Curriculum Change and Notes from the GA 2015

What follows are a few headline notes form the GA Conference in Manchester; specifically focused on curriculum change for Geography in September 2016:






KEY DATES: 28th MAY 2015 - A Level Exam specs released
- AQA contact: Michelle Atherton - geography@aqa.org.uk
Launch event  (t.b.c -
- OCR  contact:Abi/Mark/Shelley - Geography@ocr.org.uk N.B Geography Journey Newsletter
Launch Event: Thursday 11th June 2015 (London) - Booking required - click here
- Eduqas contact: Andy/Alison - andy.owen@eduqas.co.uk / alison.doogan@eduqas.co.uk
- Edexcel contact:
Launch Event: 24th June 2015 (London) - Booking required - click here






FIELDWORK: Nick Lapthorn
I. Fieldwork skills will need to be built in throughout the key stages, if not already. It would be suggested that despite the removal of CA, students should still complete fieldwork days at GCSE (as they do currently for the CIE IGCSE). Having said this though, reflection must take place as to what constitutes purposeful fieldwork.
Point to consider:
 - Could IGCSE fieldwork questions come into KS3 projects to familiarise students with the thought process and build up their skill level?
 -  Need to write to S5/Deputy Head of Academic to gain support and outline the need for the days.
II. TIME & RESOURCES must be allocated/built into the school curriculum, if fieldwork is to be successful. This links to the 2 days mandatory fieldwork at AS and 4 days at A Level. LOCAL focus preferable.
Point to consider: Very likely that the fieldwork for AS takes place in the Autumn/early Spring term and the fieldwork for the A-Level takes place in the Summer term, post AS exams (or possibly at the start of the Autumn term of Year 13)
III. One point to consider for the A Level fieldwork is that students will ultimately have limited time and resources at their disposable, so they should be made aware of this. Fieldwork independent report will focus on the PROCESS as opposed to the OUTCOME. MISTAKES are ok.
Point to consider: Pilot survey for fieldwork report could be done as part of the Aske project i.e. a mini-proposal, which is then marked and assessed then carried out of the summer with the reflections?
IV. To support centres, the project will be able to done at one centre or site, and the data collected in a group but then there must be an individual - different reports or reports focusing on different hypotheses.
III. For International trips,the following destinations were discussed e.g. Iceland, Jordan, Morocco, Sicily etc. Also,  a 'pre-brief idea' was expressed as an excellent way of engaging students during fieldwork trips and adding value/purpose.








HUMAN CONTENT:
The Human content could be tricky to teach as it could have the problem of looking nice but in reality being a bit too fluffy and again, although exciting to resource, quite demanding and time consuming; my fear is that higher order thinking skills could be easy on the surface to address but challenging for the students to nail down when considering perspectives..but maybe the assessment will be clear and that this is a good example of differentiation...time will tell!


Simon Oakes, in his GA lecture 'Thinking Global and Looking Local' sought to allay our fears about the new 'fluffy' human core part of the specification: how do we teach it? what type of content will need to be covered/generated? how will it be assessed? etc.


I. PLACES  - Oakes stressed the importance of choosing a case study where both types of geography overlapped e.g. his example of the River Mersey and the changes over time from industrialisation to deindustrialisation was well-explained. He described using rivers as the central actor in his place narrative. The performance of a river changes over time (esp when considering the global shift in manufacturing). Scale also matters - who has the power to transform the landscape - STAKEHOLDERS and their local-global interrelationship.


N.B. In Oakes' opinion, A* students will not compartmentalise the social, cultural or environmental assets as separate entities but instead see them as INTERTWINED ENTITIES. e.g. "If you don't change the river, you will not change the economy".




