assessing the enquiry process andy owen. fieldwork and enquiry where we are pressure to deliver...
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Assessing the enquiry processAndy Owen
Fieldwork and enquiry
Where we are
• Pressure to deliver progress measures has
reduced risk in many schools
• Fieldwork has become a series of routine
tasks to be performed.
• Learners are not actively involved in decision
making or evaluating.
Where we want to be
• Fieldwork should be embedded in the
curriculum, it’s not a bolt-on.
• Start from learners’ own experiences of places,
or of the world through, for example, their own
questions or perceptions.
• Learners should be able to make conceptual
links between their local field study and wider
geographical processes/patterns
A deficit model of fieldwork?
QuestionPlan
ObserveCollectRecord
RepresentAnalyse
Apply
Review
In some cases
learners have one
opportunity to get
this right
Creating a need to know
Asking questions to: Identify issues / problems
Be creative
Hypothesise
Make links with existing geographical knowledge
Reflecting on learning
To be critical in relation to:
Data sources
Techniques used / sampling strategies
Stakeholder views
How the enquiry could be improved
The value of what was learnt
Using data
Using primary & secondary data to: Locate / contextualise the enquiry
Collect evidence
Select evidence
Represent the evidence
Making sense Query the evidence to:
Analyse Recognise relationships Reach conclusions Make decisions / solve problems Relate findings to existing
knowledge
Acknowledgement: Margaret Roberts
Will the new GCSE specifications encourage a wider approach to fieldwork?
Few students encouraged to be creative at this stage e.g. in using apps
Some students write to a checklist – how to evaluate etc.
Some limitations of controlled assessment
Evidence suggests:1. Middle ability candidates struggle to make a
conceptual leap between theoretical understanding & evidence seen in the messy geography of a unique fieldwork site.
2. Over-structuring of CA tasks in some schools – reducing an expectation of critical thinking and evaluating what they have learned.
3. Presenting enquiry as a series of tasks based on measurement and recording. The aim of the enquiry, its links to wider geographical ideas and the importance of evaluation are often under-valued.
Closed task Framed enquiry Independent enquiry
Questions
A task is presented. Questions are not explicit.
Enquiry questions are selected by teacher but are explicit.
Students decide enquiry questions, framed by teacher input.
Data
Decisions about fieldwork procedure are made by teachers. Data is presented as authoritative evidence.
Decisions about fieldwork procedure are made largely by teachers. Data is presented as information to be interpreted.
Students are involved in key decisions about fieldwork procedure and data sources.
Making sense
Activities devised by teacher to achieve pre-determined objectives. Students follow instructions.
Methods of representation are open to discussion and choice. Analysis is independent.
Students independently analyse evidence and make decisions / reach conclusions.
Reflection
Predictable outcomes. Students discuss what they have learnt; different outcomes.
Students consider the validity of evidence / reliability of data and methods.
The weakest examples from Controlled Assessment
The best examples from Controlled Assessment
Where A level students will have to be from 2016
What were our aims when developing Component 3?
• The Eduqas model of fieldwork has been developed to ensure that learners are involved in the enquiry process – to encourage them to think geographically and critically.
• Give teachers the freedom to choose the context and location for their fieldwork – with as few constraints as possible
• Strengthen the link between local study and wider conceptual understanding.
The Eduqas approachDfE subject content requires two contrasting environments – e.g. rivers / coasts, urban / rural.
Eduqas specifies two approaches:• A focus on one fieldwork methodology• A focus on one geographical concept
Teachers are free to choose:• Location: e.g. two separate days in different
environments? or two days in a single location that offers contrasts e.g. Swanage, Peak District, Manchester.
• A topic or focus for enquiry. E.g. rural tourism? Rivers? Urban environments?
• A question for investigation
Creating a need to knowAsking questions to: Identify issues / problems Be creative Hypothesise Make links with existing
geographical knowledge
Reflecting on learningTo be critical in relation to:
Data sources Techniques used / sampling
strategies Stakeholder views How the enquiry could be improved The value of what was learnt
Using dataUsing primary & secondary data to: Locate / contextualise the enquiry Collect evidence Select evidence Represent the evidence
Making senseQuery the evidence to: Analyse Recognise relationships Reach conclusions Make decisions / solve problems Relate findings to existing knowledge
Acknowledgement: Margaret Roberts
Eduqas Geography fieldwork A common paper across both specifications, with two guiding principles for Eduqas Geography fieldwork:
1. Learners should be actively involved in planning the enquiry process – posing questions, selecting samples etc. E.g. how could I use my smartphone apps in collecting data? Where should I collect data? What kind of fieldwork report should I write?
2. A conceptual approach encourages learners to relate their understanding of the unique features of their field study site to the wider UK. E.g. What have I learned here that could apply elsewhere?
A Fieldwork methodologies
1. Use of transects – e.g. quality of life across an urban area, flow and
deposition across a river channel
2. Change over time – e.g. changing patterns of retailing, changing coastal
management
3. Qualitative surveys – e.g. environmental quality of urban areas, the value
of coastal landscapes
4. Geographical flows – e.g. commuter movements, river discharge
changes downstream
Different focus for each exam cycle:Publicised at least two years in advance of examination
• Place – e.g. characteristics of coastal landforms in two locations
• Sphere of influence – e.g. sphere of influence of a large urban area and its
impact on its hinterland
• Cycles and flows – e.g. migration survey, seasonal change in an ecosystem
• Mitigating risk – e.g. flood risk, local responses to climate change
• Sustainability – e.g. how far a settlement meets the requirements of Egan’s
wheel, quality of urban environments in meeting people’s needs
• Inequality – e.g. quality of urban environment, comparing access to services in
urban and rural areas
B Conceptual frameworks
Also changed over different cycles, with at least 2 years advance notice
Time.
• For planning, preparation for the fieldwork and the consolidation phase
• For students to write-up their enquiry for exam preparation; a written
outcome seems essential. Exam testing an experience from a year ago
can’t be done purely from memory
• For skills development in designing, presenting, analysing, reflecting and
evaluating
• Two topics over a two-year GCSE might take 8 weeks of fieldwork and
write-up
4 Implications for teaching
Key issues for geography departments
Where will the two tasks sit within the learning programme?
How much curriculum time for (a) preparation (b) consolidation?
How best to ensure learners are involved in the full cycle from posing questions
to evaluation and then providing an input to the next fieldwork?
Encouraging enquiry (rather than tasks) at KS3?
Planning progression to A level?
How do I prepare/revise for the examination?
Raising awareness with SLT?
Support from the exam board?
New Assessment Objectives & fieldwork
• AO3 Apply knowledge and understanding to interpret, analyse and
evaluate geographical information and issues and to make judgements.
• AO4 Select, adapt and use a variety of skills and techniques to
investigate questions and issues and communicate findings.
35%(10% fwk)
25%(5% fwk)
So 15% total fieldwork, assessed only by AO3 and AO4
What might exams look like? 1
Investigating flows
What might exams look like? 2
Investigating sustainability
Any questions?
Contact GCSE Geography Subject Officer:
Andrew Owen
andrew.owen@eduqas.co.uk
Follow on Twitter:
@eduqas
Visit the website:
www.eduqas.co.uk
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