This document discusses issues related to geography education in the UK. It notes that geography is facing interesting times due to the national curriculum review and OFSTED reports finding declining geography teaching in many schools. The document provides information on the curriculum review timeline and process. It also discusses debates around what constitutes knowledge, the importance of both factual and conceptual knowledge, and practical classroom activities.

2. Geography
Writing the earth

3. Alan Parkinson
Geographical
Association

4. http://about.me/alanparkinson

6. Today’s session…
• Why are these ‘interesting times’ ?
• How can the GA help you through them ?
• “Curriculum making” – practical activity
• Your department’s curriculum
• The future curriculum (& OFSTED’s view)

7. Furthering the learning and
teaching of geography...
Action Plan for Geography
– jointly with RGS-IBG
2006-11

8. Curriculum making in
“interesting times…”
Why are they interesting ?

10. “When the
winds of
change
come,
some seek
shelter,
others
build
windmills”

11. National Curriculum Review
• Consultation on the Education White paper closes on April 14
2011
• The first phase of the review process starts after April 14 2011,
the Programmes of Study for Maths, Science, PE and English
will be decided. This is also when the government will decide
which other subjects (apart from these) will be a statutory part
of the national curriculum. Hopefully this will include
geography at all stages.
• The 2nd phase begins in ‘early 2012’, when consultation on the
programmes of study for the rest of the national curriculum will
be decided.
• First teaching of the 1st phase subjects is September 2013.
• The second phase programmes of study will be known in 2013,
for first teaching September 2014

12. The 2010 White Paper: Importance of
Teaching
• The White Paper recognises the contribution of
geography in a national curriculum that is broad
and balanced.
• The development of an English Baccalaureate is
likely to result in greater opportunities for children
to study geography at KS4.
• The refocusing of teaching and learning on
‘traditional subject knowledge’ provides an
opportunity to review and strengthen the
contribution of knowledge within geography as a
school subject discipline.
• The idea of identifying ‘core knowledge’ that is
presented progressively contains some merits.

13. The 2010 White Paper Importance of
Teaching
• The assessment of subject knowledge to provide
benchmarks provides an opportunity to bring
greater clarity of standards within subject work.
• The GA welcomes and strongly endorses references
in the White Paper aimed to encourage teachers to
use their professional skills and experience in
making decisions about how to organise the
curriculum and in how curriculum content should be
taught.
• The idea of drawing on international experiences is
interesting and may generate additional ideas for
improving both teaching and learning in the
subject.

14. What is knowledge?
• The Geographical Association’s Manifesto
(www.geography.org.uk/adifferentview) states clearly, to
learn geography requires both ‘vocabulary’ (geographical
information) and ‘grammar’ (big ideas or concepts). These
represent different kinds of knowledge and both are
important.
• The core subject knowledge mentioned in the White Paper
may be thought of as ‘vocabulary’. It does not just accrete
naturally: it has to be taught and learned. This need not
mark the end of relevant and engaging geography!
Knowledge development is not to be confused only with
closed facts, nor with the very old fashioned idea of
education based solely on the accumulation of fragmented,
received information. But extensive factual world
knowledge – geography’s vocabulary - is useful.

15. What is knowledge?
• The vocabulary is probably best learned in context
of the ideas or concepts (the grammar) we are
trying to develop with students: ideas such as,
countries, regions, interdependence, climate, place,
location. It can be built into lessons with careful
teaching.
• World knowledge is enabling knowledge and in
some ways brings to life powerful conceptual
understanding of the world and how it is made.
One without the other diminishes students’
geographical capability - their understanding of the
world and their relationship with it.

16. Have your say.......
www.geography.org.uk/getinvolved/curriculumconsultation/

17. Latest GA resources....

18. Vocational Resources on GA
website

19. Online CPD courses

20. “The Language of Landscape”

21. South Downs – a new National Park

22. One of the first things
that children learn
how to do is to
tell stories.....

23. Making Geography Happen
Young People’s Geographies

27. What
should
students
have to
do in
order to
earn their
Geo
badge ??

30. Living Geography & ‘curriculum making’
Does this take the Which
learner beyond learning
what they activity ?
already know ? Student Experiences
Teacher Choices Geography: the subject
Underpinned
by Key Thinking
Concepts Geographically

32. In productive classrooms there are three main
bundles of energy that drive and shape the
outcomes. First there are the students themselves
and what we know about how they learn. Then
there are teachers who use knowledge and skill
about teaching to organise lessons in the most
accessible way. But perhaps the most important
resource of all is the subject.
Why is this subject significant to students? How
does it contribute to educational achievement?
What is worthwhile trying to teach? What is
relevant to learn? How can my subject be
motivating, rewarding and enjoyable to learn?'

