CfBT Subject Specific Support for Geography Teachers - contact me if you teach in the Eastern region

EASTERN REGION CONFERENCE: Held on FEBRUARY 28th 2008 at the HOLIDAY INN, Norwich Airport

In association with

If you teach in the EAST OF ENGLAND and want to get involved in some networking to support new KS3 developments for next September, go to the new NING and request an invitation...

http://geography08support.ning.com

I am part of a team of regional subject advisers taken on for a number of days between October 2007 and summer 2008 to offer subject specific i.e. Geography support for teachers who are planning the new Secondary curriculum, and also run a series of REGIONAL CONFERENCES for subject leaders

A message from David Rayner (this was due to go on SLN Forum but for some unknown reason would not post...

1. Geography departments will not receive paper-based copies of the new Programmes of Study but they can be downloaded from the QCA website. Even better, for those that aren’t members of the GA and haven’t received their Teaching Geography magazine, the latest edition contains a print-friendly double-A4 summary of the PoS.

2. The new KS3 should be phased in across the next three years (starting September 2008) so that it is fully in place by 2011. This means that you have three years to plan and implement – there is time to think about what you intend to do.

Whilst it is not necessary to start with a blank sheet of paper, there are serious implications for any geography department that adopts the strategy of ‘my current scheme of work is fine – I can still tick all the boxes in the new curriculum’. This ‘head in the sand’ attitude ignores the fact the new secondary curriculum is not just about geography but is about whole school changes which will involve SMT looking at the ‘entire planned learning experience’. If as geographers, we fail to be pro-active and part of the new curriculum development process, we run the risk of being left out and then incorporated into whatever new systems the school comes up with – whether we like it or not.

The new secondary curriculum offers geographers something of a lifeline in many respects. It is chance to review what we currently teach and then plan how we might improve on it without all the constraints of the old/current NC. It is a chance to emphasise and genuinely embrace topicality (not as easy as it sounds in reality), to link to topics that genuinely interest the young pupils (and that doesn’t necessarily mean fashion or football). We need to be a little more creative in our thinking and use our creativity alongside the opportunities to personalise the geography curriculum and make it more local. At the same time, we need to be clear not only what we are teaching but why we are teaching it - in the past we have not been asked to do that. The new conceptually based curriculum provides a bony skeleton to hang the content flesh on but we need to think about these concepts and how/why they are important before we start layering on the content.

The new PoS emphasise the skills and processes which are currently thought to be important for young pupils to learn in geography – how will these fit into your current or planned schemes of work? Fieldwork retains a key role in the new geography curriculum and again there are opportunities to review and perhaps seek out new ideas for KS3 which will reinforce the important role that 'out of classroom learning' plays ( this is also a vital component of the new whole school curriculum and one where geography can show itself to be playing a crucial role).

The geographers tools, including GIS are also emphasised in the new curriculum. How will you ensure that young pupils not only ‘learn about’ but also ‘learn with’ GIS during their time in KS3? This is an area that most schools will need advice and support with.

A major bogeyman (the definition needs changing from “an imaginary monster used to frighten children” to “an imaginary monster used to frighten teachers”) is the emphasis in the new secondary curriculum on ‘cross-curricular opportunities’. For those that are already au fait with the new whole school curriculum proposals the idea of having to link up with other subjects immediately creates nightmare scenarios involving loss of identity. Certainly schools that have adopted ‘learning to learn’ schemes in the early part of KS3 have helped to reinforce that notion but the new secondary curriculum has different intentions – it is all about creating opportunities for children to ‘see the bigger picture’ and ‘make links between subjects’. My advice, for what it is worth, is to seize the initiative and be pro-active in your planning. If, as geographers, we think about the links we would prefer to have and the people we would prefer to work with for part of our time, then how much better is this than someone from SMT deciding to create a humanities block (or whatever) and forcing you to work with history and/or RE. If you want to work with colleagues from Drama, Art, English or Technology then make a move, create a plan and put your ideas in front of the SMT. You do have a choice, but if you do nothing, the cross-curricular opportunities boat will pull alongside and you will be forced to get on board. The point of this particular section of my long post is that the changes which have been planned cannot be approached simply from a subject point of view – there are many complicated angles to be looked at. If geography is to be successful in the next 10-20 years, it needs to be fresh, engaging and relevant. It needs also to be seen to be playing a crucial role within the whole school curriculum where the aim is to create ‘successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens’ – we are in a unique position as geographers to make that claim.

