Presented by Malcolm McInerney, AGTA Chair

:

http://spatialworlds.blogspot.com

* EVALUATE OUR GEOGRAPHY COURSES

* DEVELOP A 21ST CENTURY GEOGRAPHY CURRICULUM

* PRESENT GEOGRAPHY AS A DYNAMIC, RELEVANT and EXCITING DISCIPLINE FOR STUDENTS

* PROMOTE THE ‘BRAND’ OF GEOGRAPHY IN THE COMMUNITY

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM FOR GEOGRAPHY IS A ONCE IN A TEACHING LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY TO:

What makes modern Geography modern Geography?

“The Australian Curriculum for geography is an unprecedented opportunity to ensure that geography in schools reflects amazing developments in ‘neogeography’.” (new geography, applied to the usage of geographical techniques and tools used for personal and community activities.)

Dr Peter Hill, EX-ACARA CEO

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD WITH THE AC:GEOGRAPHY

• May 2009:: ACARA presented with the TNGC Background Paper and Position Paper.

• October 2009: ACARA Geography Reference Group established to develop a draft AC: Geography Shape Paper.

• June 2010: Draft AC: Geography Shape Paper released for on-line consultation.

• July 2010: ACARA Advisory Group appointed to produce the final AC: Geography shape paper.

• January 2011: AC: Geography shape paper released.• March – October 2011: A group of writers and Advisors worked on

developing a draft scope and sequence.• October 2011: Draft scope and sequence released for on-line

consultation.• March – June 2012: Writer and advisors respond to feedback and draft

a new scope and sequence.• June-July 2012: Draft goes to jurisdictions and GTA’s for feedback.• August-September 2012: Final rewrite by writers and advisors.• December 2012: On-line publication of the Australian Curriculum:

Geography.

WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY

The future of geography and the public perception of what geography is are critical questions we need to talk about when working with the Australian Curriculum: Geography.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IIjIQ7t7nM&feature=player_detailpagehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbgai3dK16Q&feature=player_detailpage

What’s this thing called Geography?

“Geography was my favourite subject at school.”

Then what happened?

Over the past 30 years we have seen a drastic decline in geography.

“Geography lost its way”: Peter Hill ACARA CEO

WHAT DID THEY LIKE ABOUT GEOGRAPHY?

GEOGRAPHY AS MANY OF US KNEW IT AT SCHOOL

"I get to go to overseas places, like Canada."

— Britney Spears

“Geography is just physics slowed down, with a couple of trees stuck in” -Terry Prachett

Community perception of what modern geography is …

“I Iike geography. I like to know where places are.” - Tom Felton

“The global importance of the Middle East is that it keeps the Far East and the Near East from encroaching on each other.” - Dan Quayle

Geography is…..

… a structured way of exploring, analysing and explaining the characteristics of the places that make up our world, through perspectives based on the concepts of place, space and environment.

From the draft ACARA Scope and sequence for geography, October 2011

Geography as a discipline can be split broadly into two main subsidiary fields: human and physical geography.

Human geography focuses on the built environment and how humans create, view, manage, and influence

space. Physical geography examines the

natural environment and how climate, organisms, soil, water, and

landforms produce and interact..

The difference between these approaches led to a third field, Environmental geography, which combines physical and human geography and looks at the interactions between the environment and humans.

CONTENT APPROACHES OVER TIME IN GEOGRAPHY

PRE 1970’S GEOGRAPHY: THINGS ABOUT THE REGIONS OF THE EARTH

GEOGRAPHICAL SYSTEMS THINKING IN THE 1970’S

GEOGRAPHICAL CONCEPTUAL THINKING IN THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM

Humanity ... is like people packed in an automobile which is travelling down hill, without lights, on a dark night at terrific speed and driven by a four-year-old child. The signposts along the way are all marked "Progress.“Lord Dunsany (1878 – 1957) Anglo-Irish Writer

The need for a balanced, aspirational sunshine geography for the future

"If geography itself has any significance it is that we are made to lift our eyes from our small provincial selves to the whole complex and magnificent world."Richard Burton (1821 - 1890) to the Royal Geographical Society. British explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, ethnologist, linguist, poet, hypnotist, fencer and diplomat.

