How scary is student teachers’ subject knowledge? Ian Selmes Lecturer in Geography Education University of Leicester ips5@le.ac.uk GTE Conference, Oxford, January 2015 What makes great teaching? Review of the underpinning research Robert Coe, Cesare Aloisi, Steve Higgins and Lee Elliot Major October 2014 • Defined effective teaching as that which leads to improved student achievement / progress. • Listed approaches, skills and knowledge in order of how strong the evidence is in showing that focusing on them can improve student outcomes. • Suggested this should be seen as offering a ‘starter kit’ for thinking about effective pedagogy. • Good quality teaching will involve a combination of these attributes seen at different times; the very best teachers are those that demonstrate all of these features. GTE Conference, Oxford, January 2015 What makes great teaching? 6. Professional behaviours (Some evidence of impact on student outcomes) Behaviours exhibited by teachers such as reflecting on and developing professional practice, participation in professional development, supporting colleagues, and liaising and communicating with parents. 5. Teacher beliefs (Some evidence of impact on student outcomes) Why teachers adopt particular practices, the purposes they aim to achieve, their theories about what learning is and how it happens and their conceptual models of the nature and role of teaching in the learning process all seem to be important. GTE Conference, Oxford, January 2015 What makes great teaching? 4. Classroom management (Moderate evidence of impact on student outcomes) A teacher’s abilities to make efficient use of lesson time, to coordinate classroom resources and space, and to manage students’ behaviour with clear rules that are consistently enforced, are all relevant to maximising the learning that can take place. These environmental factors are necessary for good learning rather than its direct components. 3. Classroom climate (Moderate evidence of impact on student outcomes) Covers quality of interactions between teachers and students, and teacher expectations: the need to create a classroom that is constantly demanding more, but still recognising students’ self-worth. It also involves attributing student success to effort rather than ability and valuing resilience to failure (grit). What makes great teaching? 2. Quality of instruction (Strong evidence of impact on student outcomes) Includes elements such as effective questioning and use of assessment by teachers. Specific practices, like reviewing previous learning, providing model responses for students, giving adequate time for practice to embed skills securely and progressively introducing new learning (scaffolding) are also elements of high quality instruction. GTE Conference, Oxford, January 2015 What makes great teaching? 1. (Pedagogical) content knowledge (Strong evidence of impact on student outcomes) The most effective teachers have deep knowledge of the subjects they teach, and when teachers’ knowledge falls below a certain level it is a significant impediment to students’ learning. As well as a strong understanding of the material being taught, teachers must also understand the ways students think about the content, be able to evaluate the thinking behind students’ own methods, and identify students’ common misconceptions. GTE Conference, Oxford, January 2015 So how good is subject knowledge of PGCE geographers? Locational knowledge e.g. a. spatial awareness of the world’s countries, b. environmental regions, c. key physical and human characteristics of countries and major cities. Place knowledge e.g. a. geographical similarities & differences through a study of human and physical geography b. a study of a region of Asia and a region within Africa Physical geography e.g. a. geological timescales, b. plate tectonics, c. rocks, d. weathering and soils, e. weather and climate, f. the changing from Ice January Age to2015 the present, GTEclimate Conference, Oxford, g. glaciation, So how good is subject knowledge of PGCE geographers? Geomorphic processes & landscape in parts of UK Weather & Climate and change in ~ Global ecosystems & biodiversity Resources & their management Globalisation Tourism Cold Environments Hot Desert Environments Food Supply Issues Health Issues Natural Hazards Ecosystems Contemporary Conflicts & Challenges Settlement Energy Issues GTE Conference, Oxford, January 2015 Use of GIS to obtain, illustrate, analyse and evaluation geographical Where are the gaps? Identified as limited or no knowledge in subject audit: 25% 40% 50% 90% geological timescales weather & climate hydrology food supply issues contemporary conflicts weathering & soils GIS ecosystems glaciation cold environments GTE Conference, Oxford, January 2015 What to do about subject knowledge? Acknowledge that … having a geography degree doesn't mean that your subject knowledge is secure. You might know all about a small area within a topic because you are doing your dissertation on it but does this really prepare you well for teaching it to a Year 7 class? Subject knowledge is just the starting point for planning teaching. You will need to consider how to engage and motivate your students so that they not only make progress but that they become passionate about learning your subject (pedagogy). GTE Conference, Oxford, January 2015 What to do about subject knowledge? Reflect on your own learning and study KS3, GCSE and A-level textbooks and specifications. Identify topics to develop and build them into your own subject website. See example in subjectaudit2@weebly.com http://geographyclassroom2014.weebly.com/ http://geographyleicester.weebly.com/ GTE Conference, Oxford, January 2015 • When people are asked what they remember about geography in school their major positive memory is of fieldwork. GTE Conference, Oxford, January 2015 But then … Four out of five UK children 'not connected to nature‘ RSPB, Connecting with Nature, 2013 "Nature is in trouble, and children's connection to nature is closely linked to this," Dr Mike Clarke, the RSPB's chief executive. "I've had children who hated to get their hands dirty, who are frightened by wood lice” teacher, Forest School, Lewisham GTE Conference, Oxford, January 2015 and then … This report presents compelling evidence that we as a nation, and especially our children, are exhibiting the symptoms of a modern phenomenon known as ‘Nature Deficit Disorder’. ‘For a new generation, nature is more abstraction than reality. Increasingly, nature is something to watch, to consume, to wear – to ignore.’ Even nature itself has become a commodity. Many believe they cannot experience it unless they are in a nature reserve, have the right pair of binoculars, or are wearing the correctly endorsed clothes… So often nature is seen as something to travel to – not something we are immersed in all the time and dependent upon for our physical, emotional and spiritual health. Natural Childhood, National Trust, 2014 GTE Conference, Oxford, January 2015 and more .. ” half of all children have been stopped from climbing trees, one in five banned from playing conkers, and almost the same number told they cannot play games of tag … activities that earlier generations of children enjoyed as part of growing up are now being relabelled as ‘troubling’ or ‘dangerous’.” Play England, 2004 The great outdoors is just too stressful, say families. The Times 14.11.14 “Almost one in five parents said that they found family trips outside were ‘stressful’ while almost a third did not agree that taking their children out was fun” GTE Conference, Oxford, January 2015 So what does this have to do with subject knowledge of PGCE geographers? • • • • • Fieldwork and GIS are growing in school geography at KS3, GCSE and post-16. 50% experienced no GIS at school, 17% none in first degree 85% were not confident about applying stats tests to data 85% were not confident about undertaking fieldwork in rural or remote areas 17% did not enjoy the natural world That scares me! GTE Conference, Oxford, January 2015