Cooper Education

James Peverill got in touch to let me know about some upcoming events organised by Cooper Education.

This is a newish CPD offering - catering for those who want help with specific GCSE and ‘A’ level exam specifications - and includes some very well known speakers including Cameron Dunn, Paul Logue, Kate Stockings and Catherine Owen. 

If you go to the website and scroll down you will see that they offer a range of CPD sessions - held as webinars - supporting different qualifications. The next session, for example, features Kate Stockings talking about Regenerating Places for EQ3 and EQ4. It takes place later today. She is also leading another session next week. 

Check the website if you are interested in finding out more.

Please note: I have not attended any of these sessions so this is not a personal endorsement, but all the speakers are very highly regarded.

WJEC Blended Learning Resources

There is a wealth of Blended Learning resources on the WJEC / CBAC website.

These are excellent and cover a great many topics suitable for 'A' level and GCSE students and also teachers who want to check their subject knowledge ahead of teaching a topic for the first time. They are free, and no account is needed. They follow a similar format to those on the SENECA website.

Click BEGIN and work through the resources.

Very helpful support from the awarding body.

Surrey Geography Network Meetings

For those who are in Surrey or within easy reach, Brendan Conway has shared details of what looks like a very useful series of events in the next few months, and into 2020.
As you can see, there are some excellent speakers including the 'mighty' Simon Oakes and the GA's very own Alan Kinder.

Details for booking are at the bottom of the blogpost.

Surrey Geography Network meetings 2019-20

These are designed to help you to address current issues whilst at the same time networking with other geography leaders / teachers.
The meetings will take place at Notre Dame School KT11 1HA from 1.30 to 4.30. The dates, speakers and their topics are as follows​:

Tuesday 19th November: Enabling Data Skills in the Geography Curriculum, Dr Simon Oakes - former chief examiner, author and education consultant

The session will present some excellent ideas for embedding data skills into Geography lessons. It will draw on Simon's Royal Geographical Society funded project work as well as his own wealth of experience as a chief examiner, teacher and text book writer. The session is designed to help you to develop students' confidence and their ability to use their geographical knowledge to make the most of available data.

Tuesday 10th March: Planning your Geography Curriculum, Damian Gray - Chartered Geographer and Head of Geography, Sunbury Manor School

Damian will illustrate how he has planned his department's geography curriculum to meet the requirements of Ofsted's new inspection framework which necessitates the need for subject leads to be able to justify the quality of their educational provision and lesson sequence choices.

Monday 22nd June: The new Education Inspection Framework (EIF) - What this means for Geography Curriculum Leaders, Alan Kinder - Chief Executive of the Geographical Association. 

Alan is also a Director of the Council for Subject Associations, British Council consultant and a virtual editorial board member to the SecEd educational newspaper. He is a member of the Council for British Geography and on the advisory board for the University of Sheffield's Geography’s Department.
The session will offer advice and share ideas as to how best to meet the new demands on geography subject leaders of the new EIF with specific reference made to the support provided by the Geographical Association.​

If you wish to book a place, please email Katy Gill (courses@schoolsnetwork.co.uk) who will allocate you a place and send you an invoice. 

The cost of the 3 meetings, one per term, remains £160 in total.

Inside Government event for GCSE

I'm very much looking forward to speaking at this event in November. It is being organised by Inside Government.
Here's the Policy Background to the day's event, courtesy of the organisers.

The number of pupils taking the Geography GCSE has increased significantly within the last eight years, from 26% in 2010 to 41% in 2016, following the introduction of the Ebacc. Now the eighth most popular GCSE subject, and the seventh most popular A Level subject, there is increasing focus on the geography curriculum and raising standards of teaching its content.

The new geography specifications were introduced in 2016 to improve the quality of geography teaching and encourage higher uptake. The Geography GCSE underwent a moderation of content, with an emphasis placed on the importance of fieldwork and UK geography. 

The impact of these changes also reach Key Stage 3, with a need to prepare students for entering Key Stage 4 by establishing the foundation for the skills and expectations required at GCSE level. The Geography A Level also underwent revision, with some significant changes.

It is imperative that geography departments deliver outstanding geography teaching, which not only prepares pupils to achieve excellent grades under the new curriculum, but maintains a high level of uptake by instilling a sense of engagement with and passion for the subject.

The onus now falls on geography teachers to ensure that their teaching meets the requirements of the new specifications, by optimising data skills and GIS technology within the curriculum and maximising the potential of fieldwork in order to deliver outstanding geography teaching and learning.

There's a rather fine line-up of speakers, who I am very much looking forward to hearing speak for the first time, or working with again.

