Annual Conference Theme
Looking to the future
In 2013 the GA's Annual Conference will return to the University of Derby. The theme for this year's event will be 'Looking to the future'. I'd like to explain a little about how and why I chose this theme, and what conference delegates will be able to explore.
Geography teachers face challenging futures. Most teachers are secure about the part that geography can play in learning about the world, but what kind of world will our students live in? We make educated guesses about climate change and the world that our students could inhabit, but what about the kinds of work that they will do, or the environments in which that work will take place?
- By 2014, it is likely that every child will study geography to age 16. How shall we excite students and give them a framework for looking at the world, in ways that will offer a legacy beyond their years at school?
- Most of today's students are very skilled in handling 24-hour media and news, access to the internet and social networking sites. How should our work in the classroom respond to the challenges of fast-moving technologies?
- Curriculum reviews by central government will result in changes to what is taught to children in schools. How should teachers respond to such changes?
I hope that the 2013 Annual Conference will help us look to the future in three key ways:
- By providing a range of examples about ways in which geographers see the future using different perspectives drawn from the natural and human world.
- By exploring ways in which classrooms of the future might approach ways of learning, whatever the content of the curriculum, and provide some concrete, positive and inspiring ideas that can be put into practice back in our places of work.
- By evaluating ideas about how to exploit some of the new technologies for learning, for both teachers and students.
I'll look forward to seeing you in Derby and enjoying a conference which works towards these goals.
Bob Digby
GA President 2012–13
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4 Comments
fahimeh shobeirian
Guest
12:04 - 28/06/12
i want to join this conference.
GA Member
13:11 - 28/06/12
Hi Fahimeh
Thanks for your message - you'll be able to register online for the conference in autumn 2012.
Anne
Hassan
Guest
18:50 - 19/08/12
Can we summit paper in earthquake area?
Lucy Oxley
GA Staff
08:58 - 20/08/12
Hi Hassan
We are accepting research papers for inclusion in the 2013 Annual Conference programme.
The papers should be relevant to teachers of geography in primary or secondary schools or in FE colleges, as well as fellow researchers in the field of geography education.
If you are interested in presenting a paper reporting your research, please send an abstract of no more than 200 words to me (loxley@geography.org.uk) by 7 September 2012.
The deadline for lecture and workshop submissions has now passed.
Thanks
Lucy
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