1. Progression in geography Elizabeth Rynne St Helen’s School, Middlesex Paul Weeden University of Birmingham p.weeden@bham.ac.uk

2. Prescribed content KS1, KS2, KS3, GCSE, AS, A2, IB etc Vision What is taught coherence • Increasing • Depth • Breadth • complexity Knowledge Understanding Skills Topical issues Choice Teaching strategies • Increasing ability to • Interpret • Analyse • Problem solve • Draw conclusions • Evaluate How it is delivered progression variety Pupil learning Assessment What is learned Increasing Independence • Increasing ability • to be self critical • to analyse own learning needs Formative / Summative Teacher / Peer / Self

3. Curriculum • Content • Knowledge, factual material, case studies • Concepts, principles and ideas • Skills (map reading) • Approaches (enquiry) Understanding the language and grammar of geography

4. Curriculum planning or development? • Curriculum planning • Teachers constrained • Organising and sorting material • Content and teaching / learning provided • Curriculum development • Teachers have more control • Taking forward • Changes at KS3 – KS4 – KS5 • Emphasis on development

5. Ownership of curriculum • Teachers can: • Select content & sequence of T&L • Respond to local needs • Use local contacts and fieldwork opportunities • Make the curriculum topical and relevant • School based curriculum development

6. More work? • Selecting Content • Same topics • meanders • Tired, dated and superseded • ‘Sabre toothed curriculum’ • River stages (Youth, Mature, Old Age – Upper, Middle, Lower) • Glacial flow (Geography, 2007) • New topics • Global Challenges – climate change, globalisation • Vibrant curriculum • Ecopolis, energy debates, shopping (retail therapy)

7. The student view • “I didn’t realise that geography was such a variety of stuff – it’s a lot better now! I’ll definitely do it for A-level” Year 10 pupil after working with a group of University of Birmingham Undergraduates – Pilot GCSE

8. Students learning geography? • Do they see: • The potential and excitement of geography as a changing discipline? • The impact on their future lives? • Teachers have to consider: • What sort of geography? • What is the school context like? • What is geography’s place in the whole school curriculum?

9. Types of progression • Generic • Numeracy and literacy • Problem solving • Thinking • IT skills • Subject specific – ‘better geographers’

10. Developing understanding Ideas Mental constructs Generalisations Model / theory Student (teacher) Experiences Mental processes Language, recall, reflective thinking Personal meanings, Public meanings (adapted from: Bennetts, 2005)

11. Progression, Continuity, Sequence • KS1 – establishing foundations • KS2 – moving out to new challenges • KS3 – building confidence, capability and inspiration • KS4 – promoting participation, citizenship and new possibilities • Post 16 – ensuring possibilities for specialism and scholarship

12. Progression Act of improving or moving forward • Progression in a subject: • Subject structure • Planned curriculum experience • Pupils’ performance

14. Planning based on curriculum experience • Teaching and learning experiences plan for increasing: • precision and sophistication in language and grammar of geography, • breadth and complexity of understanding at a range of scales • use of generalised knowledge, abstract ideas and linkage • maturity of understanding of issues, values and attitudes • independence in using the enquiry process and geographical skills (use of reasoning, explanations, linkages and judgements)

15. Weather • KS1 - personal experiences • KS2 - seasonal change • KS3 - types of rainfall; high and low pressure • KS4 – depressions – processes • KS5 – atmospheric patterns and processes

16. Progression in outcomes • Subject specific (Aims of geography) • Phase specific (Geography subject criteria KS3 / GCSE / A-level) • Course / curriculum specific (AO / levels) • Topic specific (topic criteria - outcomes) • Task specific (task learning outcomes) • Pupil specific (individual target)

17. Progression in outcomes: Enquiry • Common Processes across key stages • Observation / perceiving • Describing / defining • Analysing / evaluating • Making judgements • Drawing conclusions What are the features of progression?

18. Dimensions of progression Progression in student responses • Restricted • Uni-structural • Multi-structural • Relational • Extended abstract (Solo Hierarchy) • Better descriptions / explanations / judgements (SLN website)

19. What kind of curriculum planner / developer are you? • Cautious • Balanced • Progressive • Adventurous

20. Prescribed content KS1, KS2, KS3, GCSE, AS, A2, IB etc Vision What is taught coherence • Increasing • Depth • Breadth • complexity Knowledge Understanding Skills Topical issues Choice Teaching strategies • Increasing ability to • Interpret • Analyse • Problem solve • Draw conclusions • Evaluate How it is delivered progression variety Pupil learning What is learned Assessment Increasing Independence • Increasing ability • to be self critical • to analyse own learning needs Formative / Summative Teacher / Peer / Self