Westminster Institute of Education
Curriculum Making in
Primary Geography
Professor Simon Catling
Geographical Association Annual Conference,
Progress in Geography,
University of Surrey.
Saturday April 16th, 2011.
Brief reflections on primary geography ‘today’
• Ofsted’s 2011 geography report indicates some improvement in
primary geography teaching since 2008, though concerns remain.
• We are in a period of uncertainty about geography’s place in the
primary curriculum – and what will be in its programmes of study.
• Studies of place(s) and environmental change and sustainable
presents and futures are key aspects of geographical study.
• In an increasing number of primary schools the curriculum is
becoming less subject-bound, with greater integration.
• There are some signs that geography loses out in cross-curricular
topics.
• Indications are that schools’ engagement with subject associations
and professional developments drops off as budgets tighten.
• Research into children’s geographies indicates that children more
often are geographically experienced and aware than is made use of
in school – and that they may misunderstand aspects of their world.
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Curriculum Making in the UK: A succinct history
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‘Curriculum making’ is not a new idea, but its meaning is evolving.
From 1960s to 1980s primary teachers had responsibility for their own school
and class curriculum.
During this period geography was often not well taught (if at all) and in decline.
From 1988/1991 National Curriculum geography in primary schools was
required and enabled improvements.
But geography teaching became increasingly based on government and
commercial guidance and ‘units of work’.
By the early 2000s this ‘curriculum delivery’ approach had became entrenched
through government primary national curriculum strategies.
Yet from 2003 the government encouraged primary schools to be more creative
and to make learning more stimulating and enjoyable!!!
By the late 2000s increasingly primary schools were taking ownership of their
curriculum, including geography, but many schools still needed to be
encouraged to be creative and develop geography units of work worth teaching
and which enthused the children.
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Living Geography
From 2006-7 The Geographical Association initiated projects in the
context of Living Geography and Curriculum Making.
• The Young Geographers Project was one such project.
Living Geography
• Living Geography pushes for geography teaching to become ‘alive’
for children.
• Some core principles of living geography are:
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embracing children’s and young people’s everyday geographies;
being current and futures oriented;
often ‘local’, but always set in the wider (global) context;
investigating changing environments/places;
encouraging critical understanding of sustainable development.
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Curriculum Making
• The idea of ‘curriculum making’, as currently espoused in geography,
involves balancing:
 Geography as a subject: developing children’s understanding of
geography’s key ideas;
 Children’s geographical experiences: drawing on children’s
experiences, interests and understandings;
 The teaching repertoire: teaching approaches and styles,
developing motivation and interest.
• Curriculum making focuses on articulating, planning and organising
medium term planning – units of work.
• It concerns the focus, objectives and coherence of planning.
• It invites teachers to take responsibility for creating and developing
geography units and encourages the involvement of children in this
process. It is about rigour, openness and opportunity.
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The Geographical Association’s Young
Geographers Project
The Young Geographers Project was initiated and run in 2008.
It focused on a unit of work, for a term.
It emphasised five key aspects:
 engaging in practical ‘curriculum making’ – creating a class-based
geography topic;
 using the motivation of ‘living geography’;
 engaging in learning outside the classroom;
 focusing on education for sustainable development;
 encouraging local solutions – providing for what will be most
appropriate in and for the school situation.
20 committed geography subject leaders in two cohorts in the north and
south of England engaged in this TDA-funded pilot Geography CPD
Project led by the GA’s two primary geography leaders.
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The True Story of Little Red Riding Hood - A Geographical Adventure through Southborough
Key Questions
What is it like to live in my locality?
(Southborough)
How can I observe and record
features of my locality in an
entertaining and thought provoking
way?
How can I record locations on a
map and plan and use this to find
locations during fieldwork?
How is the environment around
me changing and how has it
become the way it is?
What is my perception of places in
Southborough and how have these
changed during the making of the
film?
Aspects of ESD
Economic, Environmental, Social / 8
doorways / ESD concepts.
Recognise how the environment is
influenced and affected by human
activity.
Recognise how aspects of the
environment can be sustained,
developed and improved.
What do I want pupils
to get out of this?
Planning focus areas
Knowledge and understanding of
patterns and processes. – Identify
and describe what places are like.
Knowledge and understanding of
environmental change. – Make
observations about where things
are located. Recognise changes in
the environment, e.g where broken
glass has caused a hazard.
Geographical skills
Fieldwork?
Identify locations within Southborough
that present dangers or difficulties for
pedestrians.
Use maps and plans to mark a route to
visit these locations and use them as film
locations to re-tell a narrative story.
Visit locations and record film footage.
Record environmental hazards and
dangers with photography and sketches.
Identify the causes of some of the
environmental hazards in Southborough.
Links with other curricular areas
Resources
Digital video camera and tripod,
Costumes and simple sets for
interiors.
Apple Macbook laptop with Imovie
for editing and IDVD for burning.
Audacity for sound editing.
Audio Network sound library for
sound effects and music score.
Edirol digital voice recorder for
recording of narrative.