I'm going to be visiting a number of areas in my contribution. This will draw on the chapter that I wrote for the two editions of 'Debates in Geography Education', published by Routledge. The chapter discussed the place of technology within the Geography classroom, and beyond. It will also have some inputs from a new edition of a fieldwork book called ‘Fieldwork through Enquiry’ which I am co-writing with John Widdowson.
Thanks to Professor Shailey Minocha from the Open University who I worked with on a VR research project which was reported in various journals. She is providing me with some of the latest thinking on the value of Virtual reality in Geography.

Some of the other confirmed speakers include:

Alan Kinder – Chief Executive of the Geographical Association

Steve Brace – Head of Education and Outdoor Learning at the Royal Geographical Society

Paul Turner – Head of Geography at Bedales School

Shelley Monk – OCR Geography subject specialist
Along with the other speakers, some of whom are still to be confirmed, the intention is to explore what can be done in the short, medium and long term and also to provide resources and tools which can be used straight away, as well as providing areas to explore further as time permits. I will be mentioning some of the latest resources that I have been working on. I’m looking forward to seeing Paul Turner speak about the Bedales Assessed Courses (BACs) they offer instead of GCSE Geography. As the External moderator for these courses I have the privilege of seeing the student work that results from these courses, and have helped feed into the way that the curriculum has been developed by Paul and his colleague Jackie.

The booking form is here

There is currently a 10% Early Bird booking offer, which stays open until the 27th of July, and discounts for more than one colleague attending from the same school. 

It would be lovely to see some of you there, down in London, and you can get the event pencilled into your calendar before the end of the school year.

IB course with Richard Allaway

A rare chance to work with Richard Allaway of Geography all the Way fame, on an IB Geography course in the UK takes place in 3 weeks time.
The course is held at Heathrow Airport, and is on a Saturday so no cover needed (probably)

Details and booking information here.

GA CPD Courses...

The details of the CPD courses being offered by the GA in the new academic year have been released, and are available for booking now.
Visit the website for details of all the courses.

I'm delighted to say that I will be leading the following days... at various venues around the country from the middle of November through to June 2014...
Hope to see some of you at one of these events...

Badger book heading down to the SW

I shall be packing a copy of my Badger GCSE book at the weekend and heading down to the SW to lead a day for subject leaders down in Cornwall.
The event will take place at the venue shown in the picture here...

Part of the session will be on Ds to Cs....

Some of the materials will be shared on Slideshare after the event...
It's a long way !

digitalearth CPD - better GCSE and other things...

For the last year or two I've been running courses at the University of Salzburg.
They are five day courses in the use of digitalearth technology.

The funding pays for the course fee and travel as well as expenses for things like food.

This is a great opportunity to explore the wonderful city of Salzburg and surrounding area, as well as meet with delegates from all over Europe and swap ideas. Two of the UK delegates from a course that was run at the start of the year have since gained promotions within their department too. No guarantees that attending will do the same for you, but you never know :)

Get more information and download the details you need to start the application process here.

Course will run in January and March 2014

Panorama from Salzburg fortress: Alan Parkinson

SW Geography Conference - 1st July

At the start of July I'm going to be in Newquay in Cornwall, working with colleagues in the South West for the first time.
I've been asked to lead a morning on the broad theme of Progression in Geography. 
This will include sessions on national developments, raising standards (some ideas), good practice in leadership and management of teaching and learning. My input will finish with some ideas for the use of new technologies, which is where I'll be on safer ground.
One issue with leadership and other aspects is the extent to which it is affected by the personality of the leader, but also the make-up of the whole departmental team. I've been fortunate to work with some great colleagues in my time, but recognise that it can be hard if you're working with uncooperative colleagues.
Here's the flyer for the event... looks good :)

If you're in the area, you're very welcome to join us. Further information can be obtained from Jo Bardell on 01872 322931. The event is free for SLA subscribers, and costs £175 for non SLA subscribers.

I may well be tweeting some questions over the next few weeks (I'll wait until the term restarts to ask them....) to prepare some provocations and elements of tasks for colleagues to engage with...

I'll be using elements of my BADGER book to explore ideas of management of teaching and learning, and also raising standards across the department.

If anyone reading this has a particularly good reference / website / resource on progression and raising standards in geography, which is a bit of a 'thorny' and contested issue, I'd love to hear from you...

OSIRIS CPD for GCSE Geography

I have another new strand in my activities starting this year.

I have previously led hundreds of CPD events all over the country for the GA, and beyond the UK for digitalearth, but I will be doing some events for OSIRIS for the first time.

OSIRIS offer a range of courses for different subjects.

I will be leading two different courses, which will be put on several times at several different locations.

The first is a course called 'All Pupils pass GCSE Geography' 
This will be held twice during March, in London and Birmingham.
Details of this course can be read HERE.

This will draw on some of the ideas from the book that I wrote for Badger, and which you can read about in the book's accompanying blog HERE.

