Teaching Geography 11-18: A Conceptual Approach

Book excerpt: This book provides a practical guide for students and practising teachers as to how concepts can form the basis of geography teaching. This is particularly important at this time as the revised national curriculum for Geography (which takes effect from September 2008) has greatly reduced the prescribed 'content' to be covered and instead emphasises that geography is underpinned by a small number of 'key concepts' that provide the building blocks for curriculum planning. The 'new' national curriculum for geography identifies 7 concepts: Place, Space, Scale, Interdependence, Physical and human processes, Environmental interaction and sustainable development, and Cultural understanding and diversity and theses areas are reflected in the book's table of contents. This focus on concepts represents a significant shift in how geography is to be taught in schools, yet there has been little extended discussion of what a 'concept-led' approach to teaching and learning would entail. This book will provide geography teachers with a theoretically robust and practical approach to curriculum planning based on the concepts that underpin the subject..