VIEWING THE DRAFT AC: GEOGRAPHY THROUGH THE LENS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

What does a 21st Century curriculum in Geography look like?

The What, How and Why of a modern Geography curriculum in schools.

Why

study the geography

What geography to

teach

How

to teach the geography

Informs

Geography aims to …

• a sense of wonder and curiosity about places, people, cultures and environments throughout the world

• a deep geographical knowledge of their own place, Australia, our region and the world

• the ability to think geographically, based on an understanding of the concepts of place, space, environment, interconnection, sustainability, scale and change

• the capacity to be competent, critical and creative users of geographical inquiry methods and skills

• as informed, responsible and active citizens who can contribute to the development of a sustainable world.

draft

ACARA Australian Curriculum: Geography draft scope and sequence

CONCEPTS: THINKING GEOGRAPHICALLY

meaning

identity

links

Location

local-global

human

time

uniqueness

pace

justice

trends

association

interdependence

Non-living

Generational equity

zoom

living

distance

Human-physical

processes

natural

biosphere

Triple bottom line

intangible

characteristics

pattern distribution

equilibrium

dynamic

consistency

directions

hierarchies

measurementchange

processes

interconnection

change

system

Impact of change

flowsystem

Human-environment

diversity sustainability

system

interconnection

relative

virtual

proximitydensity

biodiversity

sustainability

sustainability

futures

movement

ecology

futures

local-global

space

maps

The geographical concept wheel

interconnection

THE STRUCTURE OF AC: GEOGRAPHY

Geographical Knowledge and understandings

Geographical Inquiry and Skills

Content descriptions with elaborations for each year F-10

Content descriptions with elaborations over 2 years, commencing with Foundation but then 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10,

draft

Trying to develop a unique geographical inquiry process

• Observing, questioning and planning

• Collecting, recording, evaluating and representing data

• Analysing and concluding

• Communicating

• Reflecting and responding

GEOGRAPHICAL INQUIRY IN AC: GEOGRAPHY

THE CURRICULUM FORMATSkills and Inquiry Strand

Inquiry stage

Content Description

Elaborations

THE CURRICULUM FORMATKnowledge and Understanding Strand

CONTENT FOR THE AC: GEOGRAPHY

• What should be in and what should be out?• What is important?• What is imperative?• What is engaging?• What is useful (socially, vocationally, personally,

environmentally, nationally …)?• What content is achievable for schools (teacher

expertise and resources)• Should we push outside of what is happening know?• What should be in a 21st Century curriculum?

Foundation Year: People live in places

Year 1: Places have distinctive features

Year 2: People are connected to many places

Year 3: Places are both similar and different

Year 4: People have a relationship with the environment

Year 5: Human and environmental processes shape places

Year 6: People belong to a diverse world

draft

PRIMARY STAGES OF LEARNING IN GEOGRAPHY

• Water in the world (7)• Places in which to live (7)

• Landforms and landscapes (8)• Shaping the Nation (8)

• Biomes and food security (9)• People experiencing and making geography (9)

• Environmental challenges and geography (10)• Global geographies of human well-being (10)

7 – 10 Year Level Units

draft

Senior Secondary AC: Geography contains four units

Unit 1: The changing biophysical cover of the earth

… focussing on the changing biophysical cover of the earth’s surface.

Unit 2: Sustaining places

… focussing on the economic, social and environmental sustainability of places.

Unit 3: Environmental Risk Management

… focussing on identifying risks and managing those risks to eliminate or minimise harm to the environment whilst benefitting from economic activities.

Unit 4: A world in the making

… focussing on the widening, deepening and speeding up of global interconnections … to consider how changes in connections affect specific localities and groups of people.

draft

FEEDBACK IN A NUTSHELL• Generally happy with the rationale and aims.• Accepting of the strands (two strands).• Ambivalent to primary years (primary geographers?)• Disturbed physical geographers. • Thought too much economics.• Fractured views on Year 8 Personal. Geographers

(hate and love) – that’s not geography!!• Bemused views on Year 9 geography (Biomes and

globalisation!)• Applause for Year 7 and 10.• Generally happy with Year 7 and 8 physical geography

units but wanted switch.• Rejection of Unit 4 of senior secondary.• Confusion on Skills and Inquiry strand.• We thought it was about 80% cooked but others not as

generous.

