GA CONFERENCE 2005

Welcome to all those who have followed the link from the GA Website - materials and lecture notes are now appearing for many of the sessions, including some of the ones on this page. Please download from the GA rather than here if possible.

Why not check out the city via the GA's excellent 'Discovering Cities' book by Christopher Law - which I forgot to take with me as it happens...

An INSET day the day after Easter Monday - must be the first time that has ever happened. Spent the day up until 2pm moderating GCSE coursework, then into the car and off up the A17 - past fields filled with daffodils, some for Taylor's Bulbs, others being gathered by rows of workers bent to face the rain and hailstones which swept across South Holland as I passed through - onto the A1 - traffic queuing southbound through Newark (remember that for the way back....) and into coal territory. Five Live on the radio announcing thousands of job losses at Peugeot in Coventry: the case study video we have used for years for secondary industry... Add to that oil prices at $70 a barrel and you have a recipe for economic woe. Onto A57, and just a mile or so from the A1 are 2 huge distribution warehouses: 'Wilkinsons' and 'B&Q' - industrial location in action. Onto the M1 and passed Meadowhall, where my dad used to work when it was a steelworks, and up over the busy Stocksbridge bypass (watch out for the monks) and over the Pennines: a well-trodden route of mine over the years. Down through Tintwistle - reservoirs looking full ! and along the A57 and M67. Into the centre of Manchester. Found Sackville Street, just across from Piccadilly Station, and parked up. Found the accommodation finally in Weston Building, and settled in and worked on a few webpages (see HERE) and some stuff for the next conference I'm involved in: see the relevant page HERE ( Stop Press: had an e-mail when I got back to say that the ICT conference had been cancelled)

Out to meet Val Vannet at railway station, and had an evening with Ian Hardie of RAYBURN TOURS, looking at his excellent images of Iceland, and drinking rather fine 18 year old Caol Ila. For those who want an overseas fieldwork experience, RAYBURN TOURS have an excellent reputation.

To bed late on after reading this month's National Geographic magazine article on Chernobyl. Worrying, but excellent.

A day of lectures and workshops planned, plus some shopping and meeting people... Alarm went off just before 7, opened the curtains to a fine drizzle, and down for breakfast in the hotel. Met up with friends old and new. Across to the conference venue, to get programme and sort out the day's plans. Added some sections to the GA SPC display, and met up with Rick Cope from GeoPacks, then into the first lecture of the day:

Malcolm Walker and Sylvia Knight (who is involved in http://www.climateprediction.net) - see my GLOBAL WARMING page for more details of this model, which I had running on my laptop during 2004-5

There are some notes / slides which were used in the lecture available to download as a PDF file from:

Also HERE (not yet) is a WORD document of the notes I took during the lecture, which may be useful to somebody...

Down to the SPC stand and some of the publishers' exhibition. One of these was Longman Pearson, and I picked up a free copy of the new Atlas which was launched at the conference:

I recommend that you buy this Atlas for KS3 / Middle School pupils. Stephen Scoffham (who was awarded the annual GA Award for Excellence at the conference) has done an excellent job. Also, when looking at the title page you will notice a certain person is credited as an Editorial Consultant. Fame at last. Why not buy a copy and I'll sign it for you... Also interesting was PROQUEST LEARNING resource, plus on the GA stand the new Secondary Geography Handbook and Fred Martin's e-Geography, both of which will be published in May 2006 (check the GA Shop for more) Also quick chat with Chris Kington.

Up to help prepare for the SPC workshop: a few technical 'issues'... This meant I missed what was by all accounts an excellent and inspiring presidential lecture by Sue Lomas on "Teaching Sensational Geography".

Workshop: Leading in Learning: Presented by Sarah Watts, Kathryn Stephenson and Gary Dawson

This excellent workshop went through applications of this project, and how it was used in some schools. Sarah Watts introduced and led the session, and discussed the issues. Handouts included an extract from the KS3 National Strategy Exemplification for Geography document for LiL.

Gary Dawson presented the main session. This included a look at 4 activities, which had to be placed in order of complexity. Some excellent feedback and thoughts from the delegates.

Kathryn Stephenson went through a sequence which worked for her school, and suggested that the key is getting a team of people before introducing it to the whole school.

A nice idea was a series of bubbles produced by students of Tony Cassidy which asked the students to complete this phrase:

"I know when I'm thinking hard in Geography because..."

