A blog providing ideas and resources for those teachers hoping to teach the new GCSE Specification, first announced in April 2022. Draft subject content released for consultation in June 2026 - for first teaching from 2028 or 2029.
I love this image of tadpoles which has been chosen as the winner at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards. It's a reminder that the winning entry hasn't got to be some obscure exotic animal shot in the Himalayas after months of lying in wait...
The composition is superb and the arrays of tadpoles seem to have been posing. A bit Klimtish too....
Details:
A snapshot of wriggling toad tadpoles has earned Shane Gross the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Beneath a floating canopy of lily pads in Cedar Lake, Canada, a swarm of western toad tadpoles glided gracefully through the water.
“To me, the most fun that I can have, the thing that lights me up inside, is to see something new and try to photograph it in the best way I possibly can,” Shane told BBC News.
His careful movements through the delicate layer of silt and algae at the lake’s bottom ensured a clear view.
“I had no idea if I had anything good at all until I got home," he said. "But when I finally looked, I was like, wow, this is pretty cool.”
Tidal pools on wave cut platforms are a wonderful location for young people to encounter a variety of wildlife which is waiting... waiting for the tide to return usually.
They are windows into a marine world, where creatures are surviving or thriving, feeding, hunting and occupying their niche.
Adam Nicolson's book 'The Sea is not made of water' describes the time when British people became fascinated with such places, during the Victorian period in the 1850s. Philip Henry Gosse, who helped raise public interest in such places described them as 'unruffled wells' and reflected earlier calmer times. We still go to the seaside for peace and reflection.
The intertidal zone is an area which will hopefully receive some attention in the specification when it finally emerges.
Tidal pools would also make an excellent location for fieldwork for those near the sea, and to also practise identification using an appropriate key, and to consider the impact of daily inundations at high tide on these little ecosystems.
There's also a Rush song which references these locations called 'Natural Science', which is of course nicely connected with the theme of Natural History.
Image: Robin Hood's Bay - shared by Alan Parkinson on Flickr under CC license
An appreciation of animal dung may be one thing that those following the GCSE Natural History have to develop. It is a particularly good method of identifying certain speces of animal. It is also a source of nutrient - in some areas such as the tundra, animal burrows can often be located by looking for clumps of flowers in the short Arctic summers.
There are going to be quite a few of these which will be of interest to those teaching GCSE Natural History and we will be producing a list of apps: one for Android and one for iPhone.
It is the result of work by Jake Fiennes and others and is kindly shared on the webpage linked to above. All country estates require careful management, and some have the extra dynamic of large numbers of visitors to manage.
The place for biodiversity depends on the decisions made by landowners and Jake has been very transparent about the way that he leaves space for nature and his book which I have a copy of: 'Land Healer' tells the full picture.
Havell, Robert, 1769-1832, A series of picturesque views of noblemen's & gentlemen's seats : with historical and descriptive accounts of each subject / , London : Published July 1, 1823 by R. Havell, Chapel Strt. Tottenham Cout Road, 1823..
Jake Fiennes is the Director of Conservation for the Holkham Estate at the moment, and I have posted separately on the blog about his book 'Land Healer'
Coastal Processes and Management – discover the impact of coastal processes has on landscape at Wells and Holkham. Learn what Shoreline Management Plans are in place and at what cost. What does the future have in store?
Stiffkey River Study – access the River Stiffkey safely and conduct fieldwork techniques to discover how fluvial processes affect velocity, depth, wetted perimeter and gradient.
Sand Dune Succession – undertake practical fieldwork collecting both abiotic and biotic data of an example of Primary Succession along a transect from embryo dunes into the pine woodland. Measurements include slope gradient, soil analysis, species diversity and abundance.
Conservation Management – with nearly a million visitors a year, how do we manage Holkham National Nature Reserve? Learn how higher level stewardship and tourism fund this unique work, protecting wildlife for future generations.
Business, Leisure and Tourism – tourism now accounts for over 70% of the estate’s income. Take a look at the operational side of the business, Holkham Enterprises, which hosts 200,000 visitors to the park each year. Marketing, catering, event management, customer service and retail are all key to this diversification success.
It's important that those who are planning on teaching the new specification start to look for examples of managing the landscape like this.
A new arrival this month was this chunky new book by Jeremy Mynott which promises to explore the story of mankind's changing relationship with nature.