II. SYSTEMS & GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
i. GLOBAL INTERDEPENDENCE - key idea of uncertainty.
The study of the world's OCEANS would be a good example to teach globalisation through as ties in containerisation and undersea cables (telecommunications). Notions of impacts of mass consumption on fish stocks as well as impacts such as spills and risk, resistance, management and players at all scales.
ARCTIC and ENERGY with links to climate change / HOUSING MARKET
ii. GLOBAL FINANCIAL FLOWS
Technological leapfrogging in the form of capital or remittances  - Vodaphone's PISA scheme. Crowdsourcing.
iii. SUPERPOWERS - EE: BRICS...MINTs...US vs CHINA
iv. DIASPORA-Scotland and Ireland punch globally above their weight through their migrant networks.
v.LAWS AND NORMS -governance of cyberspace (not true that we live in a limitless shrunken world -cyberspace controls are good examples also idea of domestic control versus international control and scale of the operating networks.
vi. SOFT POWER  - global conflicts/disruptions


Finally to wrap things up Oakes discussed the importance of SYNOPTICITY...a word distinctly absent from the new specifications and the proposed core content....
Oakes suggested that the best way to teach the human content and to assess it would be through links to key concepts as well as a consideration of the role of rime and space...the photo below sums it up:

GA Conference 2015 - DANNY DORLING

The Geography of Elections - Danny Dorling






http://www.dannydorling.org/?p=4592
http://www.theguardian.com/profile/danny-dorling






Dorling enticed a room full of geographers during the Conference's keynote address by using a series of maps to illustrate the polarisation of voting in the UK.

In particular, the following points are worth noting and thinking on...
i. The Conservative vote is becoming increasingly segregated at an unsustainable rate e.g. in 1918 - 17% and in 2010 - 17%; Dorling pointed out that whilst a degree of concentration was needed to win seats, in this case in the South East, too much concentration in certain areas would not win an election - hence the inevitable hung parliament on the horizon (a long term trend since the 1970s).
ii.If the Greens were savvy, they would rally students in key marginal seats in order to win more seats; as opposed to being thinly spread across the country and winning may be only one seat!
III. He then touched upon the fact that our vote only really counts in the marginal sears...


However, Dorling's key point was that 'WE' need to keep perspective and look at things from an international perspective to observe, and understand what actual radical change is possible - as opposed to the minority squabbles of keeping the centre status quo i.e. the 99% bowing to the whims of the 1% and letting the superich influence our politicians.


If you look at the politics of Europe; specifically comparing the distribution of voters for different parties it is clear that MUCH variation exists and that there are incalculable alternatives...a different (better) way of doing things?!


The recession was a watershed moment for many countries but not just in terms of economics, it catalysed in many countries a rejection of the incumbent politicians/parties and often was followed by a radical shift in either direction e.g. the rise of the right in France and that Greece is an excellent example of a dissatisfied populous looking for a workable and practicable alternative - it is worth noting that if the Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza) does not work, then Golden Dawn (XA) could come to power!


Dorling then moved away form the election to focus on scale and the global issues which we need to be more concerned with e.g. Europe as a Continent is shrinking in terms of its population (only currently topped up by the youthful Eastern Europe populous and migration to Western Europe.


At this juncture, Dorling moved onto looking at a series of maps from his colleague's, Ben Hennig's website: http://www.viewsoftheworld.net/


Reiterating that many UK citizens view the past with rose tinted spectacles and wish for the old days...especially those who were not alive during the period...this wistfulness and desire to return to the 'good old days of Empire and power', Dorling suggests, means that people look to blame anything that is different e.g. migrants - what Dorling refers to as the immigration narrative.


He tocuhed upon the fallacy of the American Dream - everyone can get rich....by outlining the reality that only 1% of the population can ever be in the 1%.






The latter point links to Dorling's book "INEQUALITY AND THE 1%"


"Since the great recession hit in 2008, the 1% has only grown richer while the rest find life increasingly tough. The gap between the haves and the have-nots has turned into a chasm. While the rich have found new ways of protecting their wealth, everyone else has suffered the penalties of austerity.
But inequality is more than just economics. Being born outside the 1% has a dramatic impact on a person's potential: reducing life expectancy, limiting education and work prospects, and even affecting mental health."



Dorling’s book is essential and foundational reading for anyone who wishes to think about (or indeed change) the present organisation of wealth and power in the UK.


