Teaching the New Europe Considering an enquiry approach

1
Teaching the New EuropeConsidering an enquiry
approach

• Karl Donert
• Director of Development, National Teaching Fellow
• Liverpool Hope University
• President EUROGEO (European Network of Geography
  Associations)
• Coordinator HERODOT Network
• donertk_at_hope.ac.uk

European Schools Conference 30 March 2006,
Brussels, Belgium
2
Presentation Plan

• Education Survey
• Geography in European Schools
• What is enquiry-based learning?
• Dealing with enquiry
• Demonstration
• Questions

3
Do you have a clear idea of what you want to
achieve from your lessons?
4
What do teachers want?

• to build relationships with students
• free to teach without being affected by behaviour
  issues
• to meet differing needs of children in one class
• parental support
• pupils engaging with learning
• all pupils to achieve to the best of their
  ability
• time to be able to mark pupils work properly
• other professionals who can support wider needs

5
Survey - what do pupils want?

• feel that they are learning
• have ownership of their own learning
• understand why they are learning
• choice in what they learn
• their education to be culturally relevant,
  Interesting, varied, often active lessons
• good relationship with the teacher
• not to get left behind
• to be understood and supported
• to have friends

6
What sort of teaching and learning can do this?
7
In the UK Every Child Matters

• addressing the needs of the individual pupil
• learning beyond the school context
• a teaching and learning approach that focuses on
  an individuals potential and learning skills
• recognise and support the needs of the pupil
• removes barriers to learning early on
• an accessible approach open to customisation
• a flexible opportunity to learn

Personalising Learning ICT
8
Any comments or thoughts?

• How does this relate to you?

9
Geography Course Objectives

• To help students
• develop a sense of place.
• become aware of different environments, of
  variations in human activities and methods of
  organizing space, and the responsible ways in
  which resources should be used.
• understand the basic elements of physical and
  human geography, using systematic or thematic
  approaches, but necessarily illustrate these
  ideas through varied regional examples.
• understand regional differences and analyse their
  causes

(4 period course Year 6/7)
10
Geography Course Objectives

• To help students
• identify the fundamental ideas and concepts of
  geography and develop the necessary terminology
  in their first foreign language
• grasp the complexity of the world around him/her
  and accept its diversity, and in this way become
  an informed citizen.
• understand the interaction between the physical
  and human worlds
• analyse and interpret the characteristics of both
  the developed and developing world.
• evaluate the impact on countries/regions of
  various economic, social and political systems.
• analyse global links and interaction.

(4 period course Year 6/7)
11
What are you asking the students to do?

• To help students
• develop a sense of place.
• become aware of different environments, of
  variations in human activities and methods of
  organizing space, and the responsible ways in
  which resources should be used.
• understand the basic elements of physical and
  human geography, using systematic or thematic
  approaches, but necessarily illustrate these
  ideas through varied regional examples.
• understand regional differences and analyse their
  causes

(4 period course Year 6/7)
12
What are you asking the students to do?

• To help students
• identify the fundamental ideas and concepts of
  geography and develop the necessary terminology
  in their first foreign language
• grasp the complexity of the world around him/her
  and accept its diversity, and in this way become
  an informed citizen.
• understand the interaction between the physical
  and human worlds
• analyse and interpret the characteristics of both
  the developed and developing world.
• evaluate the impact on countries/regions of
  various economic, social and political systems.
• analyse global links and interaction.

(4 period course Year 6/7)
13
Geography Course Objectives
Learning Styles

• To help students
• develop .
• become aware of .
• understand .
• understand .
• Identify.
• grasp the complexity ..
• understand .
• analyse and interpret
• evaluate ..
• analyse .

Teaching Approaches
14
Geography Course
Year 6

• flexible
• teachers are encouraged to explore themes that
  are of particular interest to their students and
  themselves
• topical case studies and issues
• human-environment issues
• widen and strengthen geographical skills
• fieldwork and data collection
• critical, enquiry-based approach should be
  adopted where possible
• students should be encouraged to research topics
  themselves

15
Geography Course

• map reading and interpretation
• aerial photographs and satellite images
• graphical techniques
• critical interpretation of mapping methods
• sketching (e.g. from photographs)
• systems diagrams
• fieldwork
• statistics and
• GIS

Year 6 skills
16
Where can the New Europe fit in?
Themes

• European Topics
• Natural environment
• Europeans
• Industry and Energy
• Rural Use
• Tourism, transport
• EU issues

17
Any points to make?

• How do you deal with this at the moment?
• What happens in the classroom?
• Is it successful?
• What are the issues?
• What problems do you face?
• What solutions are there?
• Can you meet your objectives?

18
Enquiry-based learning

• driven by a process of enquiry (questioning)
• usually involves a deep engagement with a complex
  problem
• incorporates structures and forms of support to
  help students carry out enquiries
• based on the student not the teacher

19
Roles in Enquiry-Based Learning
A method in which learning is driven by a process
of enquiry owned by the student
Teachers establish the task (syllabus) facilita
te the process Students pursue their own lines
of enquiry draw on their existing
knowledge identify their learning needs seek,
analyse and present relevant evidence
20
Geography Enquiry Process
Mary Fargher (2005), Helping Manage our world,
ESRI International User conference
21
Scope of Enquiry-Based Learning

• Problem-based learning exploring an issues, a
  scenario or a task
• Small-scale investigations field-work, case
  studies
• Projects and research longer activities
  acquiring knowledge
• Keys to EBL
• Asking good questions
• Effective organisation

22
Questioning Tools

• Blooms Taxonomy
• of Thinking
• Level 1 knowledge
• Level 2 comprehension
• Level 3 application
• Level 4 analysis
• Level 5 synthesis
• Level 6 evaluation

23
An Example Enquiry

• Select a question / issue
• Produce a central statement
• Clarify the statement and its relationship to the
  question / issue.
• List and examine support, reasons, evidence and
  assumptions related to the central statement.
• Explore the origin / source of the statement.
• Develop and critically examine the implications
  consequences of the statement
• Seek and fairly examine conflicting views

24
An example

• Geography of new Europe
• Transformation/problems
• The Geography of the new Europe means that ..
• Newspapers/media/books
• Research in order to reach some understanding -
  different aspects (population, agriculture,
  transport)
• Consequences of findings?
• Changes good or bad?

• Select a question
• Central statement
• Clarify the statement
• Support, reasons, evidence and assumptions
• Source of the statement.
• Develop and critically examine implications and
  consequences of the statement
• Seek and fairly examine conflicting views

25
An example enquiring about the New Europe

• WEB SITE
• http//hopelive.hope.ac.uk/international/karld/
• My Home Page ..
• Resources, advice andguidance
• Available for you

26
Questions

• What use would such a resource be?
• Would you use it?
• How would you use it?

27
Questions?

• Do you use Google Earth?
• Who uses Google Earth?
• How could you use Google Earth?
• Who should use Google Earth?

28
Conclusions
In the UK a major Geography focus has been on
Thinking Skills

• Information processing
• Reasoning skills
• Enquiry Skills
• Creative thinking skills
• Evaluation skills

With Enquiry as a key feature