WJEC ASA Level Geography Preparing for the New Specification RGS Chesterfield INSET Wednesday 23rd J

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WJEC AS/A Level GeographyPreparing for the New
Specification RGS Chesterfield INSET
Wednesday 23rd January 2008Raye Scott
Subject Officer Geography and World Development
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What does the new Geography specification offer?

• For teachers we offer
• Clear specification structure and teachers guide
  and online teaching materials
• Choices for teaching contemporary themes
• Opportunities to vary teaching strategies
• Clear assessment criteria
• Accessible specialist advice and guidance from
  approachable WJEC staff
• Quality of INSET free professional development
• Reliability of examining

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What does the new Geography specification offer?

• For students we offer
• Choice and flexibility for independent research
  and out-of classroom work
• Relevance of study to their everyday lives
• A clear picture of their place in a dynamic and
  interdependent world
• Opportunities to develop their own attitudes and
  values and the skills needed to become
  responsible and knowledgeable citizens

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Overview of the specification
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AS UnitsAn emphasis on dynamic systems of change
in physical and human environments
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Unit G1 Changing Physical Environments

• Content
• Two Themes
• Investigating climate change
• Investigating tectonic and hydrological change
• Assessment
• Three compulsory structured questions, one of
  which tests research/fieldwork

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Unit G2 Changing Human Environments

• Content
• Two Themes
• Investigating population change
• Investigating settlement change
• Assessment
• Three compulsory structured questions, one of
  which tests research/fieldwork

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A2 UnitsOptional choices from contemporary
themesA wide choice of themes for individual
researchA reflection on sustainable futures
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Unit G3 Contemporary Themes and Research in
Geography

• Content
• Section A
• Two Themes from
• Extreme Environments Desert and Tundra
• Landforms and their management either Glaciers
  or Coasts
• Climatic hazards
• Development
• Globalisation
• Emerging Asia China or India
• Assessment
• Two essay questions, one of which tests the
  chosen
• physical theme and one which tests the chosen
  human
• theme

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Unit G3 Contemporary Themes and Research in
Geography

• Content
• Section B
• One Research Theme from
• Geography of Crime
• Deprivation
• Geography of Disease
• Environmental Psychology
• Leisure and Recreation
• Microclimates
• Atmospheric and Water PollutionGeography of
  Retailing
• Rivers
• Small-scale Ecosystems
• Assessment
• One two-part essay question

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Unit G4Sustainability

• Content
• Four Themes
• Sustainable Food Supply
• Sustainable Water Supply
• Sustainable Energy
• Sustainable Cities
• Assessment
• Pre release material in December and May
  prior to the examination for a structured
  Decision-Making Exercise

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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS
Theme 1 Investigating Climatic Change
Two themes
Theme 2 Investigating Tectonic and Hydrological
Change
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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

• Theme 1 Investigating Climatic Change
• Thrust of the unit is to provide students
• with a knowledge and understanding of the
• following elements of climate change
• Temporal patterns of change
• Evidence for change
• Causes of change
• Impacts of change
• Strategies to address change

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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

• What are the worlds major climates
• and how do they relate to biomes?

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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS
This is an introductory section that is designed
to provide basic background knowledge rather than
detailed analytical explanation
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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

• What are the temporal patterns of climate
• change?

Climate change is not a recent phenomenon and has
occurred in cycles in the past.
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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS
Students should display knowledge of the cyclic
nature of climatic change over both the long term
and short term.
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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

• In the past climate change has had an impact on
  people

http//whc.unesco.org/documents/publi_climatechang
e.pdf
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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS
What are the causes of climate change

• Students should gain knowledge of the evidence
  used to
• demonstrate climate change

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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS
Early arrival of butterflies demonstrates impact
of climate change By Michael McCarthy,
Environment Editor Published 22 May 2007
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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

• Understand the mechanisms that result
• in climate change - human

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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

• Understand the mechanisms that result in climate
• change - physical

eobglossary.gsfc.nasa.gov/Study/Volcano/
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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

• What are the issues resulting from climate
  change?
• Students should examine the consequences of
  climate change

Red areas in this image of southern Florida show
locales susceptible to a five-meter rise of sea
level. Yellow areas denote urban locations.
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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS
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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

• Students should also show understanding of the
  impacts of climatic
• change on human activity and society. This could
  include impacts on
• economic, demographic and social features.

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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

• There are trees and lawns in Nome (Alaska) now,
  said Patricia Cochran, chair of the Inuit
  Circumpolar Council.
• I never thought Id see trees growing on the
  tundra, Cochran said about her hometown, which
  lies on the Bering Sea and was once too cold for
  trees to grow.
• Beavers are overrunning the area now that there
  is food for them. They are even in Barrow, north
  of the Arctic Circle, she told IPS from her
  office in Anchorage.

http//www.countercurrents.org/leahy071007.htm
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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

• Students could gain more by an overview of
• variations due to economic development, location
• and physical characteristics of an area.

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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

• What strategies can be used to address climate
  change

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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS
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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS
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UNIT 1 CHANGING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

• How successful have strategies been in tackling
• climate change?
• A critical review of the strategies

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ASSESSMENT
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ASSESSMENT

• Guiding factors
• Assessment Objectives set by QCA
• Specification content
• Provide opportunities for the candidates to show
  what they know and understand.
• Open questions
• Simplicity of structure
• Choice where appropriate

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ASSESSMENT
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ASSESSMENT
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ASSESSMENT
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ASSESSMENT
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ASSESSMENT

• Find a resource that allows the application of a
• skill use of maps

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ASSESSMENT

• Use the resource to describe
• Changes in the distribution of beech
• and oak in Japan.
• Recognition of changes.
• Development using the resource

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ASSESSMENT

• b) Outline the two potential impacts of
• rising sea levels on people.
• Allows candidates to choose the areas with which
  they are more confident .
• Limits the amount they have to recall and allows
  better candidates to develop knowledge and
  understanding in depth.
• Allows the use of exemplar material form
  different areas.
• Allows candidates to choose which impacts they
  want social, demographic or economic.
• Potential allows future impacts that may have
  been studied.

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ASSESSMENT

• Looking for
• Knowledge and understanding
• Address the question
• Structuring of answer
• Use of examples
• Application of knowledge if sea level rises
  then .............
• Precision not generalised
• Use of diagrams where appropriate
• Balance
• QWE

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ASSESSMENT

• c) Discuss the success of strategies
• used to address climate change by
• either
• international bodies
• or
• pressure groups and individuals

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ASSESSMENT

• Looking for
• Knowledge and understanding
• Address the question
• Discussion/evaluation
• Structuring of answer
• Use of examples
• Application of knowledge
• Precision not generalised
• Use of diagrams where appropriate
• Balance
• QWE

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ASSESSMENT

• Compare the flood hydrographs shown in the
  resource.
• Looking for
• Comparison comments
• Use of resource detail from the data

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ASSESSMENT

• b) Outline the information you would collect, and
  how you would collect it, for an investigation
  into the variation of land uses between two small
  adjacent drainage basins.
• Looking for
• Data to be collected
• Sampling techniques
• Data sources
• Data collection sheets
• These are possible approaches

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ASSESSMENT

• c) Outline the methods used to present data for
  an investigation into changing physical
  environments that you have completed.
• Looking for
• Knowledge of methods
• Appropriate use of the methods
• Evaluation may be a feature of better answers

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For further information, please contact the
subject officer at the WJEC

• Raye Scott
• 245 Western Avenue
• Cardiff
• CF5 2YX
• raye.scott_at_wjec.co.uk