For a brief insight check out the following talks below:

Video 1 - RSA video on inequality and the 1%

Video 2 - RSA why social inequality persists


Website link to Danny Dorling's homepage

The problem of ‘Outstanding’ Geography

What I’ve learnt is that the word outstanding, often associated to OFSTED, is a misnomer; and unobtainable expectation which constantly demands perfection, often to the detriment of the individual teacher (and his/her family)! The paradox is that to be ‘the best’ requires constant reflection and an acceptance that there is no such thing as a perfect lesson...there is something always to be done, refined or improved. Teaching is not the profession for perfectionists, especially those who strive to be outstanding.

I want to put forward the idea that to be outstanding is not something to strive for.  OFSTED ‘Outstanding’ is not an accolade, as ‘outstanding’ often results in a one-off lesson which create a false sense of learning and cannot sustainably be delivered day in day out.  As the government does away with ASTs, in my opinion it should also do away with the term 'Outstanding', and instead encourage teachers to be great by simplifying the criteria for judging lessons.  

I wrote a post a number of months ago which was laden with outstanding lexicon: hinge questions, objectives, outcomes, progress checkers – all the bells and whistles of the ‘learning fetish’, which purports that students are learners; skills over knowledge; themes over subjects...blah blah blah!  However, since attending the GA conference, the Berkhamsted Teaching and Learning Conference and my first TeachMeet, I would like to get back to basics to what I think are the fundamental building blocks of what makes a great lesson (and teacher).

Simply put a great Geography lesson/teacher will: MAKE TEACHING THE FOCUS by...

i)                    Considering the pace of learning, so that it gives time for discussion/extended writing.

ii)                  Considering the type of task set, so that it is challenging & geographical.

iii)                Being flexible

iv)                Being Personal (through feedback, relation to local place, sharing pupil best practice)

Therefore, great Geography teachers put ‘Geography to work’ (Digby, 2013) through great teaching, by focusing on place, space, changes over time and interconnectedness (Lambert, 2013). Of course, skills such as critical thinking, map work, source interpretation will be drip-fed into the teaching as appropriate (and as needed!). 

Furthermore, teachers no longer have to reinvent the wheel and be great all on their own.  Encouragingly, the teaching practice is finally starting to catch up with business by sharing best practice online through an creative commons approach – nings, googledocs, blogs, twitter, teachmeets – are all mediums through which teachers, new and experienced, can reflect and improve their pedagogical practice in order to be great. PLNs (Personalised Learning Networks) or self-organised communities of practice (Rogers) are becoming crucial in helping teachers adjust to new specifications and share ideas about teaching content and exam technique.  It is unsurprising that Geography teachers are arguably the most connected or have the most extensive PLNs due to the inter-disciplinary nature of our subject – if you’re not connected have a look online for a ning for your subject specification and start sharing.

So, as the summer officially starts I wonder how practical and true the above will be when I start to teach 35minute lessons in September!

Geographical Conference 2013 Lecture Snipets: Chironomids & Hazards in Kathmandu

Lecture 1: The past is the key to the future for understanding climate change: the importance of chironomids as temperature indicators

In recent years, the use of midges as quantitative indicators of past temperatures has greatly expanded.

Below is a brief summary of Dr Barbara Lang's Lecture on  'Changes in temperature and Society over the last 15,000years' (Edge Hill University):

Favourite line: Need to explore and understand the past in order to see how the system works.

-          Always been natural climate vulnerability; important to look at past to see how system works

-          Chironomids: non-biting midges found in most environments as pioneer species used as evidence

-          Paleo records also used like Pollen and hunan bone/hunting records.

Q: What lessons can we learn from the past for now?

Q: How is climate change going to affect the human population differently (winners & losers)

http://www.ecrc.ucl.ac.uk/?q=courses/chironomids-water-quality-and-climate-change

Lecture 2: Future trends in natural hazard loss


Below is a brief summary of Professor David Petley's Lecture on  'Future Trends in Natural Hazrad Loss' (Durham University)

Favourite line: Geography is the key discipline which integrates the physical and human world.

-          The next big plus 8.0 earthquake - 1million fatality or $1 trillion dollar loss.

-          Regarding unpredictable earthquakes, the future will be the same as past, just more expensive!

-          Increasing vulnerable population with a false sense of security (low hazard perception).

-          There has been a clustering of earthquakes overt time (1950s/60s cluster; now 2005 since Sumatra).

