ABSTRACT
Courses in commercial geography usually deal with major industries, their basic resources, and the leading commercial nations of the world. The study of physical geography was further advanced during the 1890’s with the publication of the ‘Report of the Committee of Ten of the National Education Association’, headed by William Morris Davis of Harvard. Courses based on the work of the Committee of Ten were well-planned, but proved difficult to teach. Most students found them dull and uninteresting, especially when taught by teachers who were poorly trained in physical geography as a laboratory science. The materials and learning activities of the High School Geography Project have been structured according to an inquiry or discovery method, and encourage innovative teaching strategies. In contrast, the regional courses taught in most American high schools, although incorporating the inquiry method of learning, focus on integrative concepts and the integrative mode of thought.
