GEOGRAPHICAL ENQUIRY
Why Enquiry?
Too many boring
textbooks
Too many facts
and too much
copying
Boring and irrelevant
Cant’ see the
point of it
Too easy and not
enough challenge
Too much
repetition
OFSTED 2008
No one asks
me what I
think
NEW
OLD
Concepts
Ideas
Facts
Information
Relevance
Real
Out of date
Imaginary
PLTS
Learning
Challenge
Enquiry
Resource led
Recall
Record
Information
Teacher led
Criticality
Passive
Uncritical
Pupil Voice
Values
Teacher
Textbook
Continuity
Progression
Disconnected
Enquiry and Learning
What is it?
How does
it fit in?
How do we develop
understanding?
Schemata
or existing
concepts
Children learn through actively engaging
with their environment. They construct new
knowledge by relating it to what they already
know and challenging their existing thinking.
DEVELOPING
UNDERSTANDING
IDEAS
UNDERSTANDING
‘Making Sense’
MENTAL PROCESSES
EXPERIENCE
What is geographical
knowledge?
What is knowledge of the world
like?
• Static ………………………….Dynamic
• Simple ……………………….Complex
• Factual ……………………….Perceived
• Complete …………………….. Partial
Geographical Enquiry
• ‘Geographical enquiry is clearly outlined as an
active, questioning approach to teaching and
learning which includes values enquiry, and is
integrated with the development of geographical
skills. It is also explained that enquiry and skills
are developed and used when studying the
required content and not separately. All work in
geography should include an element of
geographical enquiry.’
Rawling 2000
Increasing relevance
What does this slide show?
What is the geographical
significance?
Did You know?
The average distance a woman in Africa walks
to collect water is 6.5km
The weight of an average bucket carried on a
woman’s head is 20kg
Other examples can be found on
the web
• World Mapper provides a range of maps
showing global issues of geographical
significance e.g.
http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?s
elected=227
What is geographical significance?
• Why have you chosen the topic?
• Why is it geographically important? How
would you justify it?
• How will you communicate its importance
to the pupils?
• Are you teaching topical issues with
obvious relevance?
• Are you developing understanding of real
places?
Stages in Learning
• Engagement – stimulus- curiosity- questions concrete examples
• Construction – using data - making sense challenge –thinking – relating new to old –
modifying
• Reflection – debrief - consolidation– plenary
Roberts (2003) page 44
Route to
Enquiry
Awareness
Enquiry
Questions
What is it?
Stages in
Learning
Stimulus
Definition
Description
Analysis/ Explanation
Prediction/
Evaluation
Decision Making
Where is it?
What is it like?
How did it get like this?
How is it changing?
What do different people
think about it?
What are the choices?
What is likely to happen?
With what consequences?
What do I think should
happen?
Making Sense
Reflection
Higher Order Thinking
‘Higher order thinking occurs when a person takes new
information and information stored in memory and
interrelates and/or rearranges and extends this
information to achieve a purpose or find possible
answers in perplexing situations.’
Lewis and Smith (1993, p.136)
Lesson Beginnings
• ‘Some teachers have adopted a rigid formulaic three-part
lesson which does not allow for spontaneity and
creativity.
• It is common to see pupils at the start of the lesson
copying objectives into their books with little thought or
care. Not only does this waste time but what they are
copying is the content..’
• Some good use has been made of ‘starters’ to lead and
engage pupils’ interest and lead into or support the main
teaching activity.’
(Ofsted 2008)
STIMULUS
‘A Need to Know’
• Enquiry involves investigation into a
geographical issue.
• Enquiry can be teacher led or pupil led.
• Enquiry can be a lesson or a sequence of
lessons
• For enquiry there has to be a ‘need to know’ – a
purpose for the investigation.
• Stimulus materials are resources which are used
to introduce a topic, create interest, develop
curiosity and raise relevant questions for
investigation.
“ I care more about the
colour of the gear knob
on my Mercedes SLK
than the amount of CO2
it produces.”
Jeremy Clarkson
Who said what?
David
Attenborough
"I'm no longer sceptical. Now I do
not have any doubt at all. I think
climate change is the major
challenge facing the world.
"I have waited until the proof was
conclusive that it was humanity
changing the climate."
"If we care about our grandchildren
we have to do something and
demand our governments do
something."
Enquiry Sequence
Should I be bothered about climate
change?
• What different opinions are there on climate
change?
• What is climate change?
• What causes climate change?
• How do humans contribute to climate change?
• Who and what will be affected by climate
change?
• Are there any solutions?
• What do I think now?
• Will I change anything about my life?