-          Next big one, Kathmandu

Q: Research why Kathmandu is so vulnerable?

Wealth Inequality in America

It appears that achieving equal wealth distribution, even in the world's only hegemonic superpower, is still an elusive reality. With emerging superpowers like China, Brazil and India also showing similar patterns of inequality resulting from a shift to market capitalism, the difficult question is finding out how to close the development gap, which exists not only between high income and low income countries, but within high income countries as well.

Plus, it's a cool infographic - politics aside...

Solar Farming in Africa: Green Electricity Powered by the Sun - iq2 Shorts

A useful little video on how technology has the potential to enable countries to develop using renewable resources. Is this a feasible solution to be scaled up?

A template for outstanding teaching - lessons from cross-curricular observations

This term, more than any other, I have had a wide range of colleagues observe me to help me reflect upon my teaching and learning.  The generic idea was to have an open approach to teaching which would force me to push myself and re-examine how I teach; importantly assessing what works well and what could be improved. I believe that one of the best things about being observed and observing other people is that best practice and new ideas (and mistakes) are shared.

One colleague in particular, a chemist, was keen to swap/share observations. We met up and discussed what we wanted from the process during the Autumn term:

1. The ability to test new ideas with classes and experiment new techniques
2. To focus on independent learning & assessment
3. To work on getting the kids to do more

The outcome is a provisional framework (for all subjects) for consistently ensuring your lessons are outstanding. 

To some extent the latter has been inspired by @TeacherToolkit 5 minute lesson plan, which many teachers (who use Twitter) across both sectors have been using (See @specialsciteach's photograph below.



Source - For Blog CLICK HERE

*Please note this is not a prescriptive list - the template below provides flexibility for teaching and pacing the lesson according to the pace of learning (a more "see how it goes" approach to teaching as opposed to timings being based upon amount of activities)

**Simply the idea based on LESS IS MORE - QUALITY NOT QUANTITY!

1.  Every lesson should have ONE PRIMARY FOCUSED OUTCOME- what is the key thing every student should leave the lesson knowing/understanding/being able to apply to the real world.  Too many objectives can be confusing and often the lesson can be rushed to cover the content as opposed to exploring the core idea in depth & through discussion.

2. Every lesson should be have ONE MAIN LEARNING LOOP  plus a series of smaller bolt-on loops (a.k.a progress checkers / hinge activities or questions / additional content / minor outcomes etc) which can be flexibly added to the lesson, if needed! (See CTT lesson  below for best practice)

3. Every lesson's PACE MUST MATCH THE PACE OF THE LEARNING (& IDEALLY TRY AND FIT THE CLASS PROFILE).  The engine and key in my opinion to achieving an outstanding lesson is appropriate pacing.  However, PACE can be a fickle beast and too much can mean the students do not have time to process the information sufficiently, whilst too little means the lesson content is not covered quickly enough and is often lethargic. The key point is to pace the lesson according to the PACE of learning rather than the PACE of the activities you have to get through in the time! It is a tricky balance to strike as PACE needs to vary for each year group, for each day and stage in the year - to get the PACE right takes time and only comes with experience.

4. Every lesson's MAIN ACTIVITY SHOULD BUILD FROM CLOSED/SIMPLE TO OPEN/COMPLEX; ideally aspiring towards higher order & critical thinking skills wherever possible, if appropriate.

5. Every lesson should have a range of FLEXIBLE BOLT-ONS or HINGE ACTIVITIES to support the primary outcome, if needed. Note that the, if needed, is a key idea as too often continuous and in my opinion unnecessary 'reviewing' occurs, wasting valuable independent learning time.

5. Every lesson at the end spends at least 10 minutes ASSESSING THE MAIN OUTCOME. This could be done by a ticket to leave exit slip, an exam question or any other plenary assessment tool. The key question to ask is - How do I know every student has learnt something/made progress & achieved the primary outcome?

6. Every now and again, when near the end of a topic or unit, give the class a FERMI PROBLEM  - in this context a problem designed to teach/encourage approximation, critical thinking, problem solving & synoptic links both within and between subjects. Often they are Oxbridge type questions e.g. For Geography, 'What is the population of Croydn?' or 'Is nature natural?' 

