Geography Teaching Today

Using geographical data to develop an argument

Clare Brooks (2006) in her chapter 'Cracking the code: numeracy and geography' in the Secondary Geography Handbook challenges us to think about the following questions:

• What do numbers mean? How do your students respond to numeracy activities?
• What opportunities are there to develop and extend students' numeracy skills within geography?
• How can numeracy be used to enhance students' learning of geography?
• What strategies do you use to support the development of students' numeracy skills?

Data is often used in geography to represent an issue or to support an argument. This means that fostering a commitment to evidence as the basis of an argument is essential in geography. Is the argument geographically consistent? Is the argument worthwhile?

Now do Activity 7

DEVELOPING YOUR THINKING (PART TWO)

Using maps as part of an argument

We shall now explore how you can use and develop maps as a part of an argument. When students use maps at whatever scale, they will argue differently. They will inevitably use more 'geographical vocabulary' to express their thinking. As well as locational phrases, they will name places - particularly if they have an atlas (book or electronic) to hand. Students are often surprised by the map and this can heighten their excitement for learning. The use of maps accesses their ability to think spatially and helps to deepen both their locational knowledge and their sense of place. It encourages them to think beyond themselves.

The careful use of maps helps both teachers and pupils to think about what it means to live in an interconnected world and how geography has much to offer in developing informed global citizens. These map-based activities help to develop our sense of place, our locational knowledge and our understanding of space, and support us in making better-informed judgments and actions. We become more aware of the impact of our decisions on others both near and far.

Through student-created or annotated maps, learners can share their understanding of places or of an issue at that moment in time. Students share different understanding via a map from via a piece of writing.

In this final section we use some Worldmapper maps to explore and develop an argument. These have been produced by a team from Sheffield University that includes Danny Dorling and Anna Barford. They claim that these maps represent the 'world as you've never seen it before'. The maps have been constructed using data and are used to make claims. Those represented on this website are equal-area cartograms. The size of the territory varies according to the variable being mapped. More about the construction of the maps can be found on their website.

Now do Activity 10

References

Biddulph, M. (2001) 'Citizenship in geography classrooms: questions of pedagogy' in Lambert, D. and Machon, P. (eds) Citizenship through Secondary Education. London: Routledge Falmer, pp. 182-96.