Plans for GIS lessons to support the new A-Level, GCSE and Key Stage 3 Geography curriculums

Possible GIS lessons based on themes from new A-Level geography subject content (ref: DfE A-Level Subject Content document, December 2014):
 

-          Core 1 – water and carbon cycles – 9.1 Deforestation

-          Core 1 – water and carbon cycles – 9.2 Landuse change control on carbon cycling

-          Core 1 – water and carbon cycles – 9.4 River catchment areas

-          Core 1 – water and carbon cycles – 9.4 Landuse change control on water cycling

-          Core 1 – water and carbon cycles – 9.5 Climate change

-          Core 2 – landscape systems – 11.1a Locations and characteristics of drylands

-          Core 2 – landscape systems – 11.1a Sand dune data collection

-          Core 2 – landscape systems – 11.1b Classifying coasts (high/low energy)

-          Core 2 – landscape systems – 11.1c Valley landscape features (erosional and depositional) formed by past glaciation

-          Core 2 – landscape systems – 11.4 Coastal data collection

-          Core 2 – landscape systems – 12.1/12.2 River course landforms/characteristics data collection

-          Core 3 – global systems and global governance – 13 Globalisation overview/15.1 interdependence overview

-          Core 3 – global systems and global governance – 13 Case study of a TNC/MNC

-          Core 3 – global systems and global governance – 13 Impact of TNCs/MNCs

-          Core 3 – global systems and global governance – 14.1a Trade blocs

-          Core 3 – global systems and global governance – 14.1a Brant Line vs HDI

-          Core 3 – global systems and global governance – 14.1a Global migration

-          Core 3 – global systems and global governance – 14.1b Mapping territorial claims to Antarctic/Arctic?

-          Core 3 – global systems and global governance – 15.2 Patterns of development

-          Core 3 – global systems and global governance – 15.3 International aid

-          Core 4 – changing place; changing places – 16 Local place data collection

-          Core 4 – changing place; changing places – 17.1 Local to global place connections

-          Core 4 – changing place; changing places – 17.1 Changing rural place: who is it for

-          Core 4 – changing place; changing places – 17.1 Changing urban place: who is it for

-          Core 4 – changing place; changing places – 17.2a Population change

-          Core 4 – changing place; changing places – 18.1 Employment change contrasts: W Midlands and M4 corridor

-          Core 4 – changing place; changing places – 18.4/18.6 Real or imagined place

-          Core 4 – changing place; changing places – 18.7 Development gap

-          N.B. 1 Non-core themes to be decided by awarding bodies and are as yet unknown

-          N.B. 2 There is considerable scope for use of GIS fieldwork/coursework

Key:

italic = use of student collected data

 

Possible GIS lessons based on themes from new GCSE geography subject content (ref: DfE GCSE Subject Content document, April 2014):

-          Place – 14 UK Physical landscapes – glacial/upland landscapes

-          Place – 14 UK Physical landscapes local data collection (river cross-sections, valley profiles…)

-          Place – 14 UK Human landscapes – socioeconomic inequalities

-          Place – 14 UK Human landscapes local data collection (e.g. crime, graffiti…)

-          Place – 14 UK Changing employment – decline

-          Place – 14 UK Changing employment – technology corridors

-          Place – 14 UK Changing employment – tourism (+impacts)

-          Place – 14 UK Globalisation/interconnectedness – TNCs/MNCs and trade

-          Place – 14 UK Changing landuse (urban (e.g. town centre retail changes) or rural (e.g. second homes/new housing)) local data collection

-          Physical geography – 15 Glacial landscapes – landform profiles

-          Physical geography – 15 Limestone landscapes – landform profiles

-          Physical geography – 15 Coastal landscapes – landform profiles

-          Physical geography – 15 River landscapes – landform profiles

-          Physical geography – 15 Hazards mapping volcanoes/earthquakes

-          Physical geography – 16 Hurricanes

-          Physical geography – 16 Flooding (including EA floodplain mapping)

-          Physical geography – 16 Flooding local data collection

-          Physical geography – 16 Changing climates – 2.6mya-present day

-          People and environment – 17 Global biomes/ecosystems

-          People and environment – 17 Rainforest ecosystem case study

-          People and environment – 17 Rainforest deforestation

-          People and environment – 17 Sustainable rainforests

-          People and environment – 17 Coral reef ecosystem case study

-          People and environment – 17 Tundra/Arctic ecosystem case study

-          People and environment – 17 Ocean/Marine ecosystem case study

-          People and environment – 17 UK ecosystems case study

-          People and environment – 17 Micro-ecosystems local data collection

-          People and environment – 18 Water supply in the UK

-          People and environment – 18 Water supply in semi-arid/arid areas

-          People and environment – 18 UK North Sea oil and gas – a future

-          People and environment – 18 UK Fracking

-          People and environment – 18 Global oil inequalities

-          People and environment – 18 Sustainable energy – locating a wind farm DME

