). From the options provided, maps were considered the most useful materials, with 79 percent of respondents rating maps very useful. Fact sheets and websites were also rated highly, with 61 percent of respondents rating them very useful and about 31 percent rating them somewhat useful.
Table 2
Useful Types of Materials
|
Materials |
Very Useful |
Somewhat |
Not Useful |
| Maps |
79% |
17% |
4% |
| Fact sheets |
61% |
31% |
8% |
| Web sites |
61% |
30% |
9% |
| Lesson plans |
38% |
48% |
14% |
| Transparency masters |
45% |
34% |
21% |
| Videos |
39% |
44% |
17% |
| A list of resources |
29% |
52% |
19% |
| Textbooks |
28% |
52% |
21% |
| Brief publications / journal articles |
30% |
47% |
23% |
| Worksheets |
18% |
60% |
22% |
| PowerPoint presentations |
25% |
43% |
32% |
| Literary texts |
8% |
53% |
39% |
Source: Survey responses to question 9 on survey: "What types of materials on world population topics have you found useful? Please rate them accordingly."
The survey showed that a wide variety of materials are currently used to teach population in the classrooms. Most respondents listed several materials and some gave general responses, while others were more specific about the types of materials they use. The most frequently provided responses were maps (74 times), the textbook (70 times), and the Internet or web pages (69 times). Other general responses that were often provided included texts or short readings/articles (36 times), videos (34 times), lesson plans/worksheets (25 times), and overheads/transparencies (22 times). Some specific videos were mentioned like the recent PBS video "World in the Balance" and Population Connection's (formerly ZPG) "World Population" video. Also, a specific population lesson, population pyramids, was mentioned 29 times. It was the sole population concept that respondents provided in response to this question.
Some respondents mentioned the name of an organization: 40 noted Population Reference Bureau (PRB), 29 noted the U.S. Census Bureau, while 12 respondents noted National Geographic, and five noted the United Nations. Several materials were mentioned by name, but usually only a few times. These included PRB's World Population Data Sheets, Goode's World Atlas, the Minnesota Environmental Atlas, UpFront Magazine, NASA's Mission Geography, Human Geography in Action, and many other resources.
Population Topics and Materials of Interest to Teachers
In order to determine which materials could be adapted for use in the classroom, PRB asked teachers to indicate interest in topics covered by recent PRB publications. The survey showed that 81.7 percent of respondents would be most likely interested in teaching "social and economic factors that affect population change." The topics of "immigration in America" and "links between population, health and the environment" were the next most appealing, selected at 68.3 percent and 65.6 percent respectively. See Figure 2 for the rating of additional topics.
Figure 2
Topics Most Likely to Teach
Teachers' Information Needs
The final question on the survey was, "What new materials would you like to have?" There was an overwhelming request for data as 45 respondents specifically mentioned wanting data. Some requested historical data (9 count), some asked for data on the United States (6 count), but many requested that the data be current (20 count). Similarly, 46 respondents requested maps and map-based activities. Other highly requested materials were new lessons (30 count), information on population trends (29 count) of all sorts, and videos (25 count).
Conclusion
In general, the feedback from the survey showed a strong interest in current materials and the latest data. The respondents noted a very strong interest in maps and a significant interest in new lessons and videos. They also showed that textbooks and the Internet are the main sources used for preparing lessons. Considering only two to three hours are devoted to major population topics, new materials would have to be concise and very applicable to what teachers are allowed to cover in the classroom. Even though some types of materials were rated more useful, there is an apparent interest in a wide range of materials. PRB will use these survey results in developing its teaching materials.
Lisa Colson is a program assistant in International Programs at the Population Reference Bureau. Roger-Mark De Souza is technical director for population, health, and environment at PRB.