Courses:
- Field Methods in Geography
- Environmental Studies orientation seminar
- Professional Conferences
- National Parks and Public Lands
- Environment and Geography
- Nature/Culture Seminar
- World Regional Geography
- Introduction to Cultural Geography
- Conservation of Natural Resources
- Geography of Outdoor Recreation
- National Parks & International Protected Areas
- Global Tourism & Sustainability
- Geography of Europe
- GIS for Social Sciences
- Geographic Field Methods (senior capstone)
My Teaching in the News! If_a_Map_Could_Talk (at OSU)
I promote an active learning environment and community-based class projects for students through in-class discussions and activities, individual and group projects, and field modules that foster critical thinking skills. My courses integrate contemporary examples from local and national events, new and emerging technologies, and a variety of teaching strategies aimed at creating connections for students between their personal knowledge, their life experiences, and their intellectual curiosities.
I welcome diversity in its multiple forms in the classroom as a variety of student backgrounds and student learning styles. I create my course lectures, class exercises, and content assessment tools in a multiple formats for visual, textual, and audio learners and to gauge their knowledge of the material in a variety of ways.
I am a broadly trained geographer with a passion for communicating geographic and enviornmental principles to students. My teaching emphasizes active learning that encourages students to take ownership of their learning experiences and personalize their education to their intellectual needs and curiosities.Through my teaching strategies, I endeavor to promote an inclusive classroom where students are encouraged to consider alternative viewpoints.
I am currently an Associate Professor of geography and global studies in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at California State University San Bernardino. I have taught undergraduate and graduate courses in multiple formats including in-person, online, hybrid, and video distance learning (2012 – present). I have also taught at Idaho State University (Dept of Global Studies, Associate Professor 2012 – 2021), Oklahoma State University (Department of Geography) (as a Visiting Assistant Professor 2009 – 2012) and at Arizona State University (School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning) (as a Ph.D. candidate with full course responsibility, 2006 – 2009) .
Geography is a discipline that is well suited to promote a situated classroom—one that is embedded in its institutional, physical, social, and cultural environments at multiple scales. I interpret situated learning strategies to include fieldwork and community outreach. Fieldwork—on campus, in the community, or at a more regional scale—is a marvelous corollary of situated learning and one that I try to weave into my teaching. (click here to read a great special edition of the Geographical Review on fieldwork published in 2001 and in 2019). I also provide opportunities for my students to become involved in community engagement and hands-on research as part of their learning that connects the classroom with real-word experiences.
Yolonda Youngs, Ph.D. 