’10 Pearls of Wisdom’ or some of the main things I have learnt over past 2 years

relating to geography

Jane Evans

1. Our aim should be to share a passion for geography not just pass assessments.

• Success should be supporting students to have a global awareness, seeing the links between things and be an active global citizen.

• Ask ‘what will my students remember in 10 years time?’

Haha! Look where I got to MrsE! Even more stunning

than the pics we saw in class.

Took my mates to Muriwai last week and astounded

them when all those facts we learnt came tumbling out! They say once learnt

never forgotten!

So …..

• Take time to do the extras

• Include geographic interest articles in your programme

• Friday resources are great for this.

• Playing the games and quizzes is not time wasted!

2. Teaching as Inquiry is an important tool

Teaching as Inquiry

• This is data driven – what needs to change?

• What do my students need to know?

• What do my students already know?

• How effective was my teaching?

• What do I need to change?

So ….

• Start with a pre-assessment – pre test / brainstorm / questions they want to know.

• Monitor how well they understand things – logs / exit cards

• Update your units as required – don’t leave until the following year!

3. Know Your Students

• What is their ability?

• What are their literacy skills?

• What are their interests?

• Is there anything likely to interrupt their learning?

So …

• Build up a relationship with your students – make it fun!

• Access and use asTTLe/ PAT scores

• Do some getting to know you exercises at the beginning of the year.

• Choose topics likely to be of interest to your students or get them to choose!

4. Literacy needs to be taught

• Communication is vital in the Social Sciences – do not assume they are at the correct entry level.

• Do not dumb down texts – it only adds to the problem.

So …

• Teach students how to manage unfamiliar text

• Expose students to many different types of text

• Teach the writing skills – scaffold this

• Teach the instruction words

• Teach the geography specific words – the glossary and concepts.

5. Collaborative Learning really does work!

• Students learn best together – if you can talk about it first then you will be more able to express it in writing.

• This way all students are involved and will become more confident

So ….

• Rather than ask whole class questions try a think/pair/share.

• Discuss how to answer a question in groups and come up with a plan

• Try writing essays in pairs.

• Set up your classroom for easy group work.

6. We tend to over assess and set the bar too high!

• Students only need 14- 16 credits per subject. For more able students it is not more credits but getting them at a higher level. This is what the Universities require.

• Less is best – teach less and teach it better. You only need 5 AS per level. This frees up more time for ‘real geography’ and the chance to reassess.

• When marking go with a gut feeling – don’t let small mistakes take over.

So …

• Aim for 14/16 credits as your measure of success not how many get each standard.

• Aim to get students to reach their potential - % with endorsements.

• Assess students when they are ready not when the timetable states! If absent they may need extra pre teaching.

• Assessment should not interrupt learning – break into chunks and assess as you go.

7. Challenge works!

• We all need to be challenged or we get bored. However there is a fine line between challenge and too difficult.

• Tell students that learning is a challenge – it hurts. If it does not you are not being stretched. Think of it like exercise – when it is sore it is doing your brain good!

• An unchallenged student will not reach their potential.

• All students are capable of excellence with the right conditions.

So …

• Tell students that making mistakes is OK.

• Provide thinking time

• Think Blooms – challenge answers and re phrase so they are kept on the boil!

• Differentiate activities where you can.

8. We need to start teaching geography skills early on

• Many students start at Level 1 / 2 or even 3 geography with no spatial awareness.

• Mapping needs to be an important part of your junior SS programme.

• Backmap as to the skills you want them to enter a course of geography with.

9. The gap between different ethnicities is closing:

Which means that the difference from 2012 to 13 was:

What are the reasons for this:

• External papers are better laid out for our students

• We have adopted better teaching techniques in the classroom

• Everyone is doing a great job!

10. Finally - The geography community is awesome!

• Keep meeting as a cluster group

• Keep sharing and supporting each other.

• Resource sharing is not that some are better than others – we are all capable of producing awesome stuff we just don’t have the time!

• Many thanks for all your efforts over the past 2 years.

• Please keep in touch!

• Jane Evans• J.Evans@takapuna.school.nz