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Congratulations

You belong to a group of teachers who want students to know the answers to more challenging geography questions (“Why?” questions).

You enjoy solving geographical problems that pupils have to deal with. In your classes, students often work as real geographers. You create opportunities to work with text and other information sources, students independently collect data and then analyze it and draw conclusions.

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Your teaching often leads students to recognize and discover the interactions between people and the environment, or you deal with the causes and effects of geographical phenomena.

In addition to doing geographical research with your pupils, you are also interested in studying more general geographical topics, including in the teaching of regional geography. You and the pupils also spend more time studying selected places or regions in more detail, even at the cost of not having time to discuss other places or regions.

Example:

When information about a volcanic eruption appears in the media, you can immediately prepare a lesson about the processes that lead to the emergence of volcanic activity. In geography lessons, pupils deepen their knowledge of how volcanoes are formed and, above all, what are the consequences of volcanic activity for people’s lives and the surrounding environment . Using examples of specific places affected by volcanic activity, students demonstrate the relationships between the natural and social components of the landscape . In addition, students explain the pros and cons of living in places affected or threatened by volcanic activity. Pupils have the opportunity to think about it, why people live in the immediate vicinity of volcanoes, why, for example, there are fertile soils around volcanoes, how volcanoes can be used in terms of tourism and how people deal with the various consequences of volcanic activity on a local and global level. 

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Teachers focus on scientific reasoning and making connections

Assessment ?

When verifying knowledge, skills and attitudes, we do not focus on findings from other fields. We focus on using, connecting and understanding the geogarphic phenomenon and process.

The evaluation is based on the following criteria:

  • geographical in content : the correctness of the concepts used and the criteria in other concepts
  • competence:  analyzes correlation with other disciplines, work with resources

For formative feedback, we recommend asking questions based on the evaluation criteria for each of the topics:

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Constantly asking the question why you can lead the student to get into other fields or subjects.

Why do you think this happens?

Why is it like this?

Where did you find it?

Who says that?

What field is it from?

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Teacher:

  • Emphasis on interdisciplinary relationships
  • A modern conception of geography based on synthesis
  • Motivates interdisciplinary cooperation

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The Synthesizer conception is based on finding the connections and relationships of the subject being discussed with the subject matter of other subjects. Teachers favoring this conception most often find cross-subject connections with their next approval subject, however, they also rely on connecting the curriculum with other subjects. Cross-subject relationships do not necessarily take place only with related subjects (natural and social sciences), connecting geography curriculum with mathematics, languages ​​(CLIL method) and education is also common. The conception of a synthesizer is suitable for inexperienced teachers because geography can be understood in cross-subject contexts through this concept. This trend currently corresponds to the modern concept of geography as a science, as it allows moving on the edges of geography and spilling over into other disciplines. Geography as a science has long been understood as a discipline based on more demanding syntheses of partial geographical (and other related) disciplines. The conception of a synthesizer makes it possible to find syntheses not only within geography, but the overlaps of these syntheses with the curriculum of other subjects are especially valuable. It should be remembered that once we ask three times in a row “why?” in solving geographical problems, the answer will usually require knowledge that goes beyond geography as a field. This motivates teachers to interdisciplinary cooperation also at the school level, especially with teachers sitting together in the cabinet, or at the level of subject committees. but the overlaps of these syntheses with the curriculum of other subjects are especially valuable. It should be remembered that once we ask three times in a row “why?” in solving geographical problems, the answer will usually require knowledge that goes beyond geography as a field. This motivates teachers to interdisciplinary cooperation also at the school level, especially with teachers sitting together in the cabinet, or at the level of subject committees. But these syntheses’ overlaps with the curriculum of other subjects are especially valuable. It should be remembered that once we ask three times in a row “why?” in solving geographical problems, the answer will usually require knowledge that goes beyond geography as a field. This motivates teachers to interdisciplinary cooperation also at the school level, especially with teachers sitting together in the cabinet, or at the level of subject committees.

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Student:

  • Complexity and completeness of the curriculum
  • Connecting the curriculum of different subjects
  • School-wide projects focused on larger themes

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The positive aspect of teaching based on the concept of a synthesizer is the complexity and thematic integrity of the curriculum. The student does not run into barriers and boundaries between individual subjects, and on the contrary benefits from linking the curriculum of different subjects in a wider context. As thematically related subjects are often discussed at school in different subjects and different grades, the teaching of geography has the potential to repeat, consolidate and apply the subject matter of other subjects. The student is practically confronted with the advantages of multidisciplinary approaches and perceives the benefits of individual disciplines at school as well as the necessity of interdisciplinary cooperation to build human knowledge.

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Teacher:

  • The risk of geography falling behind
  • Requires knowledge of the curriculum and content of other fields, incl. timetables
  • The need to communicate with teachers of other subjects

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If the concept of the synthesizer dominates significantly, there is a risk of disappearing, being marginalized or not using the educational and application potential of geography for life in the 21st century. The teaching of geography should primarily convey to pupils the views, ways of knowing and perspectives typical of geography as a field. A typical slogan of a synthesizer might be: “geography is everywhere” or “geography is everything”, but no one can say what is the subject of geography and what is not. If we leave aside the marginalization of geography as a field, it is also necessary to take into account that the concept of a synthesizer requires a high degree of orientation in the goals, contents and time plans of other teaching subjects. This also involves the need to communicate with other teachers, agree and coordinate teaching with each other. Of course, everything mentioned cannot be done without a deeper knowledge of the curriculum of other fields,

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Student:

    • The unclear boundary of geography as a field
    • The danger of unclear identification of geography curriculum
    • Risk of perceiving geography as an unnecessary field

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In teaching in which the conception of a synthesizer is dominantly represented, the student often does not realize where the boundary of geography as a field is located (if this boundary exists at all). In this way, over time, the student may begin to perceive geography as an unnecessary and useless subject because he cannot identify when it is geography and when it is not.

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Exclusive access to a database and community of engaged geography teachers.
Draw inspiration for other conceptions.
Conveniently browse topics and think about your own teaching.
Know the connections between conceptions.
Experience GEOWHEEL or have instructions on how to comprehensively grasp geography education.
Archiving test results to monitor the development of one's own teacher identity.
Invitations to events with members of the project team and special events.
Access to the archive of worksheets for pupils and other teaching materials.
Detailed results with commentary and practical recommendations.
... Well, the students will simply love you, because they will enjoy your teaching!