New GA Manchester Branch blog

 The GA Manchester Branch has a new blog. I always like to see more people turning to blogging rather than TikTok and the like...

The branch is one of the oldest, and has previously been recognised by the GA for its importance. Manchester also regularly hosts the GA Conference. I've been privileged enough to speak at the branch in the past.

There's a useful calendar of future events and summaries of previous events.

GA response to the Curriculum and Assessment review

You can read the GA's response to the call for evidence as part of the Curriculum for Assessment review by following this link.

They have called for teaching about climate change, sustainability and green skills to be strengthened in geography in the following ways:

• Climate change should be added to the KS2 curriculum and strengthened at KS3.
• Geography’s curriculum and qualifications ‘aims and purpose’ should include reference to the subject contribution to pupils’ green skills.

The GA team have also identified:

• how there is some repetition of content across the primary and secondary geography National Curriculum
• how GCSE geography’s content needs review and reduction, and how the assessment of fieldwork at GCSE needs reform
• the opportunity to achieve greater consistency between geography A level’s NEA and those in other subject areas – especially with reference to teacher guidance and support and word count
• the need to support and strengthen geographical fieldwork at all stages
• and to strengthen pupils use of geospatial data and technologies.

GA Shop - Black Friday Deal

 

If #geographyteachers fancy a virtual trip to the @The_GA 'geography shop' this weekend we are offering 25% off (almost) everything for Black Friday.

Use BLACKFRIDAY24 discount code before 30th Nov (& T&Cs apply etc)

Shop link https://t.co/LzQQdw76A9 pic.twitter.com/m9FZ7l4ppM

— Steve Brace (@SteveBraceGeog) November 23, 2024

New resources on the Climate crisis

Some brand new Global Inequalities and the Climate Crisis curriculum resources have been released by the Geographical Association.

This innovative resource package for key stage 3 was developed in partnership with OU Geography Project and academics Parvati Raghuram of the Open University, Melis Cin of Lancaster University and Manu Lekunze of Aberdeen University. 

The resource pack uses testimonies from Cameroonian people to construct a Cameroon country case study.

Our Global Inequalities and the Climate Crisis curriculum resources respond to the APPG for Africa Education Report (2022) by developing a detailed country case study, drawing on lived experiences of African citizens and situating Cameroon in a global context.

Check out the resources here.

The resource responds to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Africa’s Education report (2022), which found an ‘impoverished treatment of Africa in the school curriculum’, replete with misconceptions (APPG, 2022, p. 10). By developing a detailed case study of one country, informed by ethnographic narratives of lived experiences drawn from residents of that country, the resource seeks to support teachers of geography in providing more sensitive, anti-racist representations of Africa in their classrooms.

GICC consists of materials for five lessons, including lesson PowerPoints, worksheets, and suggested lesson plans. We have endeavored to plan the lessons in a way that is mindful of the geography teacher as curriculum maker, so we hope that teachers will take these resources and find their own ways to integrate them into their teaching in dialogue with colleagues in their school settings.

The story told in this unit of work has been assembled from a collaboration between academic researchers, school geography teachers and the GA. It is a subjective representation informed by ethnographic testimonies. There are other stories to be told about the relationship between global inequalities and the climate crisis, and other ways the story we tell here could have been narrated. We look forward to hearing about how these resources are used in the classroom.

The GICC team:

Melis Cin, Lancaster University

Alesha de Fonseka, Raffles World Academy Dubai UAE

Aliyou Haman, Aberdeen University

Manu Lekunze, Aberdeen University

Parvati Raghuram, Open University

Dan Whittall, Geographical Association

Chris Winter, Geographical Association

Primary Geography Editorial Board - two vacancies

There are two vacancies on the Primary Geography journal's editorial board. You have a day left to put in your application.

From the GA Newsletter

The Primary Geography Editorial Board is responsible for planning, commissioning and editing the content for each issue of Primary Geography, and is looking to recruit two new members to join our amazing, creative and supportive team of volunteers.

Are you passionate about geography in the Early Years and Primary phase? Have you got a track record of writing for the GA and a desire to develop your skills to edit future issues of Primary Geography? Can you bring out the best in others? This could be the role for you! Applications must be received by 18 November - read more and apply below.

RGS 150th anniversary - working with the GA.

At the RGS-IBG 150th anniversary event which I have previously blogged about - back in 1980, there were some interesting connections explored between the RGS and the GA.

As it says in the report of the meeting which is available to read on JSTOR:

A comment from the RGS:

For example, we shall shortly have discussions with the Geographical Association, which represents, as you know, those who teach geography in the classroom, and which enjoys an extremely friendly and mutually valuable relationship with the Royal Geographical Society; we shall be discussing with them a number of issues touching on the contribution which geography can make to pupils' education at school, and I am sure that that exchange of views will be very helpful.

I wonder what will be occurring by the time of the 200th anniversary in 6 years' time?

Hopefully 2025 will see more joint activity between the GA and the RGS.