Jonathon Kersey
Literacy - linked to Year 2 Narrative unit on
traditional tales. Production of multimodal
texts using images and sound. Links to
speaking and listening, reading and
narrative writing elements of Literacy.
ICT - use of digital recording equipment for
capturing images and sound. Basic editing
techniques taught as an extension activity
where appropriate.
Design Technology - design of DVD cover
for film product.
Music - percussion performance for sound
effects.
Year 2 children’s comments on some local
environmental hazards
What the children learnt
• More fully about their perception and
understanding of their places;
• More about hazards/dangers in the local
area and how to avoid them;
• To express better their own views about
real concerns;
• To work together to use fieldwork and
maps to locate, decide on and record a
journey and sites where hazards were;
• To develop script writing, camera and
film editing skills.
Their teacher thought that next time they
would also look at positive aspects of
the local environment!
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Year 4’s valuing of local outdoor learning and of
connections through sustainability to the wider world
“The children began to see the outdoor environment as an important part of their
learning, appreciating the out-of-doors, and made thoughtful suggestions as to how it
can be used to further enhance the teaching and learning across a variety of
curriculum areas. It was possible to take the children on a short trip around the
village to continue to think about how to improve the environment on a local scale.
As the children developed their own understanding, it was possible to extend the study
outwards to look at the global implications and sustainability – thinking about how to
meet our current needs without comprising the needs of future generations. This
aspect of the project was given great purpose by all the children thinking about the
issues around recycling for our link school in Ghana, looking at how materials can be
used to create souvenirs and provide income.
I have learnt the value of fieldwork for all children for giving them first-hand
experience from which they can become active and informed decision makers,
supporting their ideas with a secure understanding. The children’s own
attitudes have changed and they now see real purpose in learning about the
local environment and have developed an appreciation for the local area and
wider world. They have seen their initial ideas developed into a working plan.”
Lisa Wright, Year 4 teacher
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Year 3’s sharing of their place with others
elsewhere in the World
A child-led topic
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“We have just established links with a school in Tanzania and the children are
keen to find out about school life and the life of the children in Tanzania. Based
on this we decided that it would be nice to send a book to Tanzania that tells
them about our school and our lives. This was a very child-led project with
the children choosing the location visited as places that were important to
them and their lives. We did map work and field work, both in and outside
the school. This was a project that was thoroughly enjoyed by the
children.”
Our evaluation
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“The children were very enthusiastic from the outset and the project was led by
them and their enthusiasm. I was surprised by how interested they were in
their local area and the perceptions they have of it. I was surprised by the
children’s ability to sequence photographs and identify areas from
photographs that they have visited and then locate them on a map. Most of
the children needed a starting point (the school) highlighting on the map and
they were able to find the streets they lived on, the park, plan a route to the
shops and the main high street. They proved to be very critical thinkers and this
project promoted the use of geographical vocabulary.”
Jemma Leach, Year 3 teacher
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Emergent Curriculum Making: Contextual Dynamics
• Permission to do something different: Teachers tried new
approaches and took risks in their geography teaching.
• Head teacher permission: Active support by the head teacher,
allowing teachers the flexibility to be creative, change direction and
develop new avenues for study.
• Curriculum purpose and value: Clarity of purpose and of focus in the
geography curriculum making project helped teachers bring the project
alive for themselves and the children.
• Children as active and informed curriculum agents: Teachers found
that with the children working as active team contributors the geography
projects came alive, developed more fully and were more rigorous.
• Teachers sharing: Teachers felt that using informal and formal
(technology-based) networks, in and beyond their school, to share and
discuss their ideas, experiences and outcomes was mutually supportive
and encouraging.
• In-service learning for colleagues: Teachers provided or planned
interest-based in-school geography CPD for colleagues.
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Emergent Curriculum Making: Subject Dynamics
 Children’s everyday geographies: Teachers’ recognised and used
children’s personal place and environmental awareness/knowledge.
 Undertaking local fieldwork: Through undertaking fieldwork locally
teachers realised its potential for investigations and to motivate the
children and themselves.
 Subject knowledge confidence: Through using and developing their
knowledge and understanding of sustainable development, teachers
realised that their geographical subject knowledge is a powerful and
important factor in effective teaching.
 Children’s subject values: Through the project children developed a
deeper sense of the purpose and value of working outside, their locality
and care for it – their geographical learning.
 The children’s effect: Children’s enthusiasm made geography more
visible in school to everyone.
 Being public about geographical studies: Keeping colleagues and
children across the school informed about their geography project
through displays, presentations and reports.
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Teacher control and responsibility
Curriculum making proved to be a liberating, demanding and much
valued context and approach.
 Teachers felt they regained control of the subject and the curriculum,
while centrally involving the children.
 They had a positive attitude and willingness to take curriculum
responsibility, to use opportunities and to seek solutions to problems.
 They recognised the children’s capability and potential, engaged them in
topic development and held high expectations of them.
 They realised the value of learning outside the classroom.
 They were willing to be innovative and creative in their approaches.
However….
