This specification has a people-environment theme which highlights the importance of interaction. There are two parts ‘People and the Natural Environment’ and ‘People and the Human Environment’, both of which have a choice of sections. Let’s consider the sections in the first part; a minimum of three are to be chosen but no linkage is suggested between them.
An Extreme Environment
In the Pilot GCSE the core theme ‘An extreme environment’ provides the focus for ‘the study of landscape, the study of physical processes and an exploration of human adaptations and responses’ underpinned by the concepts of sustainability and futures. How might these be used in an AQA A context?
Consider the content of the topics Tectonic Activity, Glacial Landscape and Processes and Weather and Climate (second section on interactions) and compare them with the content and enquiry sections of the Pilot’s Extreme environment theme. They could be brought together through a study of the Canadian Rockies or the Andes, making an interesting introduction to this half of the specification. However, the way is still open to introduce the remaining required contrasting case studies and Ordnance Survey work. If you want to look at this approach in action pages 25-28 in Teachers’ Resource Guide provide an exemplar using the Arctic Ocean and Svalbard Islands.
Alternatively, you can access the Resources section via the navigation bar on the left or visit Unlocking the Archives, where you will find ‘Antarctica’, another example of an extreme environment.
The second half of the AQA A specification requires a minimum of one topic to be chosen from each of three sections. Choosing ‘Settlement’, ‘Industry’ and ‘Managing Resources’ would allow access into the other two Pilot themes.
My Place
The content of ‘Settlement’ is already underlain by the concepts of interdependence, uneven development, globalisation and futures. There are opportunities for exploring the approaches of ‘My place’ through fieldwork in the local community. These might provide the basis for the candidates’ coursework enquiries. There is also scope here for the required Ordnance Survey work. Many of the ideas developed in the ‘My place’ example developed on Royston in the Teachers’ Resource Guide (pages 17-23) could be taught through the AQA A Settlement topic.
People as Consumers
The third Pilot GCSE theme ‘People as consumers’ draws on both the ‘Industry’ and ‘Managing Resources’ topics, both of which are already developing the concepts of interdependence, uneven development and globalisation. The first section of the theme matches much of the first half of the ‘Managing Resources’ topic whilst linking it to the candidates’ experience. Comparing the content in the Pilot GCSE with one of the case studies in the ‘Industry’ topic could be ‘the production, marketing, etc., of a familiar product.’ The tourism section of the Managing Resources topic could be developed as the ‘named service’. The Teachers’ Resource Guide has a worked example of how this theme might be approached (pages 29-39).
If the suggestions above seem a bridge too far because the AQA A specification does not include an ‘enquiry question’ approach, you might think about using the questions in the Pilot GCSE content which match the AQA A topics as starters.
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Pilot GCSE: Links to AQA A 3031
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