-          Human geography – 19 Urbanisation

-          Human geography – 19 UK housing development DME

-          Human geography – 19 Global socioeconomic development indicators

-          Human geography – 19 Land use in developing word cities

-          Human geography – 19 Challenges in developing world cities

-          Human geography – 19 Migration

-          Human geography – 20 Global socioeconomic development indicators

-          N.B. There is considerable scope for use of GIS fieldwork/statistics in geography

Key:

italic = use of student collected data

 

Possible GIS lessons based on themes from new KS3 National Curriculum geography subject content (ref: DfE National Curriculum Framework document, July 2013):

-          Location knowledge – 1 Local area data collection

-          Location knowledge – 1 Global socioeconomic indicators

-          Location knowledge – 1 China case study

-          Location knowledge – 1 India case study

-          Location knowledge – 1 Global biomes/environmental zones

-          Location knowledge – 1 Polar regions case study

-          Location knowledge – 1 Hot deserts case study

-          Place knowledge – 1 Africa socioeconomic indicators

-          Place knowledge – 1 Asia socioeconomic indicators

-          Human and physical geography – 1a Plate tectonics

-          Human and physical geography – 1a Volcano (or earthquake or tsunami) evacuation DME

-          Human and physical geography – 1a Hurricanes

-          Human and physical geography – 1a Microclimates around the school data collection

-          Human and physical geography – 1a Glacial landforms

-          Human and physical geography – 1a River long profile landforms

-          Human and physical geography – 1a Coastal landforms

-          Human and physical geography – 1b Population

-          Human and physical geography – 1b Building a bypass DME

-          Human and physical geography – 1b UK socioeconomic indicators

-          Human and physical geography – 1b Local socioeconomic indicators data collection

-          Human and physical geography – 1b Global trade and aid

-          Human and physical geography – 1b TNC/MNC industries

-          Human and physical geography – 1b UK changing industry

-          Human and physical geography – 2 Coastal erosion DME

-          Human and physical geography – 2 Tourism honey pot DME

-          Human and physical geography – 2 Exploiting the rainforest DME

-          Geographical skills – mapskills – OS maps

-          Geographical skills – mapskills – topographical maps

-          Geographical skills – mapskills – thematic maps

-          Geographical skills – mapskills – aerial/satellite photographs and maps

-          N.B. There is considerable scope for use of GIS fieldwork in geography

Key:

italic = use of student collected data

...any thoughts or ideas regarding these suggestions (which are entirely my own) please use the comments section...thanks!

Gersmehl and Gersmehl review article

A recent review I wrote for Geography has been published. Link to article here: http://www.geography.org.uk/journals/Journals.asp?articleID=1204

Using R to map 2011 Census data - Open Atlas Project

A very comprehensive mapping of the Census 2011 using R coding:
http://www.alex-singleton.com/r/2014/02/05/2011-census-open-atlas-project-version-two/

Trial of QGIS plugin

If you are a school teacher of geography and want a way to introduce yourself and your students to GIS then look no further than this trial plugin for QGIS...
http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/~s1030092/QGISforSchools/index.html

A taxonomy of spatial thinking skills - a review...

Gersmehl and Gersmehl (2006) and Downs and DeSouza (2006) have differing views of what spatial thinking is. The former taking the view, as indicated in the title of the article, that a definition, or list (or taxonomy) of key spatial skills, is tied to the neurological functioning and development of the brain. Whilst the latter proposes a definition based on knowing about, or developing knowledge about, three key concepts “space – for example, the relationship among units of measurement… representation – for example, the relationship among views… [and] reasoning – for example, different ways of thinking about… distances… or making decisions”. Whichever definition, or ‘blueprint’, is adopted, both agree that once this is in place and accepted, spatial thinking will enhance teaching and learning across a range of subject areas, not least, and arguably most importantly, geography.

Gersmehl and Gersmehl’s (2006) “‘taxonomy’ of spatial thinking skills” can also been seen as a response to something which I too have noticed during my ten year classroom teaching career, that young people today have access to a “staggering quantity of geospatial information” (Gersmehl and Gersmehl’s (2006)). It is possible to argue that there is a need for educators (arguably particularly those in geography classrooms) to enable young people to learn what geospatial data is useful and what is not, and with so much data in ‘techno-savvy’ students hands (iPhones, tablets, mobile technologies, etc.) they need guidance and training in how to use it effectively.