THE CONTENT VERSUS PROCESS DEBATE!

Knowledge is important, but because of time constraints it must be chunks of deep learning, not

vast swathes of shallow learning.” http://wiki.bath.ac.uk/display/charlescornelius/A+Curriculum+for+th

e+21st+Century

Still discussion points * What is geography? What is physical and human geography versus science

and social studies?* The nature of place and space. * The nature of sustainability in geography.* The importance of the spatial perspective.* Geography and citizenship capacity.* The mandating of fieldwork.* Social justice aims and “left wing” thinking?* The aim of engagement versus essential coverage.* The physical/human geography balance.* How do we integrate the key concepts into the curriculum content?* How much economic geography is too much?* Spatial technology and it’s use as a core issue to be mandated in some way

or not in the skills strand.• The need for the language and terminology of the document to be

understandable to non-geographers. • Is there a place for personal geographies

* Geography in the primary setting – suitability and achievability.

If we are concentrating on geographical conceptual thinking in a 21st Century curriculum, does it matter what the content is?

The 21st Century world is highly interconnected and interdependent, media saturated, culturally diverse, technology driven, rapidly changing, information overloaded, cynical, environmentally degraded, mobile, spatial technology enabled and increasingly homogeneous.

What does a 21st Century curriculum in Geography look like?

The What, How and Why of a modern Geography curriculum in schools.

Why

study the geography

What geography to

teach

How

to teach the geography

Informs

THROUGH THE GEOGRAPHICAL LENS

GEOGRAPHICAL CONCEPTUAL THINKING IN THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM: GEOGRAPHY: 21ST CENTURY GEOGRAPHY?

The geographical lens

The deconstruction and subsequent construction of knowledge/content using the key concepts when

studying geography = geographical thinking

Developing geographical understanding

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY JIGSAW

Australian Curriculum: Geography

ACARA2009-2012

GEOGSPACE on-line resources

for AC :Geography

developed by AGTA with ESA

2012

Professional Learning for AC: Geography

?

Implementation in the States: who is responsible to say … ?

The role of geography teachers associations in implementation

?2013

2013

PUTTING THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY JIGSAW TOGETHER

Australian Curriculum: Geography

ACARA2009-2012

GEOGSPACE on-line

resources for AC :Geography

developed by AGTA with ESA

2012

Professional Learning for AC: Geography

?Implementation in the States: who is responsible to say … ?

The role of geography teachers associations in implementation

?2013

2013

How do we make it happen?

RESOURCES

* Keys to Geography Written by AGTA and published

by MacMillan

Exploring 21st Century Geography DVD

AITSL and AGTAContracted by AITSL in 2012 to develop examples of good practice in geography aligned to

Australian Professional Teaching Standards and AC: Geography.

A resource available for purchase via PayPal via AGTA website

ESA and AGTA GEOGSPACE

Contracted by ESA in 2012 to develop on-line resources for AC: Geography.

GeogSpace• A resource to support the teaching of the Australian Curriculum:

Geography• A joint AGTA / ESA project (funded by ESA and developed by

AGTA)• A free website (open to all) containing over 60 Illustrations of

practice and professional learning objects• Written and developed by Australian geography teachers from

every state of Australia – a first ever resource for Australian Geography teaching

• Will be available in March 2013• A 21st Century Geography resource dedicated to the Australian

Curriculum: Geography

“If they'd lower the taxes and get rid of the smog and clean up the traffic mess, I really believe I'd settle here until the next earthquake”Groucho Marx (1890-1977) comedian and film star

The challenge is to produce a geography curriculum that is academically, professionally and publically popular but not loathed in the classroom.

Keeping in touch with AGTA

http://www.agta.asn.au/

Feedback on the ACARA and the TNGC websiteshttp://www.acara.edu.au/http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/home/

www.ngc.org.au

REGISTER ON THE GTASA WEBSITE

www.gtasa.asn.au

http://spatialworlds.blogspot.com/

21st Century Geography in Australian Schools Google Group

http://groups.google.com/group/21st-century-geography-in-australian-schools/