3.2

3. Developing geographical thinking and communication

3.2 Assemble the many strands of geography, providing multiple resources for the further development of geographical thinking by students. They set this comprehensive knowledge in contemporary contexts, opening the way for significant interconnections to be made.

Focus question:

What associations with other subjects can you identify in the strands of geography?
How are the strands related?

Further questions:

How do you make use of the different strands of geography when creating conditions for learning through geography?
Describe a ‘geography rich’ opportunity in which students develop habits of thinking geographically?
What developments in contemporary geography are shown by your classroom teaching and students’ learning of the subject?

Samples of practice

(a) Backdrop:
In discussing what happened on the island of Montserrat when a volcano erupted, this teacher of a Year 10 class, in a pre-lesson interview, describes how he links activities to contemporary events such as natural hazards and disasters. In making these linkages, to what extent does this teacher provide multiple resources for the further development of students’ geographical thinking? What relationship has this provision to assembling the many strands of geography?

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(b) Backdrop:
In this clip, Primary school children in grade 3-4 are shown gathering and interpreting information on the Olympic Games. Utilising an ‘expert group’ activity, the teacher creates opportunities for interconnections between classical and contemporary games practices. Could such interconnections be a basis for geographical thinking by these children? What further steps might the teacher take in order to secure this?

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Further links and resources

Description of the benefits of contemporary contexts in geographical education:
“What is agreed is that geography’s focus is centred in the contemporary world and is, concerned with both the physical world and human environments; about place, space and interactions; very interested in the geographies that people acquire including those developed in the students’ minds.”
Sorensen, L. (2009) Literature Review - for the National Geography Curriculum. Geographical Education 22: 15

See also:
Gritzner, C. (2002) What is where, why there and why care? Journal of Geography 101 (1): 40

1. Knowing geography and geography curriculum

Accomplished geography teachers:

1.1 know the breadth and depth of the academic discipline including its concepts, skills, values and understandings;

1.2 assist students to understand that geography draws from the physical sciences, the social sciences and the humanities;

2. Fostering geographical inquiry and fieldwork

Accomplished geography teachers:

2.1 encourage students to carry out a range of geographical inquiries, from structured to more open ended and active investigations, from prearranged problem solving and open ended discovery to negotiated inquiry. Through these inquiries, students identify topics, generate questions, evaluate the quality of evidence, process and analyse data, select presentation methods to communicate the research findings effectively, think creatively about geographical issues, propose individual or group action in response to the research findings and, where appropriate, take such action;

2.2 make judgements about the essential skills, processes and values that students need to develop to carry out meaningful and ethical geographical inquiries;

2.3 support students to undertake inquiry in the field, to select and use fieldwork tools and techniques, ranging from simple purpose-built equipment to digital and video cameras, GIS and environmental sensors, appropriately, safely and efficiently.

3. Developing geographical thinking and communication

Accomplished geography teachers:

3.1 promote understandings of physical and human processes, structures and patterns and their interdependence in place, space and time;

3.2 assemble the many strands of geography, providing multiple resources for the further development of geographical thinking by students; they set this comprehensive knowledge in contemporary contexts, opening the way for significant interconnections to be made;

3.3 support students to think spatially and use maps, visual images and new technologies, including geographical information systems (GIS), to obtain, present, analyse and evaluate information;

3.4 provide students with varied contexts through which to construct a deep understanding of geographical concepts and use case studies to give support to the subject’s breadth and depth;

4. Understanding students and their communities

Accomplished geography teachers:

4.1 creatively link their sophisticated geographical understandings with the diverse and developing geographical understandings of their students;

4.2 bring an enriched understanding of students because of their particular sensibility to students’ communities; they are alert to the spaces and places students occupy so that they can incorporate students’ personal geographies into learning sequences, drawing clear connections with students’ prior knowledge and identities, from the local community and beyond;

4.3 enhance student learning by using students’ multiple ways of knowing and other background elements such as their social and cultural perspectives ;

4.4 enrich learning by incorporating particular insights into the local community, as a social network of interacting individuals, groups and social interests, in space, to establish relevance and connection and incorporate these resources into the curriculum.

5. Establishing a safe, supportive and intellectually challenging learning environment

Accomplished geography teachers:

5.1 foster dynamic and challenging learning environments characterised by mutual trust, equity, risk taking, independence, interdependence and collaboration; they create conditions for students to question complex geographical ideas and issues, rather than accept them without further thought.

5.2 design teaching strategies specifically for different backgrounds, learning preferences, and dispositions of their students;

5.3 generate and communicate to the students a ‘need to know’ and their own high expectations, thereby promoting study of the complexities of place, space and environments;

5.4 facilitate students’ responsibility for learning, to foster students’ ability to take initiatives; in so doing they affirm the students’ capacities as active participants in their own learning.

6. Understanding geography teaching – pedagogical practices

Accomplished geography teachers:

6.1 have current and extensive understanding of geographical education processes — pedagogical content knowledge; they select, adapt and create field specific and general teaching approaches and resources to support deep understanding of place, space and environments and they justify their choices about planning and teaching;

6.2 promote gathering of information for geographic inquiry from a variety of sources, including fieldwork, libraries, the internet, digital and print media.

6.3 use fieldwork and outdoor learning as a key practice to develop students’ data collection, analysis and evaluative skills to deepen their understanding of place, space and environments;

6.4 systematically introduce and develop a range of cartographic, statistical and graphical geographical tools and skills that enable students to think and communicate geographically, including making and interpreting maps, and a range of other representation collectively described as graphicacy and teach students to critically evaluate maps and other forms of representation.

7. Planning, assessing and reporting

Accomplished geography teachers:

7.1 design curriculum to develop geographical thinking in their students in such a way as to spark an interest among all students − an interest that is active, contemporary, enlivening and sustained;

7.2 plan and continually monitor their students’ learning, using a wide range of formal and informal assessments methods;

7.3 prepare assessment for learning, recognising the positive achievements of students and indicating directions for improvement;

7.4 conduct summative assessment which is made available to students and care-givers;

7.5 use assessment methods that are appropriate, valid and reliable; in reporting students’ achievements and difficulties, they employ a variety of procedures, ensuring they use clear and accurate language that is suitable for the intended audience;

7.6 employ diagnostic assessment to inform their own teaching and student understanding.

8. Progressing professional growth and development

Accomplished geography teachers:

8.1 continue to learn and develop as teachers, acknowledging that the greater the teacher learning, the more students learn as well.

8.2 recognise that the subject of geography is dynamic and evolving and therefore seek opportunities to further develop their disciplinary knowledge base;

8.3 commit themselves to learning formally, and to critically reflecting on their experiences both within the classroom and more widely, through travel, from literature and the arts and through engagement with professional learning communities.

9. Learning and working collegially

Accomplished geography teachers:

9.3 distribute and share their teaching expertise towards the continuing construction of a professional knowledge base for school geography;

9.4 communicate educational ideas and promote geographical education towards contributing to the resilience and renewal of their professional field.