This requires teaching which enables the acquisition of knowledge, understanding and skills; an approach which, arguably, is largely pushed to the background in favour of teaching (or training) students to pass exams. As Gersmehl and Gersmehl’s (2006) put it: “what gets tested is what gets taught” – which is understandable when educational success is principally judged upon meeting targets, levels of progress and league tables based upon examination results. Therefore, in an environment where new ideas are only included in the curriculum if they can demonstrably aid students passing a ‘test’, and given there is a “lack of a clearly articulated consensus about the nature of spatial thinking” (Gersmehl and Gersmehl’s (2006)) it is easy to understand why spatial thinking hasn’t yet received the curriculum space it deserves. What’s more “…[because] geography has not yet produced a coherent list of spatial thinking skills or a convincing set of reasons why students should be tested on their mastery of [them]” (Gersmehl and Gersmehl’s (2006)) the reasons for teaching it are even more problematic. We cannot yet adequately or fundamentally answer ‘what is spatial thinking?’ nor ‘why is spatial thinking needed?’

Hence, it was to address these fundamental problems of identifying what spatial thinking is and includes, and to attempt to ensure spatial thinking’s place in the geography curriculum, that Gersmehl and Gersmehl proposed their taxonomy. They could see that teaching spatial thinking was capable of being substantively embedded into, and supportive of, the set of key skills students develop through learning geography and use in analysing maps. Furthermore, with the National Curriculum seemingly moving towards more factual based learning and testing being more ‘memory dependent’ of those learned facts, rather than the themes and issues approach which has prevailed for the last 20 or so years, there is a good, if not golden, opportunity to introduce spatial thinking into geographic education.

Gersmehl and Gersmehl (2006) finally warn us that “[s]patial thinking is an important part of geography, but it is not all of geography!” Like this, teachers need to be careful that an increase in prominence of spatial thinking does not replace other equally important aspects of geography; indeed spatial thinking should, perhaps, be something that it intertwined with and embedded into topics and enquiries already taught in the classroom.

Extracts from a review article published in 2014.
Link to article - http://www.geography.org.uk/journals/Journals.asp?articleID=1204

 

Research into spatial thinking, GIS and geography education

The current government’s curriculum review, 2010 White Paper ‘The Importance of Teaching’ (DfE 2010), and New National Curriculum (2013) proposed several significant changes to the English education curriculum; most crucial of all is the increased prominence it places on the curriculum’s role in increasing the learner’s knowledge (or ‘core knowledge’). This can be seen as an attempt to re-balance the ‘trendification’ of the education system, a process from which geography has not been exempt. Indeed, since as early as the late 1990s the issue/topic being taught has had precedence over the geographical place(s) where it occurs.
 

The core skills/knowledge which are regarded as having been lost, and in need of bring back to the fore in the geography curriculum include: “factual knowledge of places, patterns and distributions, and of earth’s features and phenomena and the processing and communication of geographical data, linking it to spatial and temporal contexts” (after the Geographical Association’s Geography Curriculum Consultation Summary Report December 2011). Thus, it is clear that ‘spatial thinking’ is at the heart of this and so there needs to be a significant, or paradigm, shift in our understanding of what ‘spatial thinking’ entails and how it embodies these, and other, core organising principals of geography and geographical education.

The ‘core knowledge’ agenda will bring ‘basic skills’ – such as spatial literacy (defined by Bednarz and Kemp (2011) citing Goodchild (2006) as the ability, in its most basic form, to “capture and communicate knowledge in the form of a map [and] understand and recognise the world as viewed from above”) back to the fore. What is more, spatial literacy is a powerful area of learning, one which hitherto has existed largely on the margins, but which is a perfect example of a ‘core knowledge’ which can be learnt/delivered in the geography classroom. Indeed, geography is perhaps uniquely placed to capitalise on the emerging ‘core knowledge’ agenda not least due to its long history, or as some might say, romanticised view, of it being preoccupied with knowing places, rivers, mountains, etc.

At the heart of my research there is, therefore, a realisation of the need to develop strategies, materials and resources to prepare the English education system for, and to help geography teachers deliver, spatial literacy using GIS (in its simplest form digital mapping e.g. Google and Bing maps). The need/demand for which can only grow given that at least an elementary level of familiarity with GIS is now included in Ofsted inspection criteria (c. 2009-10). In essence, what needs to happen, is to put the spatial back into school geography and so solve, at least in part, what John Morgan calls ‘the enigma of geography and its difficulty in talking about the world’. By this I mean the explicit (rather than implicit) teaching of the core principals and concepts of location, distribution, and interconnection of places (from the micro to the macro scale) so as to once again enable geography and geographers to talk with confidence about the world.

Link to my page at UCL Geography Department: http://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/about-the-department/people/research-students/adrian-manning

 

A personal approach to embedding GIS in secondary school geography curricular

School geography in the United Kingdom (UK) is under pressure to justify its place in the country’s National Curriculum. It has experienced a general decline in the number of students taking it at GCSE, A-Level and University, in the face of growing competition from subjects seen as being more ‘trendy’. Thus, it has had to look within itself and find ways to appeal to, or reposition within, the student ‘marketplace’. One way has been to ‘jump on the bandwagon’ of the digital revolution, and as a result the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is becoming more common in the secondary Geography classroom.

Link to full article here: http://www.j-reading.org/index.php/geography/article/view/17/31