The second is a course on the 'Future of Secondary Geography', which will look at all the coming changes and equip you with strategies and resources to prepare for, and implement the coming changes at KS3 and 'A' level, and the introduction of the EBC....
This is a new course, which will be put on in London, Birmingham and Manchester in July - dates are still to be confirmed. It will draw on a new book that was published by Routledge in December 2012, and which I contributed a chapter too. Details can be read HERE.
I shall let you know when details are added to the website - we are finalising the details of the course, which will involve all new exciting  materials.

Both courses are, at heart, opportunities to get together and learn from the practice of others, as well as take time out of the daily stream of demands to plot a steady course through some of the changes ahead, and prepare students effectively for formal assessments.

Head over to the OSIRIS website to find out more about their courses in a range of subject areas.

I look forward to perhaps seeing some of you at these courses.

New GA CPD courses 2012-13

You've bought the book (I hope) - now meet the author....

The latest GA courses for the new academic year have now been published and are on the Geographical Association WEBSITE.

The courses in red are the ones I am leading. Look forward to seeing some of you there...

You can download further information and a course flyer from the links. Feel free to use these with colleagues.

Leading urban fieldwork

For primary teachers and geography subject leaders

London - Tuesday 16 October 2012
Manchester - Monday 22 October 2012

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £150

Primary geography for the non-specialist

For non-specialist primary teachers, including those who may be taking on the subject responsibility within their school

Birmingham - Wednesday 17 October 2012
London - Wednesday 7 November 2012

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £150

Leading a successful geography department

For current and aspiring secondary geography subject leaders

Birmingham - Thursday 18 October 2012
London - Friday 19 October 2012

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £160

Google Earth and beyond: free online GIS

For secondary geography teachers

Leeds - Thursday 18 October 2012
London - Thursday 25 October 2012

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £160

Planning for Ofsted with the Quality Mark Self Evaluation Form

For secondary and post-16 geography teachers and subject leaders

London - Tuesday 23 October 2012
Birmingham - Friday 30 November 2012

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £160

NQT Conference: Making a difference in the classroom

For secondary geography NQTs

York - Thursday 8 November 2012
London - Thursday 15 November 2012

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £160

Outstanding teaching and learning in primary geography

For primary teachers and subject co-ordinators

Manchester - Monday 28 January 2013
York - Monday 4 March 2013
London - Friday 15 March 2013

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £150

Managing safe and effective fieldwork for IGCSE geography

For secondary geography teachers involved in delivering the new IGCSE

Leeds - Monday 4 February 2013
London - Tuesday 5 February 2013

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £160

Being Ofsted ready with the PGQM

For primary geography subject leaders, middle leaders and head teachers

London - Tuesday 5 March 2013
Nottingham - Monday 11 March 2013

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £150

Fieldwork and new technologies

For post-16 geography teachers

Birmingham - Thursday 7 March 2013
London - Thursday 14 March 2013

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer 

Price: From £160

Leading through primary geography

For primary teachers and geography subject leaders

Birmingham - Friday 3 May 2013
London - Wednesday 15 May 2013

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £150

Physical Geography course via the Ordnance Survey

Would your GCSE Physical Geography teaching benefit from a little personal CPD ?

An exciting opportunity for teachers who have been 'around' for a while is available if you're quick. A special 6 day course has been organised by the Ordnance Survey, along with the Goldsmith's company.

Science for Society Course: New Developments in Physical Geography 15th-20th July 2012

This course is designed for mid-career specialist geography teachers in secondary schools who are teaching GCSE / A level students.  The emphasis is on physical geography, providing an intensive immersion in new technology for data collection, analysis and modelling.  The course includes an introduction to new equipment for field and laboratory, and explores recent developments in remote sensing and GIS technologies, and their application to teaching. 

Full day visits to both Met Office and Ordnance Survey are included.

The course is provided by the Geography Department of the University of Southampton and Ordnance Survey in association with The Goldsmiths’ Company, under their Science for Society initiative. 

On Thursday 19^th July delegates on this course will join all the teachers on the 2012 Science for Society courses for a Gala Dinner at Goldsmith’s Hall, London. 

Tuition, accommodation, food and travel during the course are all provided free of charge. Delegates must fund their own travel costs from home to Southampton University.

For more details, see the Ordnance Survey and Goldsmith's website, where you can download an application form.

This is certainly something which I would have applied for if I was teaching, and has the added bonus of being in the final week of term for most parts of the country, which means that it would be a reasonable time to take off school as a lot of schools would be running activity type days for part of that, so there would be less teaching time missed.

* (From the application form)

 You must be a teacher employed at a secondary school in Great Britain teaching GCSE/A level standard qualifications in geography. 
Mid-career teachers are expected to benefit most from this course, but there are no specific upper or lower age limits.