Exploring Physical Geography introduces terms after students have an opportunity to observe the feature or concept that is being named. This approach is consistent with several educational philosophies, including a learning cycle and just-in-time teaching. Research on learning cycles shows that students are more likely to retain a term if they already have a mental image of the thing being named (Lawson, 2003). Also, the figure-based approach in this book allows terms to be introduced in their context rather than as a definition that is detached from a visual representation of the term. We introduce new terms in italics rather than in boldface, because boldfaced terms on a textbook page cause students to immediately focus mostly on the terms, rather than build an understanding of the concepts.

Featuring more than 2,500 photographs and illustration, Exploring Physical Geography engages students with strong visuals, unique two-page spreads, and Before You Leave This Page objectives.