1. There are lots of other changes going on in school at the same time – how can I spare enough time to deal with KS3 when I am dealing with changes to the ‘A2’ specs, assessment, reporting, SEFs, OFSTED, etc, etc. My answer is that you probably can’t but unless we get KS3 right, what is the future for geography in terms of students opting for GCSE and A2 anyway? This will be the foundation stone for everything else that you do in the department – time has to be found, somehow….

2. I am the only geographer in a small department and I may well curl up in a ball and cry quietly to myself or I may choose to stand on the school roof and scream very loudly all the rude words that I know. Point taken – what to do?

SLN always provides good support and advice (which is why you are reading this - always assuming that you have got this far). You can also contact your LA advisor, where they exist, or contact some local schools nearby and try to create a support group. This could be a face-to-face activity or it could be via a blog or wiki or ning that is relatively easily set up for such purposes. Share ideas and share the workload.

Use existing advice and support systems – the GA and the RGS via the Geography Action Plan (APG) are both working very hard to provide advice and resources – this is also available for free (‘Alan’s favourite price’). If you haven’t yet been on one of the GA Curriculum making courses, why not? Go on to the website and get one booked. There are still a few places available. The RGS is also running courses next term – look for details on their website or contact Jon Wolton. As some of you know from previous threads, my current role is as National Subject Lead for Geography (working for CfBT, an educational trust, and the GA). Our project is a government initiative which aims to provide advice and support for the roll out of the new KS3 curriculum. I have spent this term creating videos and writing support materials (along with others in the team) which will be available online from January 2008 – you may find some of these resources useful. Plans are also well advanced but not finalised for a series of nine regional conferences to be held across England in the Spring Term. You can register for a place on these free conferences (there will be 900 places allocated on a first-come first-served basis so make a careful note of the URL):

These conferences are intended to provide you with the ‘big picture’ and provide practical advice on how to plan for and implement the new geography curriculum. I hope that some of this long post is useful. This is for most teachers, a once in a lifetime opportunity – the chance to take charge of between two and three years of the school geography curriculum and shape it in a way that best suits you and the pupils in your school. If in 2011 we hear the children saying ‘I hate Geography!’ who will we blame?

Please get in contact if you have any questions or want advice and support in your local area. We have a team of 30 people and we will do whatever we can within the limits of funding/time allocation to help you out.

Do you teach in the East of England ?

Even better news, your Regional Subject advisers are:

David Rayner

Katharine Hutchinson

Alan Parkinson

Here's a presentation I used at a recent meeting to introduce some of the ideas and support that are available for the new KS3

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There are a number of key concepts in Geography which any KS3 curriculum has to cover.

Alan Kinder's article in the Autumn 2007 issue of 'Teaching Geography' is essential reading here, also Liz Taylor's article on SIGNIFICANCE in Spring 2008 issue.

Keep an eye out for the new KS3 themed 'Webwatch' article in GA Magazine for Spring 2008

Thanks to the 70+ Heads of Geography and other colleagues in various capacities who attended the CfBT Eastern Region Conference at the Holiday Inn in Norwich yesterday. It was hard work (especially as I followed it up with 2 hours plus at a parents evening...) but enjoyable, and good to talk to people and get their ideas for how they were going to be "creatively subversive...." Particular thanks to David Rayner and Ruth Totterdell, the National Subject Leads, my RSA colleagues John Harrison and Katharine Hutchinson, John Lyon from the GA, and Jon Wolton from the RGS, and of course all the delegates, particularly Lucy and Clare. A few images below, taken by me:

GA welcome banner... If you were present and want any other copies of the documents I referred to, get in touch via the website. If you've got anything to share, fling it my way !