This was followed by the AGM of the committee, where we discussed a number of issues. Heard of the new members who have been invited to our June meeting at the Institute of Education, and made a few plans for further involvement in issues such as the Quality Mark, the Action Plan for Geography, the Key Stage 3 review and (never too late to start) next year's conference.

Over for lunch. Met up with some SLNers, former students and Stephen Scoffham - thanked each other for our work on the Atlas. Had to grab a pecan pie and a pear and run up to the lecture hall for the start of the next lecture:

This was an excellent lecture by the founder of the ENJOYMENT OF GLACIERS GROUP (of which I am proud to be a member). Peter went through the latest thinking on glacial processes and some of the issues relating to the teaching of glaciation, and the errors that are perpetuated by textbooks and the examining bodies, including features like drumlins, and processes such as plucking and glacier movement.

Also HERE (not yet) is a WORD document of the notes I took during the lecture, which may be useful to somebody...

Had a chat to Peter after the lecture. Hope to perhaps involve myself in some of the dissemination of the latest ideas.

I recommend you visit his website at: http://www.petergknight.com/glaciers/ (please note, he is not the fiddle player and vocalist from Steeleye Span) and buy his book:

Down for a glass of wine and a chat, then in early to get a slightly cooler seat for:

An excellent lecture looking at ways of thinking, and the links to some important decisions we make about consumption and ethics.

Also HERE (not yet) is a WORD document of the notes I took during the lecture, which may be useful to somebody...

Some of Peter Jackson's notes from an earlier lecture at the Geography educators' conference can be obtained from the GA website:

Down to the Ordnance Survey stand to see the launch of another exciting initiative which has potential: the National Digital Data Map Pilot. Had another glass of wine (out of courtesy you understand...)

Up to the lecture theatre to help set up for the following day's sessions. Back to the hotel at about 6pm, which gave me half an hour to have a shower and prepare for a night on the town. Walked into the centre of Manchester - past Canal Street and Chinatown. Went to a little Italian place off Albert Square, then into Cathedral Square, with the lights of Manchester: Selfridges, Next, Harvey Nicks etc. Big TV. Over to the Old Wellington pub, an excellent old timbered building. What was interesting was that the pub itself was empty, but there were lots of people sat outside the pub huddled around gas fired patio heaters which were blazing away with heat-haze rippling around them... 'The Apprentice' was on the TV: the average Head of Dept. would probably perform better than the contestants.

Went up on the Manchester wheel: great views of Urbis (which is free to enter) and beyond... Back to the hotel, a film crew filming near Canal Street.

An early start. Shower, breakfast, and then across to Renold Building, to prepare for workshop and set up the SIGHT table.

Workshop: COME TO YOUR SENSES by Alan Kinder, Fred Martin, Jane Girlow, Alan Parkinson and David Roberts

I presented a short input on the use of images to help SIGHT in Geography, and also showing the Google Earth Users Guide PHOTOJAM trailer (cut short at the end) One of my students misheard me when I said I was going to miss a lesson because I was going to be speaking at the GA Conference, he thought I said the G8 conference... maybe some day. Had group of 11 to discuss and demonstrate some ideas for SIGHT. Used a range of ideas, some of which may be familiar to SLN regulars:

Packed up as David Rayner arrived to do the FREE MAPS FOR SCHOOLS session. Over-ran slightly - sorry David !

Up to the end of 'Let's get Physical - IT makes sense', and it had (unsurprisingly) gone very well. Met up with Jonathan Wolton of RGS-IBG's Geography in the News site, then for lunch. Into town to get some refreshments, and to take in the Miffy at 50 exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery. Said my goodbyes and made a slightly-earlier-than-planned exit as I had a load of reports to write for the next day. Back home, and across Woodhead again in pouring rain, down through Sheffield and retraced my steps wearily back to Norfolk.

As in previous years, notes and resources from many of the sessions are appearing on the GA website

- free copy of new Longman School Atlas (see above) and details of other textbooks and forthcoming resources

- resources from Christian Aid and Oxfam - check out the excellent new Oxfam Mapping the World website

- excellent AfL resource produced by a group of Staffordshire teachers and available from Kate Russell

"It's long, it's neat and it's coloured in neatly" - Approaches to assessment for learning to improve geographical writing - produced by QLS: Staffordshire County Council

- magazine on properties in Manchester - if I'd had the time I'd have taken the Metrolink out to Salford Quays.