Week 1

 5 hours

This week we will get to know each other and explore the following questions: What are my personal aims for the course? How is IGCSE Geography assessed? What are the assessment objectives for IGCSE Geography? How are the assessment objectives tested? How can I use past papers and mark schemes in my teaching?

This week's completion criteria: Introduce yourself to your colleagues and identify your personal aims. Share your experiences with past papers.

We recommend that you access the course every day to check your messages and keep up with any discussions. To help you manage your time, here is a suggested guideline of when to carry out the activities of the week. Week 1   M T W T F S S 1.1 Introductions 45 minutes Share 1.2 Know, Want to know, Learned (KWL) 60 minutes Plan 1.3 Overview of the syllabus, papers and AOs 90 minutes Read 1.4 Using past papers 60 minutes Think & write Share 1.5 Update your KWL chart 45 minutes Reflect Please note: throughout this course, you will be working in small groups in order to facilitate collaboration and discussion. I will be putting you in your groups during Week 1, and I will put a message in the Course café when the groups are ready. You will not be able to start Week 2 until you have been placed in a group.

1.1 Introductions

45 minutes

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  Update your course profile

Before you start, please check your course profile. Adding a photo will make the course experience more personal and friendly. If for any reason you feel uncomfortable to use a picture of yourself, use any picture that represents you. For example, a picture of your school. Updating your email and discussion forum settings will make sure that you receive all the notifications about the course. 

1. Add a picture of yourself
   
2. Check your email settings
   
3. Check your discussion forum settings
   

Note: you can find full technical instructions on how to do this in the course handbook.

 

  Introduce yourself

Now, let's get to know each other better. Go to the Introductions thread in the Course café and post some information about you, your students and your school. 

For example:

• Where do you teach? How long have you been teaching? What age groups do you teach?
  
• What type of school is it? How big is the school/classes?  
  
• Do you have any interesting or unusual hobbies outside work? 
  

Later in the week, have a look at your colleagues' posts and see what else you have in common, as well as teaching IGCSE Geography.

 

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1.2 Know, Want to know, Learned (KWL)

60 minutes

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Reflection is key to relating knowledge to your own experience. Each week you will be asked questions to help you reflect on what you have learnt and how it relates to your own teaching practice. Let’s start off by thinking about the following question:

What do I want to get out of this course?

A KWL chart is an effective technique to help you to identify your personal goals and track your progress throughout the course. A KWL chart is used to:

• identify what you already Know
• consider what you Want to know
• record what you have Learned.

‘KWL charts are useful at the start of a lesson to activate and consolidate what has already been learned, but can also be used as an Assessment for Learning strategy in the middle of a lesson as students monitor their learning and progress. When using a KWL chart, the most important principle is that students can reflect on what they know (K) and what they want to learn (W), which could include revision of partially forgotten material. Later, either as the lesson progresses or at the end of the lesson by way of a plenary, they record what they have learned (L). Completing the L column consolidates the new knowledge and understanding and evidences progress. Some groups benefit from including an additional ‘F’ column for Finding Further information and an ‘H’ column for How To Find this information.’

(From 'Approaches to Learning and Teaching in Global Perspectives: A Toolkit for International Teachers' by Keely Laycock, September 2017)

In this course you are going to post your KWL chart into your journal.  Here is an example of a personal KWL chart: 

At the end of every week, you will be updating your KWL chart to review the work you have done and to start thinking about the next week's topics.

At the end of the course you will have the opportunity to reflect on how your needs have been met and the impact the course will have on your teaching.

You can structure your thoughts in your own way. For example, you could use one KWL chart for the whole course, or start a new one each week.

 

  In your journal make some notes on these questions:

• What do I Know about IGCSE Geography?
• What do I Want to know about IGCSE Geography?

 

If you have any questions or observations about any of the information in this lesson, please come and share them in the Week 1 class discussion.

 

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1.3 Overview of the syllabus, papers and assessment objectives

90 minutes

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In this lesson you are going to get an overview of the syllabus, the assessment, the paper combinations that are available and what the papers contain.

It will be helpful to download the syllabus now, as we will be referring to it throughout the course.