Furthermore, there are some additional best practice techniques I have picked up from colleagues. One of my favourites is using named wooden lollipop sticks (example 1*) to ensure all members in the class are asked questions & assessed.

*Example 1: At the start of term (or at the start of a lesson) get every pupil in the class to write their name on a wooden lollipop stick. These are then collected in and the teacher uses them to record who has answered a question and who has not - a quick, easy and effective record to ensure equality of assessment and differentiation when needed. I have personally taken this idea but instead use paper numbers , from one to twenty-four. Each chair/desk has a number and during the class, i hot seat students by pulling out a random number to assess and gauge progress.

*Example 2 - Hinge questions - 80%

Here is a rough outstanding lesson template format based upon our conversations so far:

STARTER
Reviews previous learning or introduces topic. Must be focused, engaging/stimulating, provide a basis for assessment either through progressive Socratic questioning or written assessment e.g. exam question.

LOOP 1
Assesses the learning from the starter activity - key to identifying strong/weak areas of subject knowledge and acts as a basis to progress onto the main task or take stock and go another direction e.g. reviewing last lesson.

OUTCOME OF LESSON INTRODUCED
Key primary outcome explained - the focus of the lesson!

MAIN TASK  - should aim to build up from closed and simple to open and complex, liking to critical thinking and independent learning as appropriate.

(ADDITIONAL BOLT ON LOOPS/HINGE ACTIVITIES AS REQUIRED/IF NEEDED)

PLENARY ASSESSMENT ACTIVITY 

Many thanks - Please leave your won comments below and hopefully using this template we will no longer feel like the image below:

Further Reading/Blogs:

http://teachertoolkit.me/2012/10/22/ttkitthunks-johnsayers/

http://specialsciteach.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/observations-and-5-minute-lesson-plan.html?spref=tw

http://back2thewhiteboard.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/11-how-can-questioning-unlock-learning/

CTT Lesson - keeping it simple and focused - The one question lesson (from the teacher)

N.B The topic is the environmental consequences of rapid urbanisation for AQA Geog GCSE

 - Teacher puts question on board and on A4 student sheet (n.b. prior knowledge of topic is vital!)
 - Each student writes down one question on the sheet which can be answered Yes/No.
 - After 3 rounds of this reflect on progress so far
 - Next round is questions with a one word answer
 - Next a numbers answer
 - Finally rounds with open ended questions
 - Now, each student or group answers the question on the sheet using the information gleamed form the questions.
 - Video of Bhopal is shown and prep is to add any missing content to notes using textbook & independent research

Question : How could this be improved?

The Geographer & the Chemist: An update on targets for next term...

UPDATE - The Geographer & The Chemist


So, the chemist and I met up today not only to review this term's observations and teaching and learning in general, but also to set ourselves new targets for the coming Spring Term.

The challenges we have both set ourselves are to explore & evaluate:


1. A variety of main tasks (inc. advs & disadvs of each method) - reflecting on what went well & how we would change it, if we had to deliver it again.

2. Assessment for learning strategies/techniques - Investigating what they are, how they work and how best to apply them and to what situations and classes.

3. To make key skills and key terms a core part of our etaching across all of the curriculum levels.

Chemist's top tip of the day:

Pose 3 differentiated questions/equations/problems/phrases on the board and hand out every member a post it note. Students then chose one option and come up and put their answer up. One member of the class is then chosen to sort the correct answers out and explain why.

BRILLIANT!

Teaching quality Geography: reflections on Iwaskow's Status of Geography paper

No matter what sector you teach in, the good news is that Geography, has never been a more topical subject.  In the maintained sector, the new EBacc qualification has meant Geography's status has had a bit of a resurgence - its been 'rebranded' to some extent - and numbers taking up at the subject at GCSE are rising with 187,022 candidates taking it at GCSE in 2012 (up 3.48% compared to 2011 - outperforming History and English!).  It is even estimated that 36% of GCSE pupils will take the subject in the summer of 2014...

