GEOGRAPHY

Geography gives students a multidisciplinary or holistic view of the world, combining knowledge, skills, and understandings of the physical and social sciences. It fosters a curiosity about place and space, and provokes questions about natural and cultural environments and their interconnectedness.

Geography provides opportunities through fieldwork

Geography is the study of the environment as the home of people. It seeks to interpret the world and how it changes over time – past, present, and future.

It explores the relationships and connections between people and both natural and cultural environments.

Geography investigates the ways in which features are arranged on the earth’s surface. It describes and explains the patterns and processes that create them.

Geography provides opportunities through fieldwork for first-hand investigations of places, environments, and human activities. It helps students make sense of complex issues such as climate change, ageing populations, urban growth, land conflicts, globalisation, aand sustainabilty.

Why study geography?
Geography stimulates a sense of wonder about the world
Geography students are better able to make sense of a complex and changing world and their place in it. In geography, students have the opportunity to:
·         think spatially – explore the ways in which features are arranged on the earth’s surface
·         look at the processes that shape our world
·         develop an awareness of the connections between people and places.
Geography inspires students to help shape a better future
By studying geography, students are able to recognise the responsibilities they have in relation to other people, the environment, and the long-term sustainability of the planet. Geography encourages students to think critically as they:
·         investigate contemporary geographic issues and consider possible solutions
·          explore the various perspectives of different groups of people.
Geography equips students with skills for the 21st century
Geography equips students with the skills to interpret the world in which they live. They have opportunity to:
·         apply geographic learning outside of the classroom
·         use maps, images, and emerging digital technologies to obtain, present, and analyse information
·         investigate at all scales, from the personal to the global.


Key concepts

 

At the heart of every subject are certain concepts or big ideas. These are the ideas and understandings that the teacher hopes will remain with students long after they have left school and much of the detail has been forgotten. Key concepts sit above context but find their way into every context.
Students need time and opportunity to explore these concepts, to appreciate the breadth, depth, and subtlety of meaning that attaches to them, to learn that different people view them from different perspectives, and to understand that meaning is not static. By approaching these concepts in different ways and by revisiting them in different contexts within a relatively short time span, students come to refine and embed understandings.
For further information, see Approaches to building conceptual understandings in the social sciences at Social sciences online at http://ssol.tki.org.nz