  Look through the syllabus document and focus on:

• the main topics to be covered
• the assessment objectives
• the assessment of the syllabus 
• how the qualification is assessed
• any options / choices available
• the paper combinations for the qualification
• the content of the papers (proportion of each paper assessing each topic or assessment objective, type of questions on each paper)
• the weighting of each paper.
• the grade descriptors

In order to understand the assessment of the syllabus it is important to understand the assessment objectives (AOs), and how these relate to the papers. We will start by considering the papers and the assessment objectives.

  The assessment objectives

To design lessons that develop the skills and knowledge that your learners will be required to demonstrate, you will need to be aware of the assessment objectives and how they are assessed.

Here are the assessment objectives that your learners need to address:

AO1 Knowledge with understanding

Candidates should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• the wide range of processes, including human actions, contributing to the development of:
  
• physical, economic and social environments and their effects on the landscape
• spatial patterns and interactions which are important within these environments
• the relationships between human activity and the environment
  
• the importance of scale (whether local, regional or global)
  
• the changes which occur through time in places, landscapes and spatial distribution.
  

AO2 Skills and analysis

Candidates should be able to:

• interpret and analyse geographical data
  
• use and apply geographical knowledge and understanding to maps and in numerical, diagrammatic, pictorial, photographic and graphical form
  
• use geographical data to recognise patterns in such data and to deduce relationships
  
• select and show understanding of techniques for observing and collecting data
  
• select and use techniques for organising and presenting data.
  

AO3 Judgement and decision making

Through their geographical training, candidates should be able to:

• reason and make judgements and decisions, including evaluation and conclusions, which demonstrate, where appropriate:
  
• an appreciation of the attitudes, values and beliefs of others in issues which have a geographical dimension
• an awareness of the contrasting opportunities and constraints of people living in different places and under different physical and human conditions
• a willingness to review their own attitudes in the light of the views of others and new knowledge acquired.
• make judgements and decisions and recognise how these are made within a geographical context as affected and constrained by:
  
• the physical and human contexts in which decisions are made
• the values and perceptions of differing groups or individuals
• the choices available to decision makers
• the increasing level of global interdependence and the need for sustainable development.

 

  Now, think about the following questions:

• What are the different demands that each of these assessment objectives makes on students?
  
• How will you share the assessment objectives with your learners?
  
• Is there anything that you were not already aware of?
  
• How will you prepare your students for each of the different assessment objectives?
  

We will be exploring the underpinning knowledge and skills that your learners will need to successfully meet these assessment objectives during Week 3. We will also share ideas on planning to meet the AOs across the next three weeks.

 

If you have any questions or observations about any of the information in this lesson, please come and share them in the Week 1 class discussion.

 

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1.4 Using past papers

60 minutes

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Next week, we are going to look in more detail at how IGCSE Geography is marked. In this lesson we will look at how you can use past papers when preparing your students for assessment. 

There are a limited number of materials available, but they can be valuable resources to both teachers and students. 

You will find past papers on the Cambridge School Support Hub. In this lesson we are going to share our experience and ideas on how to make best use of past papers.

  Think about your experiences and make some notes

Make some notes on the following questions:

• Have you used past papers before?
  
• What activities worked well? Why were they effective?
• What activities did not work well? Why were they less effective?
• What activities have your colleagues in your school used?
• What other ideas for activities do you have?
  
  

  Share your experiences and ideas

1. Post your experiences and ideas to the Week 1 class discussion.
   
   
2. Read through your colleagues’ ideas to find ones that you would like to try with your class.
• Is there anything that is unclear? – Ask them.
  
• Do you have any suggestions or advice? – Tell them.
  

 

If you have any questions or observations about any of the information in this lesson, please come and share them in the Week 1 class discussion.

 

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1.5 Update your KWL chart

 45 minutes

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  Looking back

Look back at the notes you made in your KWL in lesson 1.2.

• What can you add in the ‘Learned’ section?
• Is there anything in the ‘Want to know’ section that was not answered or you are not clear about?

Post your questions in the Week 1 class discussion.

 

  Looking forward

Next week you are going to look at assessment objectives and how to use past paper materials to prepare learners for examination. We will also discuss command words and complete a marking exercise.

Take a few minutes to think about this. In your journal make some notes in the ‘Know’ and ‘Want to know’ sections. Consider the following questions:

• What do I Know about:
• command words
  
• marking?

• What do I Want to know about:
• command words
  
• marking?

 

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