33. Liz Taylor – “Representing
Geography” (Chris Kington)

34. Whose choices influence 8X’s lesson ?
Policy-makers
Awarding bodies
Textbook / resource writers
School management
Geography department: present and past
Class teacher
Others ??
Prior learning from other lessons
Prior learning from geography
Learning from friends and family
Learning from media
Personal experience
What do 8X bring to the lesson ?

35. Stimulus…

36. DVD out on Monday

38. Clips from the programme are
available…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/humanplanetexplorer/

39. Use Zamzar.com – paste the URL in, and
get a copy of the video that you can use…

40. “Interesting times…” for geography…
Lee Sang-hak / Yonhap via Reuters

42. Census 2011

44. 2012: “an interesting time…

45. “I need a walkthrough..”
Sam Parkinson – aged 9
“I’m a desert geek – show me an
aerial image of an area of desert, and
I’ll tell you where it is…”
Andrew Goudie – aged more than 9

46. Adding interest…
• the pedagogy
• the assessment
• the resources
• the ‘teacher’
• the location
• the format
• the reflection and feedback
• ??

47. Stimulus: @GeoBlogs on Twitter

48. London’s Population
@spatialanalysis

49. “Childhood is a
branch of
cartography”
Michael Chabon

50. Fieldwork

51. Urban tales…
GIS
Maps break down our inhibitions,
Stimulate our glands, stir our imagination,
Loosen our tongues
Carl Sauer, 1956

52. UK Tourism : “an interesting time”
Chinese tourists growing in number
Staycationing ?

53. Smartphone apps & functionality ?

54. Geography teaching in decline – Ofsted
The parlous state of geography teaching in many state schools is
exposed today in a damning report by inspectors.
More than 100 secondary schools do not enter a single pupil for a
GCSE exam in the subject, according to Ofsted, the education
standards.
In addition, pupils’ map-reading skills are so poor that even pupils
who had done a topic on Kenya could not find the country on a
map of Africa.
Without geography, the
world would be a mystery
to us
Geography lessons 'not good enough Geography is the subject
in half of schools' that contributes more than
Children’s knowledge of capital cities, any other to young people’s
continents, world affairs and the knowledge of the world,
environment is in sharp decline writes David Lambert .
because of poor geography lessons,
inspectors warned today.

55. Ofsted top ten tips?

57. Comment from the GA's Chief
Executive, Professor David
Lambert
• " It is a pity that Ofsted's own press release designed
to draw attention to this report is headlined 'geography
declining in schools'. Why? Because the report makes
clear that the story is much more complicated than
that. In some schools, if you suggested that geography
were declining you'd be faced with puzzlement, for the
subject is thriving.
• And yet, the national picture which has been taking
shape for many years now, is unsatisfactory. The GA
takes this very seriously. The decline in school
geography means that there is less geography being
taught in school and more children leaving school with
an inadequate knowledge and understanding of their
existence on planet earth.

58. Have your say.......
www.geography.org.uk/getinvolved/curriculumconsultation/

59. Have you earned your Geo badge ?

60. http://geographical.ning.com
JOIN THE NING

61. "may just be the most revolutionary geography-related book
ever published" - Geographical Magazine review
Produced by the Geography Collective
2 new books: On the Road & Camping available April 1st

63. Presentation available at:
http://bit.ly/brightongeog
I am grateful to my colleague Ruth
Totterdell for a document relating to
the curriculum review and OFSTED
that has been incorporated into this
document as slides

64. Weblinks
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-
pacific-12301421
• http://www.geographyteachingtoday.org.uk
• http://www.geography.org.uk
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/humanplanete
xplorer/
• http://geographical.ning.com – JOIN US