For many years now, ‘place’ and place theory have formed a significant part of undergraduate study in the UK. And most teachers who have graduated in geography since 2000 will have studied aspects of place at university. This is just one way in which a gap has existed between school geography and Higher Education Institutions […]
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Which topics you are planning to teach to your sixth form geographers from the new specifications, and in what order, will depend on a number of factors. Every school and geography department will have their own considerations, freedoms and restrictions but I will outline what I believe to be some common themes below. I will […]
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Writing in the Times Higher Education , Danny Dorling and Carl Lee argue that “the real essence of geography isn’t ‘the facts’, but the ability to join them together to create something greater than the sum of the parts”. This idea of joining together different parts of geography was emphasised by current GA President Steve Rawlinson at the GA Conference as he chose his […]
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Despite some of the final specifications from exam boards not yet being approved, we do have the AS and A Level subject content set out by the government which was published in December 2014. Perhaps the least familiar theme from the list above to many secondary geography teachers is Changing place; changing places. At first glance, the criteria may look daunting and […]
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With the introduction of ‘changing places’ to the A Level specifications our department decided to introduce it at key stage three. Place is a difficult concept to teach due to its complicated and abstract nature; Tim Cresswell* argues that place is a vital part of human geography but is also a term that is difficult to define. He […]
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