The document discusses different perspectives on curriculum design and knowledge acquisition in geography education. It presents three potential futures for geography education: 1) "Govian Elitism" which focuses only on procedural knowledge, 2) A "Knowledge Society" which balances procedural, content, and core knowledge, and 3) "Objective Knowledge" which focuses only on core knowledge. The key idea is that students need all three types of knowledge (core, content, and procedural) to fully understand geography. Geographical inquiry is presented as a way to connect these different types of knowledge through activities that create needs to know, use data, make sense of information, and reflect on learning.

1. New Perspectives on
Geographical Inquiry in the UK
Paul Cornish
Director of Humanities
The Coopers‟ Company and Coborn School
London, UK

2. Skills or Knowledge?

3. Mick Waters, QCA (2010)
“A school shouldn't start with
curriculum content. It should start
with designing a learning
experience and then check it has
met national curriculum
requirements.” (Guardian)

4. Department for Education
The National Curriculum should set out clearly
the core knowledge and understanding that all
children should be expected to acquire in the
course of their schooling. It must embody their
cultural and scientific inheritance, the best that
the past and present generations have to pass on
to the next.
DfE The Importance of Teaching (2010)

5. David Lambert
The accumulation of fragmentary facts as an end to
itself is like learning a language by simply learning lists
of vocabulary: you may know lots of words but you still
cannot speak the language. For that you need
grammar. By the same token, you cannot speak a
language by only knowing some of the grammar! You
need some vocabulary.
Lambert (2011)

6. Three Futures
Future 1: Govian Elitism
Future 2: A Knowledge Society
Future 3: Objective Knowledge

7. Govian Elitism

8. A „Knowledge‟ Society

9. Objective Knowledge

10. Subject Knowledge
Procedural • Kn3
Content • Kn2
Core • Kn1

11. Kn1 Core Knowledge
The basic elements that students
must know to be acquainted with a
discipline or solve problems in it.
a. Knowledge of terminology
b. Knowledge of specific details and
elements

12. Kn2 Content Knowledge
The interrelationships among the basic
elements within a larger structure that
enable them to function together.
a. Knowledge of classifications and
categories
b. Knowledge of principles and
generalizations
c. Knowledge of theories, models, and
structures

13. Kn3 Procedural Knowledge
How to do something; methods of inquiry, and criteria
for using skills, algorithms, techniques, and methods.
a. Knowledge of subject-specific skills and al-
gorithms
b. Knowledge of subject-specific techniques and
methods
c. Knowledge of criteria for determining when to use
appropriate procedures

15. Using Knowledge in Curriculum Making
How does this take the Learning Activity- to
Student Experiences assist in the
learner beyond what they
already know? Not just acquisition of
every day knowledge from knowledge. How does
the world outside the this use procedural
classroom (Young) knowledge?
Teacher Choices Subject Specialism
Underpinned by Subject- Specific
Key NC Subject Knowledge: Core- The
Concepts linked to Vocabulary. Content- The
Content knowledge Grammar. Procedural-
Investigation/ enquiry

16. Geographical Inquiry
Geographical Inquiry enables connections to be
made between KN1, 2 and 3.
“an approach to learning that accepts that
knowledge has been constructed and prioritises
the need for students to make sense of things for
themselves… not as an optional approach, to be
used occasionally.
(Roberts, 2010)

17. Geographical Inquiry
1. Creating a need to know
2. Using data
3. Making sense
4. Reflecting on learning

18. Geographical Inquiry
1. Creating a need to know
2. Using data
3. Making sense
4. Reflecting on learning

19. Why does Madagascar Face an Uncertain Future?

20. Google Earth Geographical Inquiry
Explore the resource and fill in the
table to assess how the lesson
will fulfill the 4 criteria for a
rigorous geographical inquiry.

21. Geographical Inquiry
Procedural • Kn3
Content • Kn2
Core • Kn1