Sustainable Development: Caring Now and in the Future

1. G&T Stephen Pickering Nigel Kent GTE Southport 2009 Photo: cbcastro / Flickr.com

2. What is sustainable Development? People Places Care Now and in the future Near and far

3. Stanley Road Primary School Your mission … Does the University care now and in the future, near and far?

4. Discover Dream Do Decide

9. The characteristics of effective learners • Behaviours • Add to their learning repertoire, refine the tools they have and make them more effective. • Cope with the unexpected and unfamiliar. • Monitor what they’re doing – asking themselves, ‘Is it working?’ • Modify their approach, if it isn’t. • Guided by their goals • Stop when they’ve got there. • Perceptions • Believe that they have control over their thinking and learning

10. A negative outlook? I can’t spell Therefore I can’t be bothered to improve The feedback I get from others when they look at my spelling proves I can’t spell I make the same mistakes again and again

11. A positive outlook? I believe everybody can learn to spell, though I find it difficult The feedback I get when others look at how my spelling is changing proves that I can spell if I try I try really hard I make progress

12. Thinking about learning . Describing and explaining what they’re doing • That looks interesting, tell me what you’re doing. • Can you tell me what you have done so far? • Have you ever done something else like this? • What does that remind you of? • How did you know to do it like that?

13. Asking the right questions . Connecting with feelings about learning • What does that feel like? • What do you like about that? • What didn’t you like? • Was that good? Why? • Tell me what you are thinking • How did you feel when that happened? • Why did that make you angry?

14. Dweck’s orientations to learning • Learning orientation • If Itry hard I can be successful • I can improve as a learner • I enjoy tasks which challenge me: they give me a buzz when I'm successful • I enjoy it most when I can think difficult problems through and find solutions to them. • Performance orientation • You have to be intelligent to do well at school. • I am worried that when I fail other people will think I am stupid. • I enjoy it most when I get top marks, and do better than my friends. • When I can't do a problem I feel so stupid.

15. Perceptions Change how we see things Behaviour Self-talk Change what we say in our heads Emotions Change how we feel Adapted from the Change Cube, Kewley and Thomas, 2004 Beliefs Slide: Nigel Kent.

16. Geographical – concepts covered by the project: Place - map skills, understanding maps, the place of the Uni within a city community Space – travel – old to new campus – the university as a space – utilisation of space – sustainability - impact of Uni – locally and globally Scale – links to maps – local scale – local and global impact of Uni. Interdependence – As a pupil, how I am or could be connected with the Uni. Environmental interaction and sustainable development – Und. Of sus. Assessment of sustainability. Cultural understanding and diversity – Diversity in the campus – how diversity is welcomed and managed. (Pickering and Mathews)

17. Geographical outcomes: In taking part in the course the pupils can demonstrate: Map reading and interpretation skills in order to gather and record evidence of sustainability; An ability to discuss and interpret the concept of sustainability and how this relates to a large institution such as a university or a school; now and in the future. An understanding of the interconnectedness between the university locally (e.g.:links to Stanley Road, the place of the Uni within a city community) now and in the future and on different scales (near and far) – relating to campus, curriculum and community (DCFS sustainability framework) An appreciation of the diversity of an inclusive University community Generic learning outcomes: Can show understanding of enquiry process; Is able to present to an invited audience - both adults and pupils at school in feedback and future work; Can employ higher order thinking skills – reasoning, evaluating, synthesising, making judgements, application of findings, creating solutions;

18. 10 Top Tips for teaching more able & gifted geographers How can teachers go about providing the necessary challenge for MAG students? Change & vary the scale and context Changing scales and contexts is an effective way to broaden & extend the knowledge, understanding & skills of MAG students e.g. thinking “local to global” in planning units of work or series of lessons. Develop your questioning in the classroom Think Bloom’s Taxonomy – ask MAG students more challenging ie higher order questions which demand analysis, synthesis or evaluation. Look for detail and justification. Demand greater precision Encourage students to be more precise in their use of language, e.g. using specific geographical vocabulary and terminology. More is not always better – try restricting students to a number of words/lines/minutes to encourage them to be more concise and precise in their explanations. Provide scope for good quality extended writing MAG students can be encouraged to develop and deepen their written work by using the “Must/Should/Could” framework. Embrace complexity Geography is a dynamic, ever changing subject involving a complex series of interrelationships - do not be afraid to celebrate this! Challenge the MAG students to think “outside the box”. Pickering (2007) Philosophically Gifted? Primary Geographer. Sheffield: GA

19. Allow students opportunities to find their own way through the enquiry process Don’t over-prescribe the task. Blend “open ended” with more structured or supported tasks. Encourage MAG students to hypothesise both the outcome of the enquiry and the possible future implications of the results (evaluation). Fieldwork/virtual fieldwork provides an ideal opportunity for more independent learning. Set up enrichment “events” Regular and/or “one off” events encourage MAG students to think about wider geog issues – organise visits eg GA lectures, quizzes eg GA “Worldwise” quiz, competitions eg RGS & OS websites, online games e.g. Geosense Use MAG students as “experts” Various classroom activities lend themselves to encouraging MAG students to demonstrate their outstanding knowledge, understanding and skills. For example, ask MAG students to do a “starter”, use them creatively in peer assessment, place them in “hot seating” and “Mastermind” type activities where they can be quizzed and challenged by their peers. Use decision-making & problem solving exercises These encourage higher order thinking skills from all students. They provide a vehicle for MAG students to develop their reasoning skills and to evaluate a variety of solutions to plans and issues and explore the merits of each solution, taking into account the values and attitudes of those affected. Keep up the pace! Younger children demand regular “feeding” – make sure that older MAG students do not go stale by keeping up the pace and energy of the lesson. Geography is a vibrant and visual subject and we must enthuse them if they are to reach their true potential in their work at secondary level.

20. Thank you for listening Stephen Pickering Southport 2009 Photo: StrebKR / Flickr.com