Cache Me If You Can: Reflections on Geocaching from Junior/Intermediate Teacher Candidates

Junior/Intermediate teacher candidates were introduced to a geocaching activity (a high-tech scavenger hunt using hand-held GPS devices) that addressed the two principal strands from the Social Studies curriculum in Ontario, Canada, namely; (a) Heritage and Citizenship and (b) Canada and World Connections as well as specific expectations from the Mathematics, Health and Physical Education, Language and Literacy, and Science and Technology curriculae.Through a mixed-methods research design, surveys and reflective journal entries were analyzed to determine the attitudes, perspectives, and opinions of teacher candidates.Results have determined that the vast majority of participants found the geocaching experience vastly efficacious and highly valuable.Specifically, participants responded favourably to six principal categories, namely; (a) fun and enjoyment, (b) discovery learning, (c) space and place learning, (d) future application considerations, (e) cross-curricular integration ideas, and (f) social skills application.