The new National Curriculum: it’s not the end of geography as we know it

David Rogers@davidErogers

davidrogers.org.uk

The new National Curriculum: it’s (not) the end of geography as we know it hopefully…..

David Rogers@davidErogers

davidrogers.org.uk

Thanks to: Rachel Jones

A document is never going to be creative. Teachers are.

What is the significance of the number 1,817?

Delayed gratification

1,817 days (ish)

Year 72013

Year 112018

Year 22008

Born2002

Financial crisis

Gordon Brown PM

Banks part-nationalised

My uni graduation

5 Years5 Years

‘He told me very calmly that he had broken his leg. He looked pathetic, and my immediate thought came without any emotion, You’re f****d, matey. You’re dead… no two ways about it! I think he knew it too. I could see it in his face. It was all totally rational. I knew where we were, I took in everything around me instantly, and knew he was dead.’Simon Yates in Joe Simpson’s Touching the Void.

Photo Credit used through Creative Commons

‘…there was a clear tendency amongst best teachers to see the power of the humdrum, the everyday.’Practice Perfect, Lemov, D; Woolway E; Yezzi, K p5-6

‘Learning is hard. True, learning is fun, exhilarating and gratifying – but it is often daunting, exhausting and sometimes discouraging… To help chronically low-performing but intelligent students, educators and parents must first recognise that character is at least as important as intellect.’Angela Duckworth p61 in How Children succeed.

Opportunities

A high-quality geography education should inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Teaching should equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. As pupils progress, their growing knowledge about the world should help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Geographical knowledge, understanding and skills provide the framework and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.

Purpose of study

A high-quality geography education should inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Teaching should equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. As pupils progress, their growing knowledge about the world should help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Geographical knowledge, understanding and skills provide the framework and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.

Purpose of study

Levels are gone

Can potential be measured?

Loca

tions

& p

lace

sEn

viro

nmen

ts &

reso

urce

s

Proc

esse

s

Scale

s: loca

l, nati

onal, gl

obal

Contexts : S.E.E.P

Geography of UK

Comparing places

Human & physical characteristics

Interactions:People & EnvironmentChanges over time & spaceHow factors inter-relate

Environment & resource managementDecision m

aking

Evaluating & recom

mending

Explaining differences & sim

ilarities

Linking to sustainability

Map skills & GIS

Research & data collection

Graphicacy

Data analysis &

READEn

quiry &

Curiosit

yIn

depe

nden

ceCo

llabo

ratio

n

Lite

racy

Consider different views

Apply evidence

Justify & support views

Link knowledge together

Present a coherent argument

Fieldwork

Apply skills

Apply know

ledgeThanks to Patcham High’s Art department and @PrioryGeography

enhancing competence in a range of intellectual and communication skills, including the formulation of arguments, that include elements of synthesis and evaluation of material.

8 ‘Data’ should include both qualitative and quantitative data and data from both primary and secondary sources: fieldwork data; GIS material; written and digital sources; visual and graphical sources; and numerical and statistical information. Using data should include its collection, interpretation and analysis, including the application of appropriate quantitative and statistical techniques (a list of required skills and techniques is given in the Appendix); it also includes the effective presentation, communication and evaluation of material.

What is the climate like on the African continent?

Starter challenges:

1. Approximately, how many times can you fit the UK into the African continent?

UK Land area: 83,698 sq miAfrican continent land area: 11.7 million sq mi

2. How many miles, north to south, is the African continent?

139 times.

What is weather and how does it affect people?Do now:

Using the shapes below, create a sketch map of the UK. You may have to rotate them and resize.

Mark on the location of: London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast

Do now: Thunk: Discuss using partner voice.How do you know an island exists when you haven’t been there?

How can you prove somewhere is different if you have never travelled to other places?

What were the main events which made Eyjafjallajökull the unpronounceable a household name?

Imagine you were there

What would you see?

What would you hear?

How would people behave? What would you smell?

What would you taste? How do you feel?

Location

Sights (most

important first)

Physical features

Human features

Sounds / smells

Feeling

Thanks to: Noel Jenkins

Hearing

Sight

Touch

SmellTaste

Image copyright of Pshychogeographer

Write a detailed description of what you’d expect to see in this place.

Is your curriculum full of JONK?

Who are these

people?

Why are they

armed?Are Mexican

migrants armed and dangerous?

How do I know that they are

the US Border Patrol?

Should we protect our

urban places?

Who would pay for this?

Who is behind this? Do the

represent London?

Is London that special?

Are there places close

to us that need

protecting?

Do existing National

Parks fairly represent Britain?

Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine. ~Robert C. Gallagher

He tells us what we can’t teach……..

Put geography at the centre of our schools

‘Having to bloody change AGAIN’

‘Lack of resources (time + money)’

“Your are not here merely to make a living. You are here to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, and with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget this errand.” Woodrow Wilson.

‘What gets you out of bed in the morning and in to school?’

@davidErogers