However, the challenge facing all Geography departments across the nation will now be this:  how to encourage GCSE geographers to take the subject as an AS-Level/A2 option or IB module?  Furthermore, is the quality of teaching Geography, as an academic subject, improving - are standards rising? For instance, I have noticed at GCSE and beyond, map work skills and general geographic knowledge i.e. where places are located, are particularly poor.

Interestingly a recent report entitled 'Quality Geography - Learning to make a difference' by Leszek Iwaskow, the National Adviser for Geography touched upon many of the teaching & learning themes to do with geography I have been exploring this term. Please click the link below to access the report.

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/our-expert-knowledge/geography

Below are some of my thoughts on his paper and the wider context of geography teaching in schools:

The traditional model for departments it seems is to put the specialist teaching at the top end of the pyramid (Sixth Form) and any non-specialist teaching at the bottom end (Year 7 & 8 Lower School Geography). However, is the best long term approach?

Surely, some of our most skilled geographers need to teach the core skills to students at the bottom end of the school so as to inspire them and equip them with a good set of core geographic skills? What tends to happen with the current approach is that students have to often wait to be inspired at GCSE and even till A-Level before they receive quality geography teaching from a specialist - is this not the wrong way round? The flip side to this, of course, is that specialist teachers are needed at A2, which I do not dispute, but GCSE and even AS specifications, (take Edexcel's for instance), are biased to some extent to covering 'popular geography' and 'popular science' themes, which any good teacher could teach maybe?

Furthermore, in my latest blog entitled, 'a template for outstanding teaching' I discuss the need to shift away from prescriptive outcomes and instead focus on one primary outcome, with a series of learning loops built in, offering a flexible approach and quite organic approach to classroom teaching.  Leaving room for the lesson to progress naturally as opposed to a pre-conceived prescriptive format MUST BE A GOOD THING?!

In relation to Geography teaching, I have been focusing on actually teaching about the geography of case study topics much more e.g looking at the physical geographic aspects which make the city or tourist attraction what it is.  I have used GIS and maps much more to build in the core skills, which are lacking, and have then built in the critical Socratic questioning and higher order thinking skills needed to excel and gain top marks. I find the latter approaches to have been much more rewarding in comparison to trying to speed through a lesson, purely focused on ensuring all the assessment boxes for HMI are ticked or all of the exam spec content is touched upon, however briefly.  Furthermore, more time in lessons has been handed over to the pupils to work independently, the misnomer known as 'lazy teaching.' By only having a single outcome and focusing on the core geographic issues at hand, I have been able to simplify and gut the often wordy syllabus waffle into a series of clearly focused lessons that focus on the GEOGRAPHY & INTERCONNECTIONS between particular spaces and places.

Consequently, my teaching and learning targets for next term are to explore & evaluate:


1. A variety of main tasks (inc. advs & disadvs of each method) - reflecting on what went well & how we would change it, if we had to deliver it again.

2. Assessment for learning strategies/techniques - Investigating what they are, how they work and how best to apply them and to what situations and classes.

3. To make key skills and key terms a core part of our teaching across all of the curriculum levels.

Is digital technology threatening culture?

In the first in the series Aleks looks at how different cultures are preserving their identity in the face of the homogenising effects of technology.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01n0xps/Digital_Human_Series_2_Episode_1/

There's a fear that the digital world will make us all the same. But that doesn't seem that well founded if you look at how widely differing cultures are using technology to express their identity and values. We look at the music sharing culture of Mali in West Africa as explored by musicologist Chris Kirkley and hear from the vibrant and intoxicating atmosphere of the mobile phone music market in Mali's capital Bamako. Back in the UK we look at the interesting way immigrant communities maintain their cultural ties through technology and the unexpected effect this has on the growth of immigrant communities.

Aleks also talks to explorer in residence Robin Hanbury-Tenison about his thoughts on how technology might be undermining cultures. Does he see the spread of digital as a new form of cultural imperialism?


How opinion and influence spread in a digital world?

What all this new technology means for how we learn?

Do we always know what technology is for and ultimately what it wants?

Has the digital world changed our perceptions and discussions of death?

