Place available on RGS Education Committee

There is availability to join me on the Royal Geographical Society's Education Committee, which I joined in June as Vice President Education.

We have an important job to do - particularly at the moment with a focus on the Government's Curriculum and Assessment review.

The process is explained on the link below if you'd like to put yourself forward.

You will need to fill in a few forms online and get them to the Director's office by the 20th of March 2025. Selected names will then be added to a ballot paper which will go out to all those eligible to vote. The results will be announced at the RGS's AGM in early June 2025. I shall be there. 

You will fill the role for a four year term.

Only Fellows of the Society may stand for positions on Council and only Fellows may propose candidates for election (this includes Associate Fellows).

If you wish to stand for election to Council, you should be able to demonstrate:

• a good working knowledge of the Society
• an understanding and support for its breadth of activities and audiences
• experience and seniority relevant to the position that you are standing for

Each position also requires a sound working knowledge, as appropriate, of geographical education, expeditions and fieldwork, research and higher education, geography in professional practice. In addition, Council has provided guidance to nominees and proposers on the skills, expertise and experience that it feels would be most helpful at the present time. It is not a requirement that nominees fill identified skills gaps but it is highly desirable.

For Education this is described as:

Practical expertise, skills and knowledge as an established geography teacher (with five or more years of classroom experience), head of geography or senior leader at secondary level (Councillor).   

In terms of time commitment, Council members must be available to read papers for, and attend, four Council meetings per year and at least two Committee meetings per year.

Go to this page for all the details.

Feel free to get in touch if you would like to know more details about what is involved in this role, and good luck if you are thinking of applying.

International Geography Training - new for 2025

A new venture, and one I can certainly get behind...

Two legends of international geography teaching, resource creation and training in the same virtual space: Richard Allaway and Matt Podbury have teamed up to offer some special support for teachers in international schools / teaching international qualifications.

Their new website and opportunity is now live.

They will start their new enterprise by offering three online workshops between now and May 2025, which can be booked individually or as an ‘all three bundle’.

Each workshop consists of two 90-minute sessions and then the opportunity to have a 30-minute one-on-one meeting with either Richard or Matt to focus on your specific topics of interest and questions.

The workshops will happen on Saturdays, so most of you will not need to find cover for your classes. They will run from 10h00 CET to 13h30 CET, so you have enough time for a lie-in and a lazy breakfast, and everything is finished in time for a late lunch.

The workshops focus on the training needs of international geography teachers, especially those teaching IB DP Geography and IGCSE Geography.

Head to the website to find out more.

Upcoming GA Gloucester Branch CPD - 'Digging Deeper'

I've just finalised the plans for a session for GCSE and 'A' Level teachers and students later this month as part of the programme of events offered by the GA Gloucester Branch.

It's an upate of a session I created for the GA Oxford Branch last year.

I explore some of the ways that teachers and students can research case studies they need to remember for exams to make them come to life a little more, and ensure they are a little more authentic, contemporary and relevant, as well as memorable for the exam when it comes to revising.

Why not sign up?

This will be one of my Worldly Wednesdays....

New resources on coastal erosion

 

Some new resources from Anthony at Internet Geography. These were filmed recently at Mappleton: a popular case study for coastal erosion and management.

New footage featuring coastal erosion and mass movement at Mappleton on the Holderness Coast: https://t.co/BZQQxyBOAi #geographyteacher

— internetgeography.net 🌍 (@InternetGeog) July 16, 2024

Some new YouTube footage is shared here. 

Subscribe to Internet Geography to explore more of what Anthony has produced.

New role... new blog

As you'll have perhaps seen from a post at the end of April, I'm going to be working as the Vice President: Education of the RGS from June. 

As with any major project that I get involved with, or new role, I've started a new blog. This will track my work over the coming years, and also publicise relevant RGS-IBG activity. 

When I started out on my GA Presidential journey,  I started a blog which now has over 850 posts on it, and includes a biography of every GA President to date as well as much more on the history of the Association and its activities.

No. 1 Kensington Gore is known as "the Home of Geography". 

I've taken that as the name for my new blog, as I'll be visiting more regularly than I have for a few years.

Lowther Lodge has been the home of the Royal Geographical Society for over 100 years. 

You can visit the new blog here. 

Please check back regularly over the months to come...

100 000 page views

 We are now up to 100 000 page views on the blog. Thanks for your interest.

RGS Teachmeet - 26th June

 

Why not join me in late June for the latest RGS-IBG Teachmeet - once again, it's online rather than face to face, but that allows people to join who would not be able to get to Kensington on a weekday evening, so that's fair enough.

Free to join.

Sign up online here.

