Secondary Phase Committee
Contacts
Chair: Tom Biebrach
Email: trbiebrach@aol.com
Visit the members' page to find out who's who on the SPC...
Our Aims
The purpose of the Secondary Phase Committee is to support GA members concerned with Geography in Key Stages 3 and 4 and to represent the views and interests of these members.
What we do
- Monitor the views, interests, concerns and issues facing secondary geography members of the GA. In addition, monitor the state of health of secondary geography as indicated by data on numbers and assessment evidence.
- Initiate ideas for engaging and challenging teaching and learning ideas in the secondary geography classroom.
- Disseminate these ideas through workshops at the annual GA Conference, the GA website, and occasional articles and contributions to GA publications such as Teaching Geography
- Represent the views, interests, concerns and issues facing secondary geography members of the GA at the GA Education Committee, and externally to bodies such as QCA.
- Promote geography to teachers, pupils, schools and the wider community as a relevant and exciting subject
We have led workshops at the GA Annual Conference on Leading the Geography Department and Teaching Exceptional Students; led teacher-to teacher sessions at the GA Annual Conference; published articles in Teaching Geography on topics such as team teaching, Valuing Places, the geography of crime, using ICT to enrich Geography, leading the geography department/self assessment and field work; represented the GA in the QCA review of the Key Stage 3 curriculum; and published numerous resources on the GA website.
Top Ten Ideas
Every half term, the GA's secondary phase committee produces a 'top ten' of ideas for helping you teach the secondary curriculum. You can view them in full on the Top Ten Ideas page, or download the basic PDFs here:
Top Ten (35!) Ideas: Exam Revision Time
Top Ten Ideas: Primary-Secondary Transition
Top Ten Ideas for an Exciting Start to Year 7 Geography
Top Ten Ideas for getting your students out of the classroom during the summer term
Top Ten Ideas for promoting GCSE geography
Top Ten Ideas for your new KS3
Annual Conference 2010
The SPC led three workshops at the 2010 GA Annual Conference held at the University of Derby on 8 - 10 April 2010.
Putting Geography Back on the Map
Tom Biebrach
A hands-on session offering practical advice and support for raising the profile of geography in school and the wider community.
The Geography Swap Shop
Emma Johns
An opportunity for teachers to exchange ideas. Resources and discussions from the session can be accessed on the Geography Swap Shop Ning.
Extending ICT Use for Beginners
Gary Dawson
This practical workshop looked at tried and tested examples of using ICT to enhance learning in geography.
Notes of Secondary Phase Committee Meeting - 12 June 2010
The main item for discussion during our meeting revolved around the place of geography within the wider secondary curriculum. During the recent era of curriculum change proposed by the previous Government, some secondary schools moved towards a skills or competency based curriculum. However, some schools kept a subject focus but were reporting to the GA that they were finding their geography curriculum time increasingly under threat. In other cases, schools maintained a subject focus and developed learner's competencies through the subjects themselves and/or timetabled 'enrichment days'.
With all these varied approaches to the curriculum, some have viewed the changes as a threat to geography, while others an opportunity. In an effort to support GA members, as part of our action plan for the next year, the Secondary Phase Committee will seek to publish a series of case studies, supported by quality resources that will describe the significant contribution geography as a subject discipline can make to the wider secondary curriculum.
Regardless of pervious or impending Government changes and initiatives, the SPC believe that all geography educators could take advantage of the flexibility that currently exists to design appropriate learning activities that will consequently highlight the huge contribution geography makes to the education of young people in the 21st Century.
With this in mind, the SPC are beginning preparations for next year's GA Annual Conference which has been given the theme 'Progress in Geography'. The SPC hope to offer three workshops at conference which will all aim to highlight the importance a geographical education makes to young people today.
Past meeting reports
Download: 27 February 2010 Meeting Notes
Download: 10 October 2009 Meeting Notes
Download: 7 February 2009 Meeting Notes
Download: 4 October 2008 Meeting Notes
Join the Secondary Phase Committee
If you are interested in becoming involved with the Secondary Phase Committee, please contact the Chair Tom Biebrach.
(Updated 15.06.10)
