Post on 28-Mar-2015
Living Geography
The Geographical Association
• ‘ ... furthering the learning and teaching of geography’
• It does this through– Supporting teacher development– Promoting curriculum development
These are mutually dependent activities
The GA ‘approach’
• Belief in teacher autonomy. This has– Privileges (eg guardians of quality and selecting content)– Responsibilities (eg intellectual engagement)
• Curriculum making. This emphasises– Strong purpose relating to the outcomes of disciplined
enquiry (eg ‘thinking geographically’)– Localised and responsive curricula that excite and build on
young people’s curiosity and engagement with the world.
Student Experiences
Geography: the subjectTeacher Choices
Underpinned by Key Concepts Thinking
Geographically
Learning Activity
How does this take the learner beyond what they already know?
Curriculum MakingCurriculum Making
Summary
• We value– geography as a subject discipline and intellectual resource.
This emphasises engagement with ideas over the ‘delivery’ of content knowledge
– young people’s geographical experiences, interests and curiosity and their interaction with the world and capacity to learn
– the art and craft of teaching and the development of pedagogic repertoire
• Our goal – to enable a more geo-capable citizenship
Living Geography
Can we build this idea into the GA’s activities more explicitly?
- Geography Quality Mark criteria?- in responses to consultations (eg GCSE
specifications)?- in project developments?- in position statements and website
presence?
A Living Geography “Community of Practice”
Participation
Reification
World
Negotiated
meaning
experience
documents
membership
curriculum making
Examples/models
mutuality
instruments
Adapted from Wenger 1998 Communities of
Practice: learning, meaning and identity, CUP
P = ‘taking part’
R = the ‘thingness’
Living Geography
• Does this ‘brand’ have legs?– Why brand? What’s wrong with what we’ve got?
• What does it mean?– To teachers, young people, parents, politicians/policy
makers
GA and the GTE network
• TEWG– Campaigns– Conference
• TDA funding– Margaret Roberts– Data base, GTIP and GeogEd; New tutors
GA and the GTE network
• TEWG– Campaigns– Conference
• TDA funding– Margaret Roberts– Data base, GTIP and GeogEd; New tutors
Recruitment and retention !