Geographical Association

Max Rayner

Guest

10:11 - 04/02/11

I think a lot of what has been said in this report is stating the obvious. The report laments student's spatial naivety but isn't place one of the 7 core concepts at KS3? Spatial knowledge would seem to fit quite neatly into this concept. I think greater support for non specialists and a better understanding of the foundation concepts of the subject would address many of the issues raised in the report.

John Lyon

GA Staff

10:41 - 04/02/11

It is important to draw out the positive aspects of the Ofsted report. On page 5 it notes that geography “is more important than ever in today’s world” and that it contributes 'effectively to curriulum coherence as well as satisfying pupils' curiousity about people and places'. When taught well the pupils explore and understand their place in the world and develop a sense of wonder about places.
We also agree that although it is for teachers, individually and in teams, to make geography engaging, interesting and enjoyable, both in the ‘field’ and in the classroom, they are often hampered by insufficient training and support, which undermines confidence and what we call curriculum making capability.
The Report shows many examples of schools in which geography has been encouraged and is flourishing. These are schools where the geography is driven by challenging questions about the contemporary world, where pupils knowledge of people, places and environments is extensive and where the teaching is lively, topical and well informed. One reason for good geography was found to be where “subject specific professional support had been sought out and utilised” (p6).
If you find yourself reading negative comments - perhaps on press websites - please do respond with your usual enthusiasm and passion for geography. We have a good opportunity to educate a wider audience about what good geography looks like.

John Lyon

GA Staff

10:50 - 04/02/11

I agree Max. Teachers are often hampered by insufficient training and support. The GA of course provides a huge amount of support for teachers from early years upwards and the Nings offer the opportunity for sharing ideas and resources. We hope that senior leaders will look at comments such as 'the best geography was usually seen in schools which were participating in the professional development programme offered through the Action Plan for Geography' and indeed involve the GA in leading the development of good practice through local networks.

Alan Parkinson

GA Member

11:13 - 04/02/11

The Twitter-verse is buzzing this morning with comments about the release of the OFSTED report. Many are retweeting the headline statement: "Geography is declining" but a closer look at the report, and the GA's response reveal 'a different view'.

I have just been reading Tony Cassidy's measured and impassioned comments on his website: http://tonycassidy.co.uk

When teaching the Pilot GCSE, and taking part in student-led curriculum review at the start of the Action Plan for Geography back in 2006, the geography that I developed was a world removed from the one that is pictured in the report's summary.

It would perhaps have been helpful to feature more examples of the schools where geography was strong: undoubtedly those where the teachers had support from leadership teams, confidence to involve students in developing a 'living geography' curriculum and quite possibly taking the opportunities to network and use resources from the GA and RGS-IBG. Those 40 or 50 schools with 'uninspiring' geography represented in the report could then be 'shown' the fine work going on in hundreds of other schools. It appears that many of those with uninspiring lessons had not been involved with the work of subject associations to the same extent.
Anyone using the GA's KS3 toolkit 'Into Africa' for example would be left in no doubt where Kenya was in relation to the rest of Africa...

Core knowledge returns again to the debate. The report talks about students not being confident about naming mountain ranges, for example. I'm not certain that would be of tremendous long-term value in any case. There are better examples of challenging and critical geography taking place that could perhaps have been featured more prominently.
Geography is the world subject, and a glance at today's other headlines will confirm that more than ever we need geographers to interpret and explain the challenges that we face, and provide guidance towards a more positive future. If geography is not offered in schools this produces an 'impoverished' curriculum.

These comments are my personal views.
Please login and add some personal views of your own

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Guest

20:47 - 04/02/11

The main responses to the so-called 'decline in Geography' will have little to do with what we think or say, even if we pick out and focus on the positive bits from the Ofsted Report.

I believe that building a powerful 'public' geographical profile is the most important thing that needs to be done. We need to promote even more what we believe geography is really all about and focus on what geographers are doing in helping us to improve the way we look after our world.

We desperately need to get our geography graduates and A level students, who are already passionate about their subject, to talk up geography to anyone who will listen. The Geography Ambassadors project, initiated a few years ago, needs to be supported, strengthened and further developed - so we can really get our message(s) across in as many places as possible.

We also need to establish who are the potential important supporters of Geography. These will be influencers who can make a difference in society and help us to gain territory from the public perception of what Geography is and geographers do.

It was great, to my surprise, that last night BBC 5-live spent more than 45 minutes discussing the issue and that several of their reporting staff (on the Tony Livesey show) confirmed they were geographers and were amazingly positive about it - this is something we need to build on.

I also think also that strategic partnerships with powerful organisations, for example National Geographic, could also be very fruitful.

David Lambert

GA Member

11:49 - 06/02/11

Alan, or is it Tony, writes "The report talks about students not being confident about naming mountain ranges, for example. I'm not certain that would be of tremendous long-term value in any case".

I think we need, as a community, to grapple harder with this matter. One of the beguiling slides in the old Shift Happens routine, is that subject matter (and skills I suppose) are 'out of date' before you even sit the exam. Does that mean everything you learn at school is of 'no long term value'? I don't think so!

