Monday, March 30, 2015

Just a few of the amazing sites for Hums learning

Image above: Mapping personality across the US

Related sites to Humsteach blog 
Spatialworlds
Australian Curriculum Portal
GeogSpace
AC History Units
Geogaction
DECD Learning Resources for Australian Curriculum
DECD Achievement Standards Charts 
Australian Geography Teachers' Association website

Geography Teachers Association of South Australia
History Teachers Association of South Australia
History Teachers Association of Australia

Scoop.it 

malcolm.mcinerney@flinders.edu.au 


Spatial literacy galore
Some great spatial literacy sites to explore in the classroom.

A GIS atlas of the US showing diversity, population change, ageing and housing.

 Map projections are one of the fundamental concepts of geography and cartography. Selecting the right map projection is one of the important first considerations for accurate GIS analysis.  The problem with projections (and the reason why there are so many types) is that it is very difficult to represent the curved 3D surface of the Earth on a flat 2D surface of a map; some distortion is bound to occur.

A fantastic tool for understanding dramatic weather news events around the globe, the history of human civilization or how our activities may be changing the future climate.

An interactive map showing hundreds of different criteria to create thematic maps

A  multinational team of researchers led by psychologist and American expat Jason Rentfrow of the University of Cambridge in the U.K. has sought to draw the regional lines more clearly, literally mapping the American mood, with state-by-state ratings of personality and temperament.

An interactive simulation map of births and deaths around the world.

This visualisation shows a world unevenly aglow with television attention.

Introducing spatial technology in the primary classroom


Related sites to Humsteach blog 
Spatialworlds
Australian Curriculum Portal
GeogSpace
AC History Units
Geogaction
DECD Learning Resources for Australian Curriculum
DECD Achievement Standards Charts 
Australian Geography Teachers' Association website

Geography Teachers Association of South Australia
History Teachers Association of South Australia
History Teachers Association of Australia 

Scoop.it 

malcolm.mcinerney@flinders.edu.au 


YouTube video of the trial

Go to http://youtu.be/o3VxAQ22Cog and listen to Adrian Camac and other Victor Harbor Primary School teachers talk about the Years 2, 5 and 7 Geography trial focussing on inquiry and the use of spatial technology across the school.

It can be done in a primary school!

In the last posting the meaningful use of spatial technology in the classroom was explored. This posting focusses on the work of Victor Harbor Primary School teachers and students in 2011 who participated in a trial of the draft Australian Curriculum: Geography. The YouTube video is the documentation of this trial.

Victor Harbor Primary School Australian Curriculum: Geography tial: A trial using Years 2, 5and 7 draft AC: Geography curriculum, with a focus on inquiry and the use of spatial technology across the school.

The trial focussed on the following areas relevant to the development of the ACARA Australian Curriculum: Geography curriculum – both areas frequently explored by the Spatialworlds blog:

* The meaningful integration of spatial technology skills for all year levels to enhance spatial thinking.
* The nature and uniqueness of inquiry learning in geography.

The trial used the draft Australian Curriculum: Geography curriculum for Years 2, 5 and 7

The Year 2 curriculum builds on student learning about places in earlier years by exploring people's connections with other places. Students then expand their geographical knowledge by finding out about these other places and using an increasing variety of information sources. Their spatial understanding is extended from reviewing the use of spaces to examining how distance influences the places they go to. The inquiry process continues to be guided and students are introduced to geographical tools and skills that help them answer their questions.

The Year 5 curriculum for geography has a focus on building students' ability to explain their world in a geographic way. It requires increased critical and analytical thinking. Students consider contemporary places and the functions they serve. This builds on their spatial knowledge of Australia in Year 4, by analysing the spatial distribution of human populations and activities, such as retailing and tourism at national and regional levels. The Inquiry and Skills strand builds on students' analytical, decision-making and evaluation skills. They draw conclusions on issues and consider different viewpoints when thinking about what could or should happen in the future. Students reflect on the effectiveness of their inquiry, how their thinking is different to that of others and how it has changed as a result of their learning.

Year 7 Unit: Why People Live where they do?

This unit focuses on investigating the reasons why people decide to live where they do, at a variety of scales and in the context of the environmental, economic, social and other factors that might influence decision making. The ability to choose where to live is not always available to people and it should be recognised that the unequal distributions and concentrations of populations has consequences. There is a specified focus on Australia, Asia and South America at particular points in the unit.


Thanks to the generosity of the Victory Harbor Primary School students and teachers in giving permission for their teaching materials and reflections to be part of this blog. In particular thanks to Adrian Camac, the lead teacher for the trial at Victor Harbor Primary School.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Socratic Circles for creative thinking

 Socrates 470/469 – 399 BC) was a classical Greek (Athenian) philosopher.

