Geography is a diverse subject. As geography teachers, we know how powerful it is and the doors it opens for our students in terms of the diverse careers to which it can lead. But the question is, how do we inspire our students to want to know more? Over the years, I’ve found that the way to get students really excited and engaged with the subject matter is an authentic, enquiry-led approach, where students become the investigators of a geographical issue. With this approach, they start to own their geographical education.
When starting a topic, using the personal geographies of the students works a treat. They love to talk about the places they know or have been to, so when studying tourism, we ask them to describe their last holiday. Or, when looking at water supply issues, we ask them to add up how much water they use in a day. This makes the geography relevant to them, and makes them want to know more.
Alternatively, a carefully selected photograph, map, graph, video clip, written quote or even a poem can provide a great “hook” into the topic. Students are inspired to ask their own questions and gain a sense of ownership over the topic. A well-chosen piece of data can provide the basis for an entire unit of work.
I think the role of the geography teacher is then to provide students with further data to investigate, and relevant tasks to extend their knowledge to that beyond their personal geographies. The choices need to be made carefully: the data should be as authentic, up-to-date, real-world and diverse as possible.
Intriguing data
For example, when studying the Amazon rainforest, our Year 8 students receive some colourful infographics about development indicators in Brazil, intriguing photographs of indigenous people, satellite imagery “before and after” deforestation, and information cards about companies exploiting the rainforest. They use the information to answer the question “should the rainforest be used to help Brazil develop?” There are so many websites that provide the rich information that we need; it is really frustrating to seetextbookss using hypothetical places and people, or out-of-date statistics.
As well as providing sets of data, we need to get the students thinking and writing like geographers. For me, the best way to do this is a carefully chosen “thinking diagram” where they can record their ideas. A blank white page is always a daunting starting point, so to help students think geographically, we use a “layers of inference” framework for analysing an individual image, such as a photograph or graph (we do this when Y9 study the impacts of e-waste).
“Fish bone” diagrams are perfect for thinking through the causes and effects of issues, such as “what causes food insecurity in Ethiopia?” Venn diagrams allow students to classify the social, economic and environmental effects of an event such as the Nepal earthquake in 2015. And flow charts are great for breaking down geomorphic processes, such as headland erosion, into step-by-step stages. These provide variety for students: each lesson feels different, and, before they know it, students understand complex geographical concepts and can draw accurate conclusions from the data they have analysed. They feel a sense of satisfaction in their new understanding, and have gained the need to know more.
Local issues have the ability to inspire students, too. There could be any number of geographical issues in any local area that would inspire students to give their opinion. When studying energy, for example, they could be encouraged to collect opinions of a new wind farm in their local area.
Even better, for geography to be authentic, students should collect data for themselves. Fieldwork is integral to geography and students always find fieldwork experiences memorable. Whilst our annual trip to Sicily with GCSE students is an awesome experience, just getting out of the classroom for an hour is a treat for our students. A great way of doing this is to take part in the What’s Under Your Feet? campaign, which involves digging up soil squares to investigate what is underneath and aims to assess the impact of climate on the availability of invertebrates and, therefore, bird numbers.
Meaningful fieldwork
Whilst some schools face barriers to fieldwork, not least our SLTs querying why we are going on another trip and needing even more cover, there are ways to complete meaningful fieldwork with little cost, planning and cover. In just a one hour lesson, our Year 8 students collect environmental quality data (traffic, noise and air quality) at three sites in our local town. And Year 7 complete their first fieldwork around the school site asking “where is the best mobile phone signal?”
Even simple investigations enable significant progress to be made during key stage 3, and students think about their local place in different ways. If even this is not possible, students can collect data at home and share their results in class. Our Year 7 students investigate where their clothes are made and we try to establish why in class. And to get the students thinking geographically in their own time, we encourage Year 10s to take selfies with sustainable strategies they see on their travels. This might seem gimmicky, but it maintains students’ geographical thinking and it is amazing how many want to tell you what they have seen.
Similarly, I like to recommend geographical documentaries for students to watch at home, and they always love to tell you their thoughts. When Year 11 were learning about ecosystems, we all watched a documentary about deserts and discussed the wonderfully adapted creatures in our next lesson.
As well as taking the students out, we invite visitors in. This adds to the variety of the geographical experience (it’s not me at the front of the class again!) and makes geography as authentic to the real-world as possible - they have the realisation that geography is vital to the visitors’ careers and lives. Many companies offer free outreach sessions to school groups. Anglian Water visited our school when Year 9 were studying water supply issues, and a friend-of-a-friend came in to talk to Year 8 about his travels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. With the help of external speakers, students continue to ask great questions and start to see the point of their geographical education and the careers it may lead them to.
We have found that if you can link the geography to the students, they will see the relevance. And if the tasks are engaging, they will be enthused to learn more. Our role is helping students to “see the point” of geography, not just as a subject where they might gain a good GCSE grade, but as a powerful discipline in its own right.
Gemma Pollard teaches geography at Bourne Grammar School in Lincolnshire and is a member of the Geographical Association
What’s Under Your Feet? is a citizen science campaign run by The Pod, EDF Energy’s sustainable schools programme, and the British Trust for Ornithology
A series of geography resources is available, including lessons on renewable energy in the developing world and an activity based on real-world case studies looking at how different countries source their energy. Register for free and find out more here.
