Category Archives: Uncategorized

Globalisation is a fascinating process, as shown by the popularity of books like Dharshini David’s ‘The Almighty Dollar’ and Peter Frankopan’s ‘The New Silk Roads’, which explore the connections that link people and locations across place and space. Yet, despite all the obvious benefits that globalisation has bought, it has also been a driving factorContinue reading “Globalisation, COVID and new perspectives on a shrinking world”

Gilbert’s 24/7 nursery (we’re always here – where else could we go?) has now been running for 4 weeks and despite having to navigate the very sudden transition from secondary geographer to pre-school enthusiast, there are a number of lessons I have learnt as a result of this experience that I think will be usefulContinue reading “What home-nursery has taught me”

It’s a marathon, not a sprint. The word ‘curriculum’ derives from the Latin ‘currere’, meaning to run the course, to race. In a secondary context, the focus, in my experience, has often been on the final charge to the finish line of GCSEs. However, in focusing so much on the final goal, it has previouslyContinue reading “Running the (curriculum) race”

Dealing with misconceptions. There are a whole range of misconceptions that creep into the wider educational debate, as clearly laid out and challenged in numerous books (see, for example, Seven Myths about Education – Christodoulou; The researchED Guide to Educational myths – Barton). However, there are also many misconceptions that appear within the classroom. InContinue reading “Africa is NOT a country!”

Why the use of multiple choice is better than I originally thought. My relationship with assessment and feedback could be described as a love-hate one. Hate because assessment has always seemed to end up becoming something far more complicated than it needs to be (think Life after Levels, which in reality became Levels after Levels).Continue reading “Assessment and Feedback”

There is a special place in my heart for the Burgess Model. My GSCE geography coursework involved me walking up and down the streets of Loughborough, recording every building or land use on either side of the main roads and then converting my notes into an elaborate map of the town, demarcating all the differentContinue reading “In the bin with Burgess”

Practice v. Performance. When I was learning to play the piano, I would often just play through the piece again and again, trying to get better at it. I didn’t understand. Conversely, my violin teacher would make me practice the same little section over and over again at different speeds and with different rhythms untilContinue reading “Why I nearly quit the violin”

Without Geography, you’re nowhere. This is the first post on our new departmental blog. Do keep coming back for ideas and thoughts on all things geographical and educational.

An overview of the Year 7 Geography curriculum as it currently stands. This blog has come about following the desire to disseminate information among our geography department in a more effective manner and in order to stimulate discussion around issues that we don’t always have time to cover in departmental meetings. In order to communicateContinue reading “Building the Story”