An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta
Department
of Education and Science
Subject
Inspection of Geography
REPORT
Charleville,
Roll number:
62440E
Date of
inspection: 26 January 2007
Date of
issue of report: 8 November 2007
Subject provision and whole school support
Summary of main findings and recommendations
Report on the Quality of Learning and Teaching in Geography
Subject
inspection report
This report has been written following a subject
inspection in
Subject provision and whole school
support
Geography is a core subject at junior cycle in the
school and as such is allocated three class periods per week. Geography also
forms part of the optional Transition Year (TY) programme and is allocated one
class period per week for one half of the school year. In senior cycle,
Geography is allocated five class periods per week. This allocation includes
one double lesson each week. There are five geography teachers in the school.
Three teachers concentrate on teaching the subject at junior cycle while two
teach the senior cycle classes.
Students are given an open choice of subjects to
facilitate transfer to senior cycle. From these first choices, optional blocks
of subjects are created and the students then make their final choices. A
significant number of students opt to study Geography on transfer into senior
cycle from junior cycle or on completion of the TY programme. A very high proportion study the senior cycle syllabus to
higher level. This pattern is to be highly commended as it clearly illustrates
the high expectations of the geography teachers for their students and
enthusiasm for the subject.
There is an identifiable geography department in the
school. The teaching team is engaged in subject planning and in the challenges
of implementing the revised Leaving Certificate geography syllabus. There is an
impressive geography notice board containing information on current
geographical events and school fieldwork activities. There is no geography room
in the school and teachers are not allocated to base classrooms. This results
in the need to store teaching resources centrally and carry these to the
appropriate classroom. The school has allocated a small central resource
storage area to the subject. The small number of teaching
resources available have been catalogued and are accessible to all
teachers. It is recommended that the teaching team concentrate on developing
the range of teaching resources over time, particularly in relation to the
challenges of syllabus change.
The geography department is advancing the integration
of information and communication technology (ICT) into the teaching of the
subject, in line with whole-school developments in this area. There was very
impressive use of ICT in evidence in the teaching of the subject to students in
receipt of additional small-group teaching support. Live internet downloads
were used, as were resources from a range of geography web sites. ICT was also
in evidence in individual teacher planning and preparation for lessons through
the use of a wide variety of internet sources. Where observed, these activities
were very impressive. The challenge for the geography department is to further
develop the use of ICT in both teaching and learning appropriate to the skill
levels of individual teachers. The current availability of portable ICT
equipment in the school will facilitate these developments. The teachers are
also encouraged to engage with the ICT resources provided by the Leaving
Certificate Geography Support Service, including the “Trail-Master” DVD to
facilitate the teaching of map and photograph interpretation skills and the
“ICT in the Classroom” programme.
Students with special educational needs are very well
supported in Geography. While all class groups are mixed-ability in nature, the
school also provides an extra class period per week for a small number of
students requiring additional support in Geography. This class period for small-group
teaching is provided for all the year groups at junior cycle and for fifth year
at senior cycle. Combined with this provision, is the impressive level of
teamwork in evidence among the teachers providing this support. Equally
impressive is the constant and regular communication between the geography
teachers of the main classes and teachers of the small groups. This structure
of support is to be encouraged and highly commended for its level of provision,
organisation and flexibility in supporting the needs of these students.
Planning
and preparation
There was a range of evidence of individual planning
and preparation in the lessons observed. Most lessons were well prepared. It
was also clear that in most cases the level of individual planning was very
impressive and advanced. Most teachers had folders of prepared worksheets,
notes and summary materials to assist student learning. Where observed, these
materials were very impressive. All members of the teaching team should engage
in this good practice. The textbook and associated workbook was central to the
structure of a number of lessons, while in other cases revision for the
upcoming examinations was the focus. The use of student atlases in combination
with the textbook was successful in providing students with a range of data
sources within the lesson. The use of the ordnance survey (OS) map and aerial
photograph of the local area in the teaching of map skills was also effective
in engaging students within the lesson structure.
The geography teachers have engaged in an impressive
level of collaborative planning. Subject department meetings are held regularly
and the issues discussed and the actions planned are recorded. The teaching
team has produced a very good quality subject department plan in line with the
school’s progress in school development planning. The team has agreed and is in
the process of implementing a common programme of study for all junior cycle
classes. This process will also facilitate common assessment of students within
the mixed-ability classroom settings. When fully implemented, this process will
allow for flexibility and movement between classes and will assist in planning
for differentiated methodologies for students requiring extra support in the
subject.
The geography teaching team has also produced an
impressive TY plan for Geography. This plan outlines an effective geography
module for students taking the programme and includes an important fieldwork
component. While Geography within TY is confined to one period per week in a
half-year module, it does provide a good basis from which students can both
enjoy the subject and inform their subject choice in advance of senior cycle.
