At about this time of their GCSE course, my Year 10 students start their first encounter with fieldwork. As part of their work on Economic Activity and Energy, the course asks us to explore people’s views on the use of renewable energy. In their groups, students would ordinarily design some questionnaires around a table on paper, type them up and photocopy them, and get a few respondents each, to analyse. With relatively few ICT facilities at the moment, and a culture where students don’t normally bring their own devices, we’d have to work really hard to do data analysis, typing up, and presenting and evaluating our results. 

This time, it’s been different. We’ve presented the ideas and discussion of the theory as part of our live lessons, before using breakout rooms to get groups creating ideas and working together to draft a document. This has been converted to a questionnaire on Forms, which has been distributed by email, parent bulletin, and social media to gain as many results as possible. I have been able to see a quick overview of key results because of Forms’ fabulous output ability, and steer group analysis in the direction of results I think might be of interest. We’ve been able to use everyone working on their own devices, sharing a common spreadsheet to do the exported Excel analysis, and speeding up this process!

Students have engaged effectively with this new model of work, and we’ve been able to get significantly more data (nearly a hundred responses within a few days) and have students analyse responses much more quickly. Rather than codifying and inputting their data, they are starting analysis immediately, and showing more confidence in interrogating the question, rather than hard work of processing!

We have also managed to get some expert input, which normally would be very hard to arrange, and have been able to hear from a renewable energy expert who gave broader overviews, and then took individual questions from the students. 

There have been some challenges. We have an interesting level of technical competence, as I think everyone is discovering, and this is sharply brought in to focus when you start using specific tools like Excel and chart plotting. Some students are really competent, others need walk through from the basics!

We have yet to take in the student write ups, so we will see how all of this has actually been understood and engaged with in due course, but this has been a really positive shift in the virtual classroom.

While there are a number of changes and challenges for our education environments, there are some components of the calendar and our world that will be maintained and continued throughout. One of those, at about this time of year, is the thinking about options choices for non-core subjects.

When I took over my Department, GCSE numbers were below forty. Now, we regularly exceed 55 students choosing the subject, making us the highest options subject in the school.

We’ve more than doubled the cohort at A level. In 2014, 5 students took A level Geography; in 2015, it was 14. Last year, we had 22 students – with 9 taking up places at university to read Geography – and this year, we had 35 Year 12 students choosing to do A level Geography; only a few shy of A Level Maths as the most popular option at KS5.  

What are we saying to our students at these key moments? Of course, the simple answer is that there isn’t a magic bullet – the exceptionally hard work of the team to build an amazing curriculum, teach great lessons, and constantly engaging them with the awesome power of the real world – but we do find that good marketing and messaging helps.

Constant messaging and marketing of the Department is important. Are you always showing the pride in your subject and engagement with the world? If you have a Dept Instagram, Twitter, or subject page – what does it say? What is the state of your virtual environment – internal pages – and physical environment? Students often talk to us about the work we’ve done; the resources they’ve seen us make and share – they know we care about them, and these are indicators of that.

So, when we’re in front of them on an Options Evening, or event, what do we say? Here are some key thoughts:

1. Who am I talking to? There are likely to be a few groups in the room: those definitely doing the course, and looking for details. Those considering it, and wanting to evaluate the options. Those who need to be persuaded of its’ merits as an academic subject (often more parents than students). I need to address all of these. I have no interest in trying to convince anyone outside of these groups – if I need to tell you that Geography is a good idea, then you’re not my target audience.
2. I am not marketing Geography as an abstract concept, I’m explaining how *we* do Geography. If it’s an A level event, I want to explain why our course, our offer, our spec and approach is different to other schools/Sixth Forms they might have seen. If it’s a GCSE, then I am less likely to see external candidates; and want to explain how it’s different to other subjects.
3. I am explaining why Geography is brilliant. I don’t need to put anyone else down to do that. We don’t. I insist and remind my team of that too. History/RE/Classics are brilliant subjects – do both/all if you can. If you can’t, choose the one that’s right for you. I want that for my students.
4. I want to address the practical concerns: what is in the course? What order do we teach? What are lessons like? Who are the teachers, and will I be guaranteed to get Mrs X or Mr Y? What is it like compared to Year 9/my GCSEs? Is there course work? “My brother did controlled assessment and hated it… will I have to…” etc.
5. I want to address the logistical concerns; is there fieldwork? Will it cost me a lot to have my child do Geography (parent)? Can I go on amazing trips (student)? Can I come on the amazing trip, too (Parent)?
6. My “big picture” lens is about the combination and subject approach. I talk about the blend of skills – arts meet science; essay subjects vs numerical subjects; analyse meets explain; the changing nature of the world meaning that no two lessons will be identical, and you’ll understand the world better – and how Geography goes with so many subjects because it complements and supports any understanding you want. I don’t make it abstract – I make it real for the students.

So far this works. I’m happy to answer questions and share ideas and thinking – hope it’s helpful for many people at this time of year!

When I was a young boy – back when the world was a very different place – I was interested in many things. It will not surprise you, perhaps, to learn that there wasn’t much internet access in my youth, there was certainly no YouTube, and the idea of getting DVDs was pretty exciting and high tech. TED talks were conversations with a bear, and Netflix was a fishing technique.

So, how was a young and geeky enthusiastic secondary student to learn about the wonders of the world? You could read, of course, but it wasn’t able to inspire you in to new fields and things you didn’t know about – you had to go looking for that kind of knowledge.

One of the big events, then as now, were the Royal Institution’s Christmas Lecture series – started by Michael Faraday in 1825, and broadcast on television every year. And so it came about that in 1995, the lectures were given by Dr (now Professor) James Jackson.

Entitled “Earth: An Explorer’s Guide”, the series charted the stories behind the science we now call plate tectonics. Although it deals with the understanding of the Earth’s history, tectonics is only a very young science, and this was the first time it had really been explained to the public audience like this.

Fast forward some years, and a new teacher was desperate for some resources for his teaching of Plate Tectonics. Unfortunately, the Royal Institution website only had videos from 1997 onwards – no luck. So, a random begging email was sent to Professor Jackson at Cambridge – telling the story of the inspirational lectures, and how a young Geography teacher would really love them to help teach students again – could he help?

In the post, three days later, a DVD with the lectures was received.

Accompanying them; a note from Professor Jackson, simply saying “keep exploring”.

And that’s the story of how I became a Geography teacher, and why I love physical Geography so much.

Why does this matter to you? Well, the Royal Institution have updated their catalogue. And the lectures are now available online, here:

https://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/watch/1995/planet-earth-an-explorers-guide

I have set this as an optional enrichment task for my Year 9 (Year 11, and Year 13!) students this half term, and I am sure that Professor Jackson’s work will continue to inspire generations of students, as they have me.

In a time when it seems uncertain what we’re doing, how we can resolve the current crisis, and what we can do if exams are cancelled, I think this story matters. It reminds me of what I went in to education for, and why I can’t ever know how important it is – because I am not the little boy sat in the audience any more. Last year, despite it all, nine of my A level classes went out to study Geography or Earth Science at university.

Let’s keep exploring our world, and telling our stories. One day, they might inspire someone far more than any exams ever could.