GlosGeog was very fortunate to be able to pin Alan Parkinson down for an afternoon; after all, he is such a busy man juggling so many important roles. With 27 schools from across the UK on board in real time, we had a full house. After formally welcoming and introducing everyone, I handed over to Alan so that we could be enlightened by his wealth of knowledge and expertise.
Alan began by sharing a link to his Living Geography blog (https://livinggeography.blogspot.com/), which is worth visiting on a regular basis, as well as some of the authoring tasks he has been involved with and is currently working on. When writing, he talked about the need for pragmatism, creativity and accuracy. Alan also mentioned about the move away from case studies to ‘detailed specific examples’ (DSEs) in some new exam specifications, what geography is all about (‘joining up the dots that help make the big picture’/connections are everywhere), the importance of keeping our eyes open, the need to draw on personal experiences and how everybody’s geography changed as a result of the recent pandemic. Case studies should reflect:
- empathy;
- nuance;
- authenticity;
- recognise privilege;
- pre/misconceptions or truth?;
- de/colonial lens;
- ‘ways of life in the city’;
- interdisciplinarity.
Next, Alan took us through ten case studies linked to different exam specifications at both GCSE and A level. Each time, he demonstrated how we might go beyond what is in the textbook.
Finally, Alan suggested ten ways in which teachers and students could ‘dig deeper’. There were so many brilliant recommendations from websites, resources, books, videos, podcasts, magazines to academic articles … definitely something for everyone!
Afterwards, we invited questions or comments from the audience, either via the chat feed or by unmuting microphones. Both Alan and Stephen Schwab responded comprehensively and confidently at this stage.
Stephen has since produced the following summary mainly for students (although teachers may wish to lean in too):
- Know your syllabus and your exam topics -this helps to filter out the noise from the tunes. You cannot learn all the geography stories presented to you daily! Just pick up on the ones that will give you better understanding and an exam edge.
- Keep your geography senses primed and your mind open. The good stuff can come from a photo, a cartoon, a quote on the News, a social media platform [I tweet daily on schwabs52], an advert, a friend/relative who lives somewhere else (now refer to Alan’s list, plus A Level Stories on the RGS-IBG website/FT4schools/geography web pages).
- Use a hive mind; share with your class, maybe in a display or a regular hive dive.
- There is never one view in a story; embrace the other view/[s] as they are often a golden exam ticket.
- The stories you find will help with your revision too; that song you hear after a long while and yet you remember every note and words and where you were when you first heard it!
The memory muscle needs working.
Many thanks, Alan, for giving up your rather precious time to share such invaluable tips and insight with us all. Judging by the ‘concluding comments‘ captured via the online evaluation form which teachers were requested to complete with pupils towards the end of the session, we found it to be a very beneficial way to spend a Wednesday afternoon:
Thank you so much for organising this event – my students and I found it extremely useful.
Very insightful.
A series of good pointers.
Informative; in-depth; detail; place; contextual.
Really useful. New ideas, but reassuring that some suggestions I am already doing. Definitely great ideas I will bring to my teaching.
Lots of useful reosurces to share and ideas how to use them.
Informative and highlighted key resources.
Really useful look at some of the ways we as teachers could offer more than just the textbook case study. Equally useful to students.
Going the extra mile to improve case study teaching and learning.
Useful; practical; good for teachers and students.
Great resources for wider reading.
in-depth; interesting; helpful.
Matched the title of ‘Digging Deeper’ and provided helpful geographic insights beyond what we can sometimes go in the lessons in school.
Insightful and relevant across all geography classes.
Very informative and inspirational.
Pupils have walked away with lots of ideas for gaining grades 7 to 9. Use the library – online or in school – read widely. Some good book recommendations for geographers. Use online articles – Jstor (A level). Open your eyes to surroundings and see how people move and behave in spaces. Use your peers and teachers to support and excel your learning.
Very informative and enjoyable ideas for digging deeper with examples of resources.
Very informative for GCSE exams and structure.
Very informative for all KS4/KS5.
Thank you for sending the resources through. I found the session extremely useful and hope to join some other events throughout the year. I’m based in North Hampshire so not on the doorstep of Gloucester, but I would be interested in signing up for any future virtual events if that is possible, please?
Thanks very much for organising the presentation. My four trainee teachers were still in lectures, unfortunately, so I took some notes and we can watch a copy of the recording or go through the slides when I see them next week. I think they will find it very useful.
Thank you so much for the session yesterday and for sending through the slides.
GlosGeog’s next event (‘The colours of Antarctica‘) will take place on Tuesday 8th October 2024, from 2.00 pm to 3.00 pm. This is an interactive speaker session with Hanna Yevchun, a female, Ukrainian, polar terrestrial ecologist, and aimed at a slightly younger audience (Key Stage 3 students).
