Curriculum Making
Secondary Handbook Extension Project
Balderstone, D (2006) ed. Secondary Geography Handbook. The Geographical Association. Sheffield
" We want all young people to grow into informed citizens with a sound understanding of the human and natural processes that shape the globe and its people. Geography has a critical role in giving them an understanding of their place in the world.
Teaching such a dynamic and relevant subject can be challenging, but also richly rewarding for both students and teachers. This handbook is an excellent tool that will help bring teaching and learning to life for students of all ages and abilities. It offers useful insights into all aspects of secondary geography, from mapping to the media and from field work to ICT. It brings together an impressive list of contributions from many different backgrounds, including classroom teachers, heads of geography, and teachers in higher education.
I thoroughly recommend this handbook to all secondary teachers of geography."
Andrew Adonis
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for school
My first recollection of my PGCE course was being informed by my tutor, before he welcomed the group to the course, that we should all join our subject associations, and purchase a copy of The Geographical Association's Secondary Geography Handbook within the week. Dutifully, as the good students we were, off we trudged in our dinner break to investigate becoming members of our subject association and ordered our copy of the handbook.
In many ways it was the biggest favour that we could have been given, as over the coming months of our teaching placements, and university assignments, it was the Handbook that we referred to the most.
The edition of the handbook I purchased 6 years ago has now been revised into the current version, edited by David Balderstone. Of course it is a very powerful tool to help with ideas for planning and delivery within the classroom but also a link to furthering personal professional development and remaining engaged with the subject, and current thinking.
Current teachers have taken the time to develop and share these resources here, to stimulate professional development and the sharing of good practice.
On these pages you will find practical examples of how the messages from the chapters have been, developed practically within schools and departments. It should be noted that the examples highlight the way in which the Secondary Geography Handbook can be used within school. The resources can be used as they stand or taken as a tool adapted and developed to suit the needs and demands of your own students and your own school community.
- Chapter 7 & 10 have been extended by David Mitchell at the IoE to highlight how it is possible to evaluate the ways GIS helps students to learn.
- Chapter 27 has been developed further, by Alan Parkinson, showing practical approaches to be considered in school with provision for EAL students.
- Chapter 32 looks towards assessment for learning, and has been extended into a practical example that works in school by Anna Avanessian.
- Chapter 42 looks at sustaining school geography. In a very practical and highly resourced example Peter Fox extends this message into the reality of the classroom.
Talk Curriculum Making
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