Time for geography teaching remained a constraint and frustration for
teachers.
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Lessons from the Young Geographers Project
for Curriculum Making
• Limit your planning: plan partially, for flexibility, adaptability and
creativity.
• Be open to discussion, responsive to opportunities and challenges, take
risks, diverge from plans, reflect critically on what works and does not.
• Have confidence in the children: harness their interests and enthusiasm,
engage them in discussions and decisions about direction and focus,
and involve them in the planning and organising of activities – work with
children as active curriculum agents.
• As a teacher, be confident in yourself as a learner.
• Recognise that it is vital to understand the subjects you teach.
• Be a good listener and observer, and respond to and lead children’s
learning to engage and develop their subject understanding.
• Provide experiential learning in and outside the classroom, engaging
children actively and practically with topics that have meaning and
impact for all involved.
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Messages from Ofsted’s 2011 review for
Curriculum Making
Essentially, the ‘messages’ for curriculum making in geography can be
drawn from comments on good and outstanding teaching.
• Keep the focus on geographical learning and understanding, using
clear questioning and references to a lesson’s and unit’s purpose.
• Use ‘real and recognizable places’ and ‘meaningful geographical
contexts’ to investigate local and global topics and issues.
• Have high expectations of children’s geographical learning and
support and challenge all, affirming with them what they have learnt.
• Plan lessons and activities, as well as the sequences of lessons, well.
• Make effective use of an enquiry/discovery approach.
• Ensure good quality teacher-child and child-child interaction through
‘opportunities for discussion’.
• Be enthusiastic, knowledgeable about the topic, explain clearly and
anticipate and tackle misconceptions.
• Make effective use of formative assessment.
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Responding to the Curriculum Making challenge
The messages from the GA’s geography CPD developments include:
• Identify, understand and utilise/challenge what children know or
misunderstand/misappreciate.
• Personalise for your school and children ‘standard’ (QCDA) units of
work – better still develop your own for/with your children.
• Be imaginative, creative and stimulating.
• Take risks in your planning and teaching, going beyond the expected.
• Take opportunities: do not be hide-bound by your geography scheme.
• Actively engage in controversial and topical issues and topics.
• Move beyond the Curriculum2000 Geography Programmes of Study
requirements (published in 1999 – so last century!).
• Encourage self-directed learning through projects within geography
topics, having a clear geography focus and criteria.
• Feed in resources appropriately to stimulate new thinking, provide
new lines of enquiry, ensure progress in the learning, challenge ideas
being developed….
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Developing geography CPD
There is evident need for teachers for funded primary geography CPD.
• There are limited face-to-face opportunities.
• Teachers are using the internet to find resources and support.
The Geographical Association has been involved in developing a
number of CPD programmes both face-to-face and on its website:
 Exemplar case studies: Projects like the YG Project which show
through teacher reports what they did and achieved;
 The provision of specific CPD geography courses for primary
geography leaders and primary teachers, using examples of
teachers’ geography projects with other teaching ideas;
 The development of on-line networks for primary teachers to join,
such as the geography ning, and to use, eg geography
champions;
 Using or entering for the Primary Geography Quality Mark to
develop whole school geography teaching.
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Some Questions for primary geography’s future
The Curriculum Review is stated to aim for leaner subject requirements,
and be knowledge-based (information-based?). It may sequence
subject requirements across key stages. There are intimations that
teachers should be supported through CPD – vital for primary
geography.
• If it is slimmer, can we take the opportunity to make the geography
curriculum more our own?
• If it is more information-oriented, are we imaginative enough to be
creative, exciting and challenging in making our geography teaching
and curriculum?
• If funded, how can we encourage and engage many more teachers
in undertaking Geography CPD using web and face-to-face sessions
and materials, and schools to join the GA?
• If we believe in children’s voice, how will we continue and develop
their participation in geography curriculum making?
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Some connected resources
Catling, S (2008), Young Geographers: A Living Geography Project for Primary Schools – An Evaluation
Report, Oxford Brookes University/Geographical Association.
DES (1989) Aspects of Primary Education: The Teaching and Learning of History and Geography.
London: HMSO
DfES (2003) Excellence and Enjoyment: A strategy for primary schools. Annesley: DfES Publications.
Geography Teaching Today (2010) Curriculum Making. www.geographyteachingtoday.org.uk/curriculummaking/introduction/
Lambert, D & Morgan, J (2010), Teaching Geography 11-18, Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Mitchell, D (ed) (2009), Living Geography, Cambridge: Chris Kington Publishing.
Ofsted (2011) Geography: Learning to make a world of difference, www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofstedhome/Publications-and-research/
The Young Geographers Project:
www.geography.org.uk/projects/younggeographers/resources/
Making geography happen:
www.geography.org.uk/projects/makinggeographyhappen
Geography CPD on-line: My place, Your place, Our place:
www.geography.org.uk/cpdevents/onlinecpd/myplaceyourplaceourplace
Primary Geography Quality Mark:
www.geography.org.uk/eyprimary/primaryqualitymark
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