This was Rachel Hay's set of notes on the session that Claire Kyndt and I led at the GA Conference back in 2015. It was a session where we talked about the 'ordinary' things that we were doing well in our department at the time. I've been revisiting it while producing my Teachmeet GeographyIcons presentation, and thinking about the things that we did, and still do in Geography, and also because I wanted to thank Claire in my presentation for inviting me to come and work with her just over five years ago.
The Impact of the Ordinary: the Story of a Geography Department
The Impact of the Ordinary: the Story of a Geography Department
Claire Kyndt, Head of Geography, and Alan Parkinson The King’s School, Ely @KingsElyGeog
- ‘Learning adventurously’ – authentic, real world learning
- Ely’s mission statement: Creativity – Integrity – Energy
- Use Piktochart to make infographics
- Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities; look for common opportunities and make them great!
- Look for stories and narratives; enquiry is important.
- Learning Grid – John Sayers
- Mission:Explore
- ‘Stories from a geography classroom’ – Alan Parkinson’s Blog: https://geographyteacher2point0.blogspot.co.uk/
- Big Outdoors Day Passports
- Use people within the school – range of previous jobs!
- IPhone Apps – Tony Cassidy – Inuit and climate change – submit best one to the App Store for peer review
- Geography Map Faces using OS maps to create a simplified image of your face
- Captain Geography – Year 7 – create own superhero with costume and utility belt!
- Globalisation revision walk (GlobEly Connected – make the link between walking and learning)
- E-Waste – Follow the things unit e.g. produce a Health & Safety guide for new employees (children) working in Ghana’s landfill sites
- Stepup challenge – climb the height of The Shard
- Pole of Cold – polar environments – ‘what’s the coldest you’ve ever been?’
- Year 7 – The Ice Man – Otzi – glaciers, mountain, adventure
- Danny Macaskill – mountain biking; adventure and landscape
- Food homework booklets e.g. fish and chips on a plate: fish – quotes regarding threats, chips – solutions
- WaterAid – twin your toilet
- Pupil voice – G Factor – pupils choose topics by voting
- Flip Classroom – Moodles (open source learning platform), discussion boards etc before the lesson, springboards discussion
- Ingrid Pollard image – Lake District
- DIRT – time to reflect, edit and collaborate
- 45 minute reading challenges for free periods
- Boards around the room – pupils add ideas
- Takeaway Homework menus
- An Interactive Journey – ‘KingsEly’ on YouTube
- Reading Challenge 2015
- Gaming: Pandemic (Development and Health) – end of unit – make a board game
- Revision time – Jenga; song lyrics, make up revision packs containing highlighters, PostIts etc
- Film group – use Netflix, Erin Brocovich, The Impossible etc.
- Photo group
- Getting parents involved – quiz questions, exam questions
- RGS Young Geographer of the Year
- #teacher5aday
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