Socrates quotes: starting to think!


A request from the Primary Years tutorial - Socratic Circles to enhance creative/critical thinking

A Socratic Circle (also known as a Socratic Seminar) is a pedagogical approach based on the Socratic method and uses a dialogic approach to understand information in a text. Its systematic procedure is used to examine a text through questions and answers founded on the beliefs that all new knowledge is connected to prior knowledge, that all thinking comes from asking questions, and that asking one question should lead to asking further questions.A Socratic Circle is not a debate. The goal of this activity is to have participants work together to construct meaning and arrive at an answer, not for one student or one group to “win the argument”
Teachers use Socratic Circles in different ways. The structure it takes may look different in each classroom. While this is not an exhaustive list, teachers may use one of the following structures to administer Socratic Seminar:

  1. Inner/Outer Circle or Fishbowl: Students need to be arranged in inner and outer circles. The inner circle engages in discussion about the text. The outer circle observes the inner circle, while taking notes. The outer circle shares their observations and questions the inner circle with guidance from the teacher/facilitator. Students use constructive criticism as opposed to making judgements. The students on the outside keep track of topics they would like to discuss as part of the debrief. Participants of the outer circle can use an observation checklist or notes form to monitor the participants in the inner circle. These tools will provide structure for listening and give the outside members specific details to discuss later in the seminar.[The teacher may also sit in the circle but at the same height as the students.
  2. Triad: Students are arranged so that each participant (called a “pilot”) in the inner circle has two “co-pilots” sitting behind them on either side. Pilots are the speakers because they are in the inner circle; co-pilots are in the outer circle and only speak during consultation. The seminar proceeds as any other seminar. At a point in the seminar, the facilitator pauses the discussion and instructs the triad to talk to each other. Conversation will be about topics that need more in-depth discussion or a question posed by the leader. Sometimes triads will be asked by the facilitator to come up with a new question. Any time during a triad conversation, group members can switch seats and one of the co-pilots can sit in the pilot’s seat. Only during that time is the switching of seats allowed. This structure allows for students to speak, who may not yet have the confidence to speak in the large group. This type of seminar involves all students instead of just the students in the inner and outer circles. 
  3. Simultaneous Seminars: Students are arranged in multiple small groups and placed as far as possible from each other. Following the guidelines of the Socratic Seminar, students engage in small group discussions. Simultaneous seminars are typically done with experienced students who need little guidance and can engage in a discussion without assistance from a teacher/facilitator. According to the literature, this type of seminar is beneficial for teachers who want students to explore a variety of texts around a main issue or topic. Each small group may have a different text to read/view and discuss. A larger Socratic Seminar can then occur as a discussion about how each text corresponds with one another. Simultaneous Seminars can also be used for a particularly difficult text. Students can work through different issues and key passages from the text.
No matter what structure the teacher employs, the basic premise of the seminar/circles is to turn partial control and direction of the classroom over to the students. The seminars encourage students to work together, creating meaning from the text and to stay away from trying to find a correct interpretation. The emphasis is on critical and creative thinking.


 These Youtubes give further insight to theuse of socratic circles in the primary classroom





http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Practically-Primary/259841817.html

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Geography follow-up work Middle Years Curriculum Specialisation (3531)



Related sites to Humsteach blog 
Spatialworlds
Australian Curriculum Portal
GeogSpace
AC History Units
Geogaction
DECD Learning Resources for Australian Curriculum
DECD Achievement Standards Charts 
Australian Geography Teachers' Association website

Geography Teachers Association of South Australia
History Teachers Association of South Australia
History Teachers Association of Australia

Scoop.it 

malcolm.mcinerney@flinders.edu.au 


A posting for the Middle Years Curriculum Specialisation (3531)

Hi all

Thanks for a great discussion on the Australian Curriculum: Geography today. Here is the promised follow-up work for you to have a look at before next Thursday.

Today's PowerPoint is on FLO for you to go through at your own pace.

Here are the key links for you to explore re: Australian Curriculum: Geography

* Australian Curriculum Portal to view the curriculum

* GeogSpace for the exemplars and professional learning to support the teaching of the 
Australian Curriculum: Geography


* The DECD resources to support pedagogy when teaching the Australian Curriculum: Geography


If you want to play more with the sites we looked at today, the links are:

* BBC Planet Explorer

* Public Profiler - mapping your name!
 
* Plane Finder

* Gapminder 

 Enjoy - next week History!
 

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Having fun with learning
















Images above: Students at Nuriootpa Primary School having fun.