There is such a thing as objective knowledge, some of which is pretty timeless. The 'core knowledge' idea is that this is 'enabling': it helps us converse, argue, think. If you just don't know 'stuff' you probably lose arguments: you are disabled.

There is also knowledge making - quite a different matter, where meaning can be contested and where understanding can change and develop.
Geography teachers deal with both.

I just feel we should be careful when we say world knowledge is of limited long term value. It makes us sound useless as a profession!

Alan Parkinson

GA Member

10:10 - 07/02/11

That was me, not Tony.
World knowledge is certainly useful, but I suppose my point, rather clumsily made, was that as soon as you narrow down to specific facts that are chosen at a moment in time, there is an inevitability that their 'relevance' will change over time.

With reference to the Tony Livesey programme, I have recorded Tessa Willy's contribution to the programme, and that can be heard here.

There is a short time left to hear the rest of the debate on Listen Again

Mr Dodsworth

GA Member

09:17 - 08/02/11

Having recently retired from a career of teaching Geography in secondary schools there is much in David Lambert's personal view that I can wholeheartedly support. Geography can be, and should be, one of the most exciting subjects in the school curriculum because it is perfectly suited to an enquiry-based approach to learning and there is just so much available to enquire into. The multi-faceted nature of Geography should ensure that all school pupils find aspects to investigate that are of real interest to them and a teacher who listens well to his pupils will soon discover the 'hooks' that will capture there attention and lead them into a journey of exciting discovery.

Too much of the recent debate about the worth of Geography has focused on the battle between knowledge and skills. In this debate one of the key elements of the subject has apparently been downgraded and that is the understanding of the world we live in. Pupils should use their knowledge of the world to enhance their understanding of what is happening in the world and through their developing geographical skills deepen their understanding of how and why the relationship between people and their environments has changed over time.

As David writes Geography is 'a linking discipline connecting science and the arts' and as such can been studied at university for either a BA or a BSc award. In school Geography blends together two quite different approaches to information gathering, understanding and synthesis and so forms an essential element in every pupil's general education. (Linked to this it is with some alarm that I read elsewhere in the Daily Telegraph that the Russell Group guide to A Level courses 'recommends studying Science and Maths A Levels' to support an application to do Geography at university. Does this signal the demise of the BA in Geography? I certainly hope not!)

The over-emphasis in recent times on a rigid three part structure to lessons and excessive levels of lesson planning (i.e. pages-long lesson plans with pupil activity regimented for every minute or two and down to the last minute) has not been beneficial overall. Some of the most successful lessons I was ever involved in developed in a way unforeseen in my planning and were, in the very best sense, pupil-led. A teacher must have the confidence to allow this to happen and not worry so much about 'leaving the script behind'. I would define a 'very successful lesson' as one in which the pupils learn best the elements at the heart of the relationship between people and places.

Recently I have had the opportunity to help out in several primary schools and have really enjoyed tackling geographical issues at that level. To enhance learning of one aspect of core geographical knowledge that OFSTED is clearly very keen on I re-introduced 'class chanting' based on a large world map and the names and locations of the continents and oceans. I pointed out each continent and ocean and asked the children to repeat the name after me. Soon they were chanting the answers led just by pointing and without prompting and within a couple of lessons were able to name the continents and oceans when I pointed at a location on a big sheet of blank paper with no map outlines on it at all. Boring you might say, from what I and other teachers observed they loved it. Ineffective you might say, several months later while with a class for a day on a field trip to Robin Hood's Bay I drew an imaginary map in the air and asked them to point to the continents and they managed with aplomb.

I still remember the wonderful 'buzz' engendered by a class absorbed in solving a geographical problem. My favourite was a problem set to Y9 pupils undertaking an investigation of life in Japan; the question was ' Why is it necessary to run more commuter trains to Tokyo in winter than in summer? I will leave that with you!

Geography can provide a framework of interest in places for a whole lifetime. I still love to explore new places as well as re-visiting places I have been too innumerable times. My understanding of places, and of the lives of people living in them, is rooted in Geography and that started with my own experience at school as a pupil. Geography's role in developing younger and older adults' leisure interests is an aspect of the subject's impact that is often forgotten. I still get new Geography-themed books for Christmas so over many years Geography has been good to me, hopefully at least some of my ex-pupils feel the same!

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Guest

12:31 - 08/02/11

I agree strongly with John that we must take the many positives from the report and build on them.
The support of the subject associations and importance of fieldwork are both highlighted as proactive means of improving the situation. Our challenge is to build on these and make them more universal.
With such a poor grounding in Geography in many primary schools because it has simply not been seen as a priority subject it is perhaps understandable that under performance at KS3 becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for many schools. Inclusion of Geography in the English Bacc. is a real opportunity to cascade its importance back down the key stages - it is not so long ago that great work was been done in lots of primary schools on contrasting localities and the like because it was felt to be valued by the appraisal systems of the day.
There is much work yet to do but clear encouragement to get on and do it.