End of term and some Toltec wisdom to mull over the summer

So I started up a Twitter account recently, @jsbgeography, as I thought it would be a good medium through which to share information, network and encourage students to connect with the subject outside of the classroom. So far things are going well but Twitter does require the account holder to keep up to speed a.k.a tweet frequently and for a teacher near exhaustion at the end of the summer term this can be quite a challenge; nevertheless, I will stick with it as I feel this form of social network does have the potential (when compared to VLEs e.g. Fronter) to connect the learner with what is a very dynamic and topical subject. Next term I am looking forward to setting some prep using Twitter and seeing how I can use it in the classroom with a heavy dose of common sense!

Now enough of the teaching and learning diatribe and onto some cultural geography wisdom which i picked up from a recent Inset - it is called Toltec wisdom and originates from, yep you've guessed it, the Toltec tribe (900-1200AD) which literally means "Master builder" or "Reed people". Essentially Toltec wisdom can be distilled into the following 4 points:

1. Be impeccable with your words
2. Take nothing personally
3. Make no assumptions
4. Always do your best

Food for thought for all of us at this time of year and on that note I wish you a happy summer holidays - it's time for me to switch off and disconnect...

J.

https://sites.google.com/site/tolteccivilization/

The importance of podcasts in connecting with today's mobile learners

After two years of being a loyal Blackberry supporter, with the shift of the company towards its focus on the business community and the lure of Apple and its Apps, I succumbed last week to getting an I-Phone 4S and my my what a revelation.  Although the touch screen keypad is a little frustrating (ahem..predictive text), the power of the I-phone has surpassed my expectations.  It epitomises how EASY it is to connect to the Global Village (M. McLuhan)and in particular share ideas, links, resources, tweets, podcasts etc etc etc.

Podcasts are particularly useful and still, in my opinion, not utilized effectively by many teaching practitioners.  Obviously the tech savvy student in comparison to his more Luddite orientated teacher (apologies for the gross generalisation) may already listen to popular podcasts on comedy, sport (probably football), and radio shows.  However, there are a plethora of GREAT Political, Economic, & Geographic (a.k.a PEG) podcasts which students can download and listen to on their phones - hence, independent learning on the go, and it's not reading 'dull' or 'long' books!

As the UCAS drum starts to beat again, students (and teachers alike) are trying to prove WHY they love their particular subject through the medium of the their personal statement. If you are lucky enough to live near London, then the LSE Event lectures (free) and RGS Monday evening lectures (free to school members) offer a tangible and dynamic medium to engage with Geography at a higher level. However, for those a little further away, podcasts make geographical distances insignificant and allow any student with a decent smartphone and internet connection to engage with their subject at a higher level and through a medium which they may indeed find more engaging and time efficient. 


Below is a brief summary of some of the podcasts I like to listen to and tweet about (@jsbgeography). Check them out, select the ones you like and add any new ones to this post to share ideas and build up a resource bank!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/oneplanet

http://soundcloud.com/theeconomist

http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/

If you are also interested in keeping up-to-date with topical news stories and have an I-Phone then download the free FLIPBOARD app; a great way to collate and browse topical news stories which interest you!

A great grouding in Geography - Geography History and Concepts (Holt-Jensen)

A fantastic introduction to the history and philiosphy of Geography - emjoy!

Why Geography is important! Andorra is not in Africa

Good spoofs make me smile.

Why Geography matters!

Changing Educational paradigms & the role of Geography

Many of you will have seen this though provoking video which has been making it rounds on the web. I am just posting it to remind us all of what can be achieved and changed!


Thoughts and comments welcome.

Invenite geographiam

Hi,

Thanks for visiting my blog - jsbgeography. I am currently a geography teacher, educator and collaborator as well as writer when i find the time.  I am really interested in anything geographical and hope this blog provides a place for students, educators and all people with an interest to discuss, share and think about some of the local and global issues that are going on.

Please add a comment to any blog or just follow me on twitter @jsbgeography & check out my scoop it page to keep up to date on the latest geography in the news!


Also for a great starting point on the status of Geography check out the following link to Google books: 


http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yZByf5VaiPsC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false

Geography matters on Google Books: Doreen Massey

A classic geographical text for all students wanting to expand their horizons  by  a very prominent geographer.

Abandoned places...spaces or places?