Related sites to Humsteach blog 
Spatialworlds
Australian Curriculum Portal
GeogSpace
AC History Units
Geogaction
DECD Learning Resources for Australian Curriculum
DECD Achievement Standards Charts 
Australian Geography Teachers' Association website

Geography Teachers Association of South Australia
History Teachers Association of South Australia
History Teachers Association of Australia 

Scoop.it 

malcolm.mcinerney@flinders.edu.au 


Link to the Critical and Creative Lecture on 24 March, 2015


Using games in humanities

Understanding play is critical to understanding learning
Play is the basis for cultivating imagination and innovation
Seely and Brown

So what about this play thing? For many educators play is recognized as a critical tool for children. They consider that through play they come to understand, experience, and know the world. However as we get older (and the teaching force fits into this category), play is seen as unimportant, trivial, or as a means of relaxation and learning switches to something you do in school where now you are taught.

“What we fail to fully grasp is that play is the way that children manage new, unexpected and changing conditions, exactly the situation we now all face in the fast-paced world of the 21st century. Play is more than a tool to manage change; it allows us to make new things familiar, to perfect new skills, to experiment with moves and crucially to embrace change —a key disposition for succeeding in the 21st century.”

Seely and Brown believe play as part of a new culture of learning does the above in four ways:
1) By thinking about the problem as a crisis in learning rather than teaching
2) By looking at the incredible power of new cultures of learning that are happening already and understanding what makes them successful
3) By tapping new resources: peer to peer learning, amplified by the power of the collective, which favors things like questing dispositions over transfer models of education and embraces play as a modality of exploration, experimentation, and engagement.
4) By understanding how to optimize the resources (and freedom) of large networks, while at the same time affording personal and individual agency constrained within a problem space created by a bounded learning environment.
Play provides freedom to act in new ways which are different from "everyday life" within a set of rules that constrain that freedom. Think of any game a kid creates of make-believe. It is both fantasy and it has to have rules (which may be arbitrary and even ridiculous), but what it results in is a world of imagination and something entirely new and innovative.


In short, play cultivates imagination and innovation, two capacities critical for individuals to function and be successful in the 21st Century.

Such consideration of play brings me to the idea of games and game-type activities (simulations, quizzes, puzzles etc) in the geography classroom. Here is just a selection of free game type activities/resources available on-line which could and in the view of Seely and Brown should be embraced by the geography classroom.

Fun is OK!

Test your knowledge of world geography
http://www.geosense.net/

Games for Change curates digital and non-digital games that engage contemporary social issues in a meaningful way. These games have been created by cross-disciplinary teams from around the world.

Ideas to inspire: Online Geography Gaming: This site contains links and background to hundreds of online games and simulations for use in the geography classroom. The site also has ideas and links to ICT and on-line collaboration tools. An amazing one-stop shop for teachers to incorporate games and fun into the classroom for students to learn.

Here is a selection from the excellent Ideas to inspire site (28 out of the 102 profiled on the site)

Electrocity

Stop disasters

3rd World farmer

Sim sweatshop

Darfur is dying

McDonalds game

My Sus House

My abodo

Flood Sim

Google Flight Sim

Sporcle: Place based games

Place games and quizzes

Classic Sim City

Oil and extraction

Free poverty

Global rich

Trans Aid: transport issues and aid

Refugees: Against all odds

Climate change Pentathlon

Food force: Humanitarian food game

*Race against global poverty

Climate challenge

Earthquake: make a quake

Urban plan

*Environmental quiz game

Shipping

Virtual volcano

Map Zone games

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Inquiry is not just go find out kids!!

Poll Everywhere voting log-in

on a device https://www.polleverywhere.com/mal2013

via text  Text MAL2013 to +61429883481

The questions are: 

On the ‘teller’/Inquiry spectrum I am …

To be successful Inquiry needs to be ...

What are the stages of Inquiry in the Australian Curriculum: Geography?
  
What are the stages of Inquiry in the Australian Curriculum: History?

What are the advantages for learning of the Inquiry approach?

What are some of the issues to keep in mind when planning an inquiry approach?

I think there is far too much emphasis on inquiry approaches in the classroom

Inquiry does not necessarily improve learning.

Why can it be said that Inquiry has the potential to be abused in the classroom.






Related sites to Humsteach blog 
Spatialworlds
Australian Curriculum Portal
GeogSpace
AC History Units
Geogaction
DECD Learning Resources for Australian Curriculum
DECD Achievement Standards Charts 
Australian Geography Teachers' Association website

Geography Teachers Association of South Australia
History Teachers Association of South Australia
History Teachers Association of Australia

Scoop.it 

malcolm.mcinerney@flinders.edu.au 


 Teacher support for inquiry

In viewing numerous classroom scenarios on inquiry, we see the principle of inductive reasoning at the center of the teacher’s approach. Students begin with a source – a cup or a dress and their thinking and reasoning is guided to begin firstly with the particular and then branching out to the more general.