Speakers

Jo Clarke, Queen Anne's School – Using audio and visual feedback

Guy Paxman, Durham University - The Greenland StoryMap series

Jen Monk, Stretford High School – Windows and Mirrors, ensuring diversity in our curriculum

Fiona Sheriff, Kingsthorpe College - Beautiful books to inspire curiosity in the classroom

Rosie Moore, Cronton Sixth Form College - Embedding Cornell note-taking to improve assessment outcomes

Alan Parkinson, King's Ely Prep - 'Should I stay or should I go': leveraging professional support for pedagogical longevity

I'll be speaking about pedagogical longevity, and how we can use the available support from professional organisations - including the GA and RGS-IBG - to provide the spark which will get us through those times when we question whether we can stay in the classroom.

Practical Pedagogies 2024 - Early Bird tickets available

The third running of the Practical Pedagogies conference will take place in November 2024. The first two events were rather great - one in Toulouse and one in Cologne.

This event will take place in Cologne once again.

The keynote speaker who will bookend the event is Hywel Roberts. He was awesome. His book 'Bothereredness' has been published since the last event, when he was sharing some of the ideas behind it, and comes highly recommended.

You can find out how to get your Early Bird ticket and also see the full programme (subject to the addition of other sessions) on the link above as well. There are over 120 sessions. They are all presented by teachers / educators, sharing what they do with colleagues. You will see session from Richard Allaway and Matt Podbury and quite a few other familiar names here.

My session is here, as described. It will take place on the 1st day of the conference.

Early Bird tickets available in limited quantities which are 100 Euros cheaper than the normal price.

Congratulations to Rafael

An excellent interview with Rafael de Miguel Gonzalez Lazaro published in Spanish, but can be viewed in a translation from the link above.

Rafael was recently awarded the highest geographical honours of the Gilbert Grosvenor Honours from the American Association of Geographers (AAG). This was well deserved.

It means entering the “Olympus” of the greats of geography, which includes Walter Christaller, Yi-Fu Tuan, David Harvey and others.

I've been fortunate to work with Miguel on a whole range of ERASMUS projects over the years, and I hope to be working on something with him later in the year.

A final quote from the interview:

"I want to make a call, above all, to understand geography as a bridge science between the natural sciences and the social sciences, and a fundamental science to understand the current world."

Image source: https://iuca.unizar.es/noticia/rafael-de-miguel-si-nunca-hubiese-sacado-mi-trabajo-de-zaragoza-no-habria-tenido-el-reconocimiento-que-ha-tenido/?fbclid=IwAR1QqkeBVVeON__2V_2U6rgFueM-dmzpZPh_0lJsdJAxqraL5djs7nC2bH8 

Tenemos el enorme placer de informaros de la concesión del prestigioso premio «AAG Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education» a nuestro compañero, Rafael de Miguel de la @unizar
Enhorabuena y nuestro agradecimiento por su excelente contribución a la Geografía pic.twitter.com/RLJNatGLW1

— AGE (@AGE_Oficial) January 11, 2024

'A' level grids for Tim Marshall books

 

Thanks to Fiona Sheriff for the lead to some useful grids for those who may be thinking of using Tim Marshall's books with their 'A' level students (or younger).

Do you use any of the @Itwitius @eandtbooks books at A Level? Found this really useful grid showing how you can use the books at A Level - mapped to the diff specs. https://t.co/sTNlKriRW6

Lots of opportunity for wider reading!#GeographyTeacher

— Fiona Sheriff 👨‍👩‍👧‍👧🌍 (@fiona_616) February 10, 2024

Practical Pedagogies 3 - a call for session proposals

 

One of the best events I've attended and presented at has been the Practical Pedagogies events that were held in 2016 and 2018. The first was held in Toulouse and the second was in Cologne.

Russel Tarr is now organising a third running of the event and the call for sessions is now open. I shall definitely be there (assuming my presentation is accepted). I'll be working on this over the weekend.

Workshop proposals for Practical Pedagogies 2024 are warmly welcomed from primary, secondary and whole-school practitioners and educators willing to share their expertise and practices in a friendly, collaborative, international setting. 

Experienced and first-time presenters are equally welcome to submit a proposal!

The special ticket price for workshop leaders is just 75 Euros for the full two days (payable upon the session proposal being accepted onto the programme). This non-refundable fee, which represents a 75% discount on the standard ticket price, helps ensure that people accepted to run workshops seriously plan to attend.

This sum is effectively reimbursed with free access to the coach which brings attendees to and from the venue from central Cologne, and complimentary meal at the evening restaurant function on the final evening, which is always a highlight of the event. However, please note that in order to keep delegate ticket prices genuinely affordable, we are not able to cover any other expenses.

If you go to the website you can now submit a session proposal.

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