Hurricane Season

One of the sections in the book refers to the importance of timing when teaching GCSE topics.
As we are currently in Hurricane Season, and the news today was discussing Hurricane Isaac, perhaps the start of the new school year could be a chance to focus on Extreme Weather or Natural Hazards - or the relevant section of the (hopefully accredited) specification that you are teaching.

Check the ESRI Hurricane and Cyclone disaster map, which is constantly updated, and is currently showing the track of Isaac and associated media...

Don't forget that you can also add a WEATHER layer to Google Earth...

Isaac is over two hundred miles wide at present, and travelling at around 10 miles an hour towards New Orleans....
Perhaps a chance to compare with Hurricane Katrina...

GCSE Results Day

Congratulations to all those who received GCSE results yesterday, particularly GCSE Geography and to the teachers who supported students as they worked towards their grades.
There has been a lot of press and other coverage of exams today, as was to be expected. There has been plenty of talk of political interference, changed grade boundaries and goalposts being moved...

If you want to support the next year's cohort of students as they work towards their GCSE Geography, this is a gentle reminder of the Badger GCSE book which will help you support students to get the best possible grades. I can't guarantee there won't be some external alterations of grade boundaries in the meantime, but at least you can be satisfied that you did all that was possible to prepare students.

Of course, we are still waiting for some of the final awarding body specifications to be accredited by OFQUAL, which a week before the start of the new academic year is a crazy situation....

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

Urban Geography Fieldwork

The day of the Olympics opening was also the date when a new website was launched offering opportunities for fieldwork in the East end of London, associated with the Olympics Park and the associated regeneration....
A number of familiar names offer a range of options for visiting teachers and students, and at reasonable prices too...
Having accompanied John Widdowson with a full day visit by a school group a few months before the start of the games, I can vouch for the quality of the experience, and the associated materials. The teachers I accompanied felt that this would give their students an advantage when it came to the GCSE examination, as they had had personal experience of key locations.

There are plenty of important themes covered in GCSE Specifications which are covered by a day in the East End of London...
These would include sustainability, urban change and regeneration, tourism, environmental change, urbanisation and inequality.

Visit the website HERE for more details on how to book a session.

End of year debrief

Don't forget to join me at 7pm tomorrow night for a VITAL CPD Teachshare to look back on the academic year, and ahead to the next one....

One of the highlights of the year I'll be talking about will be my work on the Badger GCSE book.
Have you got your copy yet ? 
Would make perfect Summer reading on the beach.... much more exciting than '50 Shades of Grey'...

Mr. Sims: Geography Rocks

At an event last week, I met up with Mr. Sims, star of the Geography Rocks songs on YouTube and also on his own Bandcamp website.


Writing music is a great way of encouraging students to explain something in a concise and creative way.

GCSE Geographers could be asked to write songs for their revision on some of the themes that are included in the specification.

Here's an example on the Demographic Transition Model. You can embed the songs, listen to them, or even part with the small sum of one English pound to download them in various formats.

iPhone apps for Fieldwork

The Badger GCSE book provides a useful context of iPhone apps for learning. Students are encourage to design apps which are appropriate for a particular use.

There are almost as many lists of useful apps as there are apps, but I was impressed by this poster of ideas for 20 iPhone apps for FIELDWORK that was shared earlier by Paul Turner.

Paul is the editor of the Geographical Times newspaper.

Nice work !

There were a few apps here that were new to me, so I'll be having a little explore later.....

What are your favourite apps for fieldwork and controlled assessment ? 

A new competition for GCSE Geography Students

This is a new initiative that has been created by Discover the World and the Geographical Association.


It is aimed at GCSE age students.

Check the DTW blog for more information.

Discover the World have teamed up with the WorldWise strand of the Geographical Association to offer your students an outstanding opportunity. In September 2012 we will be announcing details of an exciting new annual award; aimed at Y9/10/11 students. Enter your students’ essays, relevant to their studies, into this national competition, and be in with the chance of winning five places on an incredible Norway study trip for your school. The winning school and student will also receive a GA certificate to be announced at the GA annual conference in April 2013.  

To enter students can submit an essay answering one of the questions provided. Essay questions will be relevant to DTW study aids and the various syllabuses helping to facilitate student learning. At the time of the launch there will be three Discover the World study aids:

1. Eyjafjallajokull volcano, Iceland.

2. Solheimajokull glacier, Iceland.

3. Tourism in Norway.

In addition, in no more than 200 words, students are to explain why they should win the award, how they will benefit from the experience and how they will use geography in their later life.

The competition is designed to:

 - help promote geography as an exciting subject.

 - incentivise students to write an essay, relevant to their studies, whilst facilitating their learning.

 - encourage students to study geography post GCSE.

 - help aid teachers when promoting their subject at options.

 - recognise outstanding geography students.

This would be a really useful way to promote GCSE Geography and encourage extended writing.

iPad Apps for GCSE Geography

Many geography departments are experimenting with, or considering purchasing iPads.
(Other tablet devices are available...... they're just not as good....)

According to a statistic I saw it a while ago, around 70% of school ICT managers are apparently considering the implications of iPads for their school networks, or have already taken the plunge with them.
Here are the apps I have on my iPad - exported thanks to a tip from Kathy Schrock...
My iPad Apps 




What are your favourite Geography apps for GCSE Geography ?

(i)GCSE Grade Booster

Although the Badger Book is described as a GCSE Grade Booster, there could also be the addition of an 'i' to the front, as many of the ideas would be of equal use to colleagues teaching the iGCSE Geography Specifications which are around.

Matt Podbury has started a new NING for those who are teaching (or about to start teaching) the iGCSE Geography

It's particularly aimed at those doing the Cambridge Specification 0460.

I was heavily involved in writing a textbook and teacher guide for this specification.

If you're teaching this spec or thinking of doing it, come and join us.