1

THINKING GEOGRAPHICALLY WHEN TEACHING GEOGRAPHY

THE HEADSET OF THE GEOGRAPHER


As a discipline, geography is based on a series of concepts that fundamentally underpin the
geographical approach to the world.
They provide a framework and common language to thinking geographically.
The seven major concepts in The Australian Curriculum: Geography are place, space,
environment, interconnection, sustainability, scale and change.
These concepts are the lenses through which geographers view the features, activities,
processes, phenomena and issues of our earth in the past, present and future.

Place

Define
Place describes specific areas of the Earths surface, and range from a small place such
as a classroom, through to a local area, to a country to a major world region and the solar
system. The uniqueness of places is closely linked to identity and culture.
The characteristics of places that are studied in geography include population, climate,
economy, landforms, built environment, soils and vegetation, communities, water
resources, cultures, minerals, landscape, and recreational and scenic quality.
Some characteristics are tangible, such as rivers and buildings, while others are intangible,
such as wilderness and socioeconomic status.


2

Organisers of thought
The Australian Curriculum: Geography explores the concept of place through three organising
ideas:
Characteristics
Meaning
Change


Closely related concepts progressively introduced

region, territory, landscape, boundary, perception, sense of place, environment,
sustainability, diversity and similarity.

Space

Define
Space refers to the location of human features, such as a town or a specific building.
Space also refers to the location of natural features, such as a rainforest or a specific
habitat.
Human and natural features have locations within space.
Space is also about the distribution of human and natural features, including the pattern of
those distributions.
The world is organised spatially i.e. location, distribution and pattern.

Organisers of thought
The Australian Curriculum: Geography explores the concept of space through three organising
ideas:
Location
Distribution
Pattern

Closely related concepts progressively introduced

space include absolute location, relative location, distance, proximity, time-space
convergence, spatial pattern, density, clustering, dispersal, segregation, diversity, urban
and environmental management, representations of space, virtual space.

Environment

Define
The concept of environment refers to the biosphere including living and non-living
elements.
3

The environment has intrinsic value and is essential to, and interconnected with, on-going
human wellbeing.
Environments which have been significantly altered and created by human activities such
as rural or built environments (constructed urban places) are sub sets of the bio-physical
environment.

Organisers of thought
The biophysical environment (elements of weather, climate, hydrology,
biogeography and geomorphology and human impact).
The interconnection of human-environment relationships.
Sustainability.
Closely related concepts progressively introduced

place, space, sustainability, environmental impact, biodiversity,

interconnection, change, landscape and ecosystems.

Change

Define
Places, environments and spatial patterns alter over time.
Changes may be quite slow as is the movement of the tectonic plates or they might be
quite rapid as the advancement of a bushfire.
Places, environments and spatial patterns may be in a state of equilibrium or inertia with
little change occurring over a long period of time until an event such as a flood, cyclone or
political decision occurs, which rapidly alters the place, environments or patterns.
Change in the biophysical world may occur rapidly, intermittently or slowly over a long
period of time.
Social changes may be rapidly accepted, gradually accepted or actively and passively
resisted.

Organisers of thought
Sequences of events.
Environmental change including future modelling.
Social change.

Closely related concepts progressively introduced

movement, time, sustainability, place, space and environment.


4

Sustainability

Define
Sustainability addresses the ongoing capacity of Earth to maintain all life.
Sustainability is a broad social goal linking on-going natural environmental (ecological) wellbeing with
human (social and economic) wellbeing.

Organisers of thought
Geography explores the concept of sustainability through three organising and interconnected ideas:

Society
Environment
Economic activity

Closely related concepts progressively introduced

place, space, environment, intergenerational equity, sustainable development, change and
futures.

Interconnection

Define
Interconnection refers to the linking of places, environments and spatial patterns either by
tangible links such as roads, railways or by intangible links such as political, economic
systems or electronic systems.
Places, environments and systems may also be linked by cause and effect relationships
between them.
Interconnections are important in understanding why things are changing or need to be
changed in different places or environments.
Interconnections may occur between environmental and environmental (effect on water on
soil), human and human (impact of political decision on industry) or between
environmental and human processes (impact of water on cities).

Organisers of thought

individual geographical phenomena are connected to each other (interdependent) within
the one place and between places (impact of soil on agriculture, water on diet etc).
the ways that places are connected to other places i.e.flows of trade and investment,
cultural influences, the exchange of ideas and information etc.




5

Closely related concepts progressively introduced

process, interaction, interdependence, system and flow, formal region, functional region,
association, human-environment relationships.

Scale

Define
Scale is about the hierarchy of divisions from the personal to the local, regional, national,
world, regional, global and sometimes, universal.

Organisers of thought
Map making
Scale ranges

Closely related concepts progressively introduced
space and change, however, scale relates to all other concepts due its nature as a tool
during investigations.


Why is it so? The geographical questions

When discussing why geography is important and the reasons it should be part of the school curriculum, the
words inquisitiveness and curiosity are often mentioned. An individual will study any subject because of interest
and fascination in learning but the concept of inquisitiveness runs very strongly through the history of geography.

From exploration and discoveries to map making, geography requires a strong desire to ask questions and find
out what is (where and how) and why is it? This is not to say there are many other reasons for studying
geography but the inquisitive angle of geography seems to be a core requirement for the geographer. Geography
covers a wide range of learning and hence has a wide appeal to a diverse group of students.