READ THIS
TO YOUR
CLASS
• As I got down from the plane the first thing I that struck
me was just how hot it was. The sun was so bright
yellow against the vivid blue sky that I had to shield my
eyes. As I looked around me the ground seemed
parched and dry. I put my hand on the ground and felt
the warmth. Grains of sand ran through my fingers. I
looked around to see any signs of life and all I could see
were a few strands of dry grass like straw. In the
distance it all looked the same. It seemed endless with
no signs of life except a few spinney plants poking from
the dry golden ground. My first thoughts were ‘Where on
earth am I?’ ‘Can I survive here?’
What do you need to know?
Could I survive in a desert?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
What is a desert?
Where are the world’s deserts?
What are deserts like?
Why are they like that?
How are they changing?
What are the impacts of change?
Could I survive?
Task stimulus
Long Term Effects of Tsunami
• The Red Cross are keen to attract more
money to support the victims of the
Tsunami. They feel that people have lost
interest in it because it was so long ago.
They want you to write an article for their
magazine to attract more funding. You
need to help people understand that there
are long term effects of such a disaster.
What do you need to know?
Tsunami
• What were the short term impacts?
• What are the long term impacts?
• How can we persuade people to send
more money?
Extract from newspaper
article
60 Million and Counting
•
By George! Our little baby is one in 60
million Feb 3 2006
By Andrew Heath
•
MEET little George Scott, Britain's 60
millionth person - and the son of proud
Kenilworth couple Ian and Emma.
Weighing in at 8lbs 15oz, and born at
10.32am in Warwick Hospital on Tuesday, a
week and a day ahead of schedule, George
is unaware he made history.
But his birth, by caesarean section,
coincided with the time experts predicted the
UK population would go over the 60,000,000
threshold.
It marked a rise of 10 million in the UK since
the 1970s and is likely to be the last
landmark of its kind for 60 years.
•
•
•
•
Are there too many people in the
UK? What do you need to know?
Are there too many people in the
UK?
What do we need to know?
• How quickly is the population is rising?
(population growth)
• Where do people live and is enough space
left? (population density and distribution)
Example of the beginning of a scheme of work on
Climate Change.
Should I buy Starbucks Coffee?
• Since March 2001, thousands of activists have
taken part in protests and leafleting events
outside Starbucks cafes in over 300 cities in the
US, Canada, New Zealand and England in what
has become the largest consumer campaign
ever mounted against a major US food and
beverage company.
• http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns
/fairtrade/coffee/StarbucksFlyer.pdf
Ugly Monstrosity or Thing of
Beauty?
www.npower.com/yourhome/green/northhoylewindfarm/
www.bbc.co.uk/videonation/articles/c/cornwall_windfarm.shtml
You are sent this E Mail,
Dear All
As you may be aware, in order to reduce that amount of waste going to
landfill, Oxfordshire County Council is proposing to build an incinerator to
burn very large volumes of domestic and industrial waste either at Sutton
Courtenay or at Ardley. The local communities believe that there are
considerable downsides to the use of incineration in terms of human
health, the environment and cost. These are clearly and succinctly set out
in the film you can find on You Tube using the following link:
• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yht_xfUngJk&feature=channel_page.
• Please have a look at this and if you agree, help us to persuade OCC to
evaluate the options to Incineration in the interests of the future health of
Oxfordshire’s community by signing the petition at:
• http://www.scai.co.uk
Please sign up.
Regards
Sarah
Would you sign the petition? What do you need to
know? What further questions might you ask?
Enquiry Resources
• Identify bias, opinion and abuse of
evidence – this includes evaluating the
quality of information by asking questions
about its source, what it was collected for
and how it has been analysed and
presented.
Geography National Curriculum
Tables of Numbers Need Tasks
That Promote Understanding
Can you
spot the
rogue data?
How can
you spin the
data?
Source: Chris Durbin
Population
Under 15
Country
Brazil
USA
Ethiopia
India
Japan
UK
Growth
Rate of
Population
(Number of
(%/annum,
people, 1995) 1950-2030)
0.00
1.44
22.10
10.00
46.20
3.17
35.00
1.76
16.20
0.25
19.30
1.00
Infant
Total
Mortality Fertility
Rate
Rate
(per 1,000 (births
births,
per man,
1995)
1995)
47.00
2.44
9.00
2.05
119.00
17.00
78.00
3.39
4.00
1.48
70.00
1.78
Active Learning Strategies
‘Magenta Principles’
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Reduce it
Change it
Assemble it
Search for it
Connect it
Arrange it
Enlarge it
Simplify it
Waingels College, Reading
• Classify it
• Compare and
contrast it
• Deconstruct it
• Apply it
• Prioritise it
• Act It out
Who killed Ratty?
The water vole was once a common sight along our river banks. It is now the UK’s most
endangered mammal
• What type of habitat does
a water vole like?
• How and why has that
habitat been changed?
• What are the effects of
the changes?
• Can anything be done to
restore these habitats?
• What do I think should
happen?