Geographers quite rightly tend to be obsessed with the concept of place and space. I stumbled across a series of interesting images and the following question arose - when places become defunct* are they still places per se or  over time do they lose their human attachment and just return to ordinary spaces/landscapes? Do landscapes have a social or even historical memory and how long can this last before e.g. do humans always have to inhabit places for them to be called a place?

*due to a natural or disaster, quasi natural disaster or simply that it becomes abandoned due to an industry shutting down.

Pictured: Ashley, Pennsylvania
The Huber Coal Breaker, built in 1938. “Other coal breakers have been demolished,” Yves Marchand says. “It really is the last of its kind.” All those windows were there to let in as much natural light as possible. Today they are target practice for stone-throwers

Pictured: Port Richmond, Pennsylvania A generator stands like a sculpture. In its day it was one of the most powerful in the world. It was housed, Meffre says, in a room “built to look like the main hall of a grand city station”

Robert Polidori's photographs of Pripyat and Chernobyl. 

Robert Polidori's photographs of Pripyat and Chernobyl. 

http://moreintelligentlife.com/gallery/american-ruins

http://chrisotley.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.houkgallery.com/artists/robert-polidori/

Non cognito, ergo sum -the power of unthinking

Sometimes thinking is a bad idea, especially for teachers. I am sure we have all been there, a colleague, possibly HOD or even Ofsted inform you of an impending and of course necessary lesson observation. Consequently over the course of the next few days, despite your 'years of experience' or the fact that you are used to being observed (often as an outstanding teacher, of course!) you spend countless hours planning and re-planning, trying to create the perfect lesson. But of course, there is no such thing when one works with children of any age, even in one of the best schools in the country where behaviour management is of no concern at all.

Of course my point is that sometimes thinking or 'over-thinking' can be bad and counter-productive - thus there is case for unthinking! 


Unthinking is "the ability to apply years of learning at the crucial moment by removing your thinking self from the equation" (I.Lesile, Intelligent Life, June 2012). A fundamental paradox of human psychology is that thinking too much (over-analysing) can be a bad thing - one loses their spontaneity & natural flair. Lesile's analogy to illustrate his point is the following:

If a rat is faced with a puzzle in which food is placed on the left 60% of the time and on the right 40% of the time, it will quickly deduce that the left side is more rewarding. Young children adopt the same strategy. When Yale undergraduates play the game, they try to figure out some underlying pattern (over-thinking) and end up doing worse than the rat of the child.

Thus as teachers, I am sure, like me, some of your best lessons have been the ones in which you had a rough idea but no real definitive plan or set outcome. Currently i am experimenting in the classroom with what i call 'collaborative'  or 'pupil-led teaching': an image is shown on the board and the pupils decide upon the investigative questions they want to explore - i think this is a great exercise to 'show off' the very essence of what Geography is all about - a subject of enquiry.

Coming back to the original purpose of my article the question which still needs to be addressed is: "How do you learn to unthink?"

In my opinion for what it's worth I think that in an age of microblogging, instant communication and access to vasts amounts of information within a few clicks, we can tend to over-analyse and think too much e.g. books on what makes us happy and how to teach the best lessons can, sometimes at least, heighten the problem - in short we need to put thinking in its place and remember that as teaching practitioners some of the best lessons are those that occur when we simply do and don't think!

Original article posting is here: 
http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/ideas/ian-leslie/non-cogito-ergo-sum

Game based learning

My most popular blog post to date was on Sim City and Rostow's model of development and the similarities between the two. The video below, focused on 'game based learning' reminded me of how important games can be in teaching and learning. Risk is a fantastic game to teach pupils about geopolitics, strategy, warfare, resource allocation, team work etc etc and likewise the inspirational teacher (John Hunter) who set up this phenomenal 4-tiered political science board game just shows a) how engaged pupils (even very young) can get and b) how they can grasp, comprehend and discuss big ideas and have a refreshing take in their common aim of achieving world peace.

My challenge to all the teaching practitioners out there is how could one replicate this in the classroom - could it be done on a smaller scale? There is plenty of opportunity for debate here and cross-collaboration between schools both within the UK and further afield.

Let me know your thoughts...