Inductive reasoning means restricting oneself to sources and then formulating statements based on them. Sources are used as a starting point to inquiry, - further research will hopefully result from this activity. The kind of research the students will be carrying out will be inductive as they will be establishing facts directly referred to by the sources and they will be making inferences from the sources they are working with and researching further.

Principle number 1. Start with the particular, move out to the general. Otherwise the opposite of this is deductive reasoning which consists in passing from the ‘the universal’ to ‘the particular’. It is less likely that a primary school student will know how to draw conclusions from certain general truths.

The second principle that underpins this type of inquiry is active, student centred learning – but well supported and scaffolded by the teacher. It’s what Webster calls “light assistance”. Pedagogically speaking the approach is robust – it sits very much within a context of social constructivism. The interaction between you and the student is crucial even though you may think this approach is all about handing over responsibility for learning to the student. Yes, that’s partly true. Good inquiry methodology results in the interaction between adult and student guiding student thinking (From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side). Teachers have a vital role to play developing effective inquiry learning which includes initiating good questions to research and to analyse and to come up with reasoned meaningful conclusions. By promoting active learning – that is not just doing but thinking-- in classrooms the learning outcomes are more likely to become intellectually embedded says Hutchings, “what we discover, we retain”

The third principle underpinning inquiry learning is the use of open ended questioning, resulting in deep levels of engagement with problems that are likely to be multifaceted and complex. Its nature is exploratory (Hutchings, 2007). Hutchings says that the core of inquiry is the question and it is in the formulation and ‘or the analysis of that question that the important initial intellectual activity takes place. Philosophically it is a Socratic based activity - Socratic perception that our knowledge is formed by questions.

Students participate in acts of discovery, grappling with different ways of looking at ideas and issues and thinking creatively about problems that do not necessarily have simple answers.

The 'Instructional Strategies online' site succinctly sums up inquiry methodology when it says:

Using inquiry, students become actively involved in the learning process as they:

* act upon their curiosity and interests;
* develop questions;
* think their way through controversies or dilemmas;
* look at problems analytically;
* inquire into their preconceptions and what they already know;
* develop, clarify, and test hypotheses; and,
* draw inferences and generate possible solutions.

Inquiring, not telling


Related sites to Humsteach blog 
Spatialworlds
Australian Curriculum Portal
GeogSpace
AC History Units
Geogaction
DECD Learning Resources for Australian Curriculum
DECD Achievement Standards Charts 
Australian Geography Teachers' Association website

Geography Teachers Association of South Australia
History Teachers Association of South Australia
History Teachers Association of Australia

Scoop.it 

malcolm.mcinerney@flinders.edu.au 


Spatialworlds posting on inquiring to read
 
 * Inquiring about inquiry with the Australian Curriculum: Geography.


Back to the future with inquiry questions



It is more than telling!

Inquiry (in UK they talk about enquiry) is a word that is frequently thrown around when 21st Century curriculum is being developed.

The thinking is that students will be more connected to their learning and engaged to explore if they are stimulated to think via a range of inquiry questions on a topic/area of study:

"Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand." Joe Exline

Inquiry implies involvement that leads to understanding. Furthermore, involvement in learning implies possessing skills and attitudes that enable students to seek resolutions to questions and issues while constructing new knowledge. Useful application of inquiry learning involves several factors: a context for questions, a framework for questions, a focus for questions, and different levels of questions.

Inquiry Based Learning has fast become an accepted way for curriculum to be written, with student exploration, engagement and empowerment seen as positive outcomes.

However there needs to be a caveat to the use of Inquiry Based Learning in the curriculum. It is not a stand-alone approach but rather an approach which relies on an infrastructure of skills, thinking and foundation knowledge to ensure that the inquiry has rigour, veracity and sound conceptual understandings – it needs to be informed inquiry and not just ‘off-the top of the head emoting’ or ramblings based on minimal or uninformed, if not biased sources.

There is a potential for Inquiry Based Learning to be mis-used and abused by teachers without the skills, knowledge or understanding themselves on a particular geographical topic. To avoid such mis-use, the January 2011 Australian Curriculum shape paper for geography (page 21) attempted to develop a geography orientated inquiry process with rigour.

‘Geographical inquiry refers to the methodologies that geographers use to find new knowledge, or knowledge that is new to them, and the ways that they attempt to understand and explain what they have observed’

Naturally technology has a huge part to play in the development of a rigorous and valid inquiry methodology in the humanities. http://www.edutopia.org/lesson-planning-inquiry-modeling