The branches of geography outlines above provide ample opportunity to cater to the needs of individuals. For
example the area of geo-tourism will attract a very different individual to the one interested in geomorphology.
Whilst studying people travelling around the globe is very different to learning about rocks and landscapes, what
links these individuals together as geographer's is their inquisitive geographical approach (the questions they ask)
when they study or work in their chosen area. This inquisitive approach involves asking key geographical
questions such as:

* What is where?
* What is the distribution and shape of what is there?
* Why is what is there there?
* What surrounds what is there?
* Why is what surrounds there there?
* What is the distribution and shape of what surrounds what is there?
* What are the reasons for the distribution and shape of what surrounds?
* What are the interactions between what is there and what surrounds?
* What are the interdependencies between what is there and what surrounds?
* How and why has what is there changed or is changing in nature, distribution and shape over time?
* What is the future projection for what is there and what surrounds?
* other pertinent geographical questions to the area of geographical endevour!!
6


Whilst sounding a little confusing, the key to geographical inquisitiveness is to answer such questions in relation
to places and spaces. This spatial inquisitiveness is at the core of the geographical approach and is what drives
explorers, adventurers, researchers, writers and hopefully teachers. This inquisitiveness in the classroom should
be the driving force of inquiry teaching pedagogies which pose questions to the students and invite them to use
their geographical knowledge and skills to find answers or possible solutions. Giving students the answer without
inviting inquiry only goes towards crushing student inquisitiveness and makes the subject no different to others.

Geography must embrace an inquiry approach so as to model what geography is all about! Asking questions and
seeking answers by exploration of place and space. Spatial technologies are the great enabler for this approach.
Spatial technology and the associated data and visualisations can provide the geographer in the workforce or the
student in the geography classroom with information on places and patterns/trends across space that can answer
the geographical questions developed.

The natural inquisitiveness of students when studying geography must be fed by asking the questions; what?
where? why?, when? how? what if? and so what? when studying any of the geographical areas/themes.


Readings/resources on Geographical thinking

Primary school geography

Children Place and Environment (primary school): Simon Catling
http://www.geography.org.uk/download/EVcatling1.doc

Think Piece - Children's Worlds: Simon Catling
http://www.geography.org.uk/gtip/thinkpieces/childrensworlds/
http://www.slideshare.net/wendyn57/pgqm-leading-the-way?src=related_normal&rel=233671
http://www.slideshare.net/wendyn57/leading-the-way-in-primary-geography

General articles on geographical thinking:

Geographic Inquiry: Thinking Geographically: ESRI: http://www.esri.com/industries/k-
12/PDFs/geoginquiry.pdf

Thinking Geographically: Peter Jackson http://www.geography.org.uk/download/NPOGThinking.doc
and
http://www.geographyteachingtoday.org.uk/images/text/GEOGRAPHYAut06Jackson.pdf

The edited pdf of the Spatialworlds blog focussing on geographical thinking.
http://www.gtasa.asn.au/professional_development-information_to_forward

The case for geography: http://geography.about.com/od/teachgeography/a/geoedcommentary.htm

Books to purchase
http://www.ccge.org/resources/learning_centre/critical_thinking/default.asp
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thinking-Geographically-Theory-Contemporary-Geography/dp/0826456251
http://www.geography.org.uk/loginjoin/teachinggeography/

The following slide presentations on Slideshare:

http://www.slideshare.net/wendyn57/pgqm-leading-the-way?src=related_normal&rel=233671
http://www.slideshare.net/wendyn57/leading-the-way-in-primary-geography
http://www.slideshare.net/RichardH/what-is-geography-91494
http://www.slideshare.net/jbaynham/why-choose-gcse-geography
7

http://www.slideshare.net/ez2teach/how-do-geographers-think-geographically-1736222
http://www.slideshare.net/ez2teach/how-do-geographers-think-geographically-1736222
http://www.slideshare.net/wendyn57/using-picture-books-to-develop-geographical-ideas
http://www.slideshare.net/langwitches/geography-is-all-around-us-connect-trough-technology-
presentation
http://www.slideshare.net/jonesy2008/thinking-geography
http://debensgeog.wordpress.com/
http://www.slideshare.net/ganesh092929/01-chap-1-introduction-to-geography-jan-08
http://www.slideshare.net/jonesy2008/what-are-the-5-ws-presentation
http://www.slideshare.net/teacherlizz/lesson-3-describing-patterns-284862


Videos on You Tube

Videos on Geography:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=geography&suggested_categories=27%2C19%2C26&
page=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyhSHDGg-cw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGpas-GPjvQ&feature=fvst
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbgai3dK16Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPGuhJe6Qao
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27p2k1oot80
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUv5kkKVBLw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwbToV-FvsU&playnext=1&list=PLD824254AA20697B3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESHQh2WFTJM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPoFBezFyM8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WD55yYiYQg

Videos on National Curriculum for geography

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=national+geography+currciulum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD6w8QTajrc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IIjIQ7t7nM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7nn49jQ2_A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0MGv55VNwY&feature=related

Videos on GIS

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=GIS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb0vgYPiXQk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEaMzPo1Q7Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL1SKqtWB9Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5s8kbEdB68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etE1mz5APqI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftuG9nbS5nI