Teaching
and learning
Teaching and learning was of a high quality in the
geography lessons observed. The methodologies used were teacher led with
students responding to teacher questions and through tasks set in a small
number of lessons. The lesson opening and the learning objective was clear in
all cases. A number of lessons used the correction of homework as the entry
point into the new topic for study. Homework was corrected orally in these
cases and students were challenged to extend their answers when appropriate. In
a number of lessons, a variety of source materials were introduced to develop
the learning point. The use of atlases, OS maps and aerial photographs to
extend and elicit student responses is to be commended. Textbooks were used
appropriately in all lessons, avoiding over-reliance but allowing the textbook
to act as the overarching guide to progress through the syllabus. As the common
teaching plan is implemented at junior cycle, this practice should be further
reinforced. ICT sources acted as a very effective stimulus to learning,
particularly in the small class setting used to provide extra support for some
students.
Teacher questioning was central to the methodology
used in all classes. These questions ranged across previous learning and were
equally used to challenge students relating to new topics for study. Teacher
questioning was used effectively in the focussed revision lessons observed in
senior cycle. Students preparing for forthcoming pre examinations were
challenged with both questions requiring factual recall and those requiring
more depth and thought. It is recommended that the geography teaching team
focus particularly on questioning techniques within classroom practice.
Lower-order questions seeking facts should be interspersed with higher-order
questions seeking deeper analysis and discussion. These questions, when
targeted at individuals and at the whole class, will challenge individual
students and ensure the active engagement of all within the lesson.
While students were engaged by the methodologies used
in the lessons observed, it is recommended that the geography teaching team
should focus on teaching methodologies as they advance their already impressive
level of collaborative planning. This focus should involve a discussion among
team members of their experience of effective and ineffective methodologies used
in particular class contexts. This discussion should then extend to the
identification of particular teaching methodologies that might be trialled by
team members. These could then be incorporated into appropriate sections of the
agreed teaching plan. “Assessment for Learning” (AfL)
strategies available on the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment
(NCCA) web site www.ncca.ie could act as a
suitable entry point to begin this work. These strategies for effective
teaching and learning involve the variety of classroom practices including the
sharing of the learning intention and the learning outcomes of the lesson with
students. The exploration of these strategies should allow the teaching team to
reflect on and further develop their current teaching methodologies. It should
equally result in the active engagement of students in their own learning.
Classroom management was effective and sensitive in
all lessons observed. Seating plans were in place in a number of lessons and in
all cases students were attentive and engaged in the lessons. The focus of
attention on questioning previous learning was also effective in keeping
students on task. In all cases students were aware of their responsibility to
have completed homework tasks and to respond to questions from the teachers.
Students were respectful and courteous in all the lessons observed. Equally
their teachers were both challenging and sensitive to the responses of
individual students. There was a warm, secure and ordered classroom atmosphere
in all lessons observed.
Student learning in all classroom settings was
appropriate to syllabus requirements and to the abilities of the students. When
the students were challenged by higher-order questions from the inspector they
responded appropriately and were able to apply geographical patterns and
processes to other settings and to identify key issues. Student learning is
also reflected in the strong level of uptake of higher level at both junior and
senior cycle and successful student outcomes from this pattern. The high
expectations of the teachers for their students are reflected in these patterns
of uptake of higher level Geography. This is to be highly commended.
Assessment
Student learning was assessed informally in all
lessons observed. In some cases, teacher questioning was combined with a focus
on homework correction in class. In other lessons, particularly those dealing
with revision topics, ongoing assessment focussed on intensive questioning of
students. Both methods were effective. Student homework copybooks and workbooks
also reflected student progress within the learning plan. Student copybooks
contained appropriate homework tasks but in some lessons lacked any evidence of
teacher monitoring, comment or assessment. In other cases the student notebooks
and copybooks were regularly checked and marked. It is recommended that student
notebooks and copybooks should be regularly monitored and that the students
receive appropriate feedback on the quality of their homework. Teachers should
also reconsider the use of workbooks as a vehicle for assessment of student
learning. Workbooks often provide useful stimulus-response exercises but can
limit students in fully developing their written answers. These student
assessment issues should be considered as part of the further development of
the geography subject plan.
Teachers also assess student learning through informal
class tests at appropriate times during the teaching programme for each class
group. Formal assessments are held in November for all classes and at the end
of the summer term for first-year, second-year and fifth-year class groups.
Third-year and sixth-year students sit pre-examinations in February in
preparation for state examinations in June. Feedback from all these assessments
is provided to parents and students through parent-teacher meetings and school
reports.
Summary of
main findings and recommendations
The following are the main strengths identified in the
evaluation:
- There is a high quality of teaching and learning in evidence in all
lessons observed.
- There is a very impressive and flexible structure of provision for
students in need of extra support in Geography.
- There is a very strong uptake of higher level Geography by students
reflecting the high expectations of the geography teachers.
- There is an impressive and ongoing process of collaborative subject
planning for Geography.
As a means of building on these strengths and to
address areas for development, the following key recommendations are made:
- The geography teaching team should focus on teaching methodologies
as they advance their already impressive level of collaborative planning.
- Student notebooks and copybooks should be regularly monitored to
allow students to receive appropriate feedback on the quality of their
homework.
- The geography teaching team should focus particularly on
questioning techniques within classroom practice.
- The geography teaching team should concentrate on developing the
range of teaching resources for Geography particularly in relation to the
challenges of syllabus change.
Post-evaluation meetings were held with the teachers
of Geography and with the principal and deputy principal, at the conclusion of
the evaluation when the draft findings and recommendations of the evaluation
were presented and discussed.