This would seem to offer a scholarly perspective on many of the original ideas that underpinned the draft specification, and which I hope end up being in the final version.
I have made a start and am mightily impressed so far.
It has made me reconsider the reasons why cave paintings were made, and the way that domesticating animals changed our relationship with certain animals.
We are preparing to submit evidence and support the consultation for the new curriculum review to discuss what we hope to see in a future curriculum with respect to the geography entitlement and the nature of what is studied. This will involve us discussing and consulting with the many stakeholders the RGS has.
There will also be some who want to ensure that there is space for the GCSE Natural History in the curriculum mix of course.
This report, chaired by Charles Clarke, and created by OCR takes a look at the curriculum and assessment ahead of the forthcoming Francis review.
I had a look at the document as part of my work preparing for the RGS's support for teachers and gathering their views.
A review of the 11-16 Curriculum and Assessment, chaired by former Education Secretary Charles Clarke.
I've been fortunate to work on a few things linked with OCR's work over the years, and serve on their Consultative Forums for both Geography and Natural History.
This is one of several documents currently being explored as part of the work we are doing at the RGS on the Education Committee. It was produced after extensive involvement of stakeholders and 2000 young people.
Main findings (from OCR website):
The report’s recommendations include calls to:
Reduce the number of assessments used at GCSE, spread them out across the two years of key stage 4, and review the appropriate use of non-exam assessments
Reduce the content of the GCSE curriculum, allowing more time for the study of broader skills and competences
Introduce a benchmarking qualification, taken on screen, in maths and English to highlight gaps in students’ knowledge and provide structure to Key Stage 3
Redesign the English Language GCSE as a matter of urgency, and include a broader definition of English skills including media and spoken language
The report arrives as the current Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has commissioned a government review into curriculum and assessment, chaired by Professor Becky Francis.
OCR is sharing the report and key findings with Bridget Phillipson and Becky Francis.
The report has generated a great deal of positive reaction. Geoff Barton, Chair of the Independent Commission of Oracy in England, said: “This report provides an important, evidence-based agenda for the new government’s curriculum and assessment review, and provides a welcome opportunity to keep what’s good in our education system but improve what’s not good enough.”
A cross-posting from my GeoLibrary blog which has hundreds of books recommended and with some information about where they might be used, and why they deserve a shelf on the GeoLibrary.
The book follows one day, and the orbits they trace over the world. In between their routine jobs and exercise, we hear about them and their families and their thoughts as they stare down on the earth below - tracking the path of a super-typhoon with their privileged view of the world below.
There are some truly wonderful passages, and it's definitely a geography book.
The descriptions of each landscape and country as they appear are really beautiful.
The section here is part of a chapter - they are all very short and this helps you subdivide the book if you want to prolong the reading of it and savour each page - which looks at the point where the astronauts and cosmonauts realise that they can see the hand of people everywhere on the planet which is described as "a landscape of want" - something I've talked about before.
It also links with another story I've told many times before: Bill Anders, 'Earthrise' and the impact of the experience of being in space on those who have to literally come back down to Earth.
I've just finished it and it comes very highly recommended.
My copy was published by Vintage and purchased from Topping Books in Ely - support your local independent bookshops!
Paperback, 144pp
ISBN: 978-1529922936
UPDATE Congratulations to Samantha Harvey. This book was announced on the 12th of November as the winner of the Booker Prize 2024. There has been a lot of press coverage as a result and hopefully plenty of sales.
We've featured stamp issues connected with Natural History before, and there will undoubtedly be more in the years to come.. although you'll need a loan to afford them these days.
RIP the great artist Norman Ackroyd (1938-16.09.24): etcher-magician who conjured weather & light from metal & acid; his work constitutes one of the great visual records of this archipelago’s edges. We travelled together—& I made this programme with him: https://t.co/Y5licHxpcPpic.twitter.com/8bQDR95Fph
A recent report in The Guardian gave some information on the latest developments at the Natural History Museum, which has spent a lot of time and money overhauling its outside spaces recently.
It has announced plans to overhaul four galleries - including the iconic dinosaur exhibit - as they add a permanent display on “climate messaging”.
The Museum will raise £150 million to revamp their programming and join “a global mission to create 100 million advocates for the planet”.
The new exhibition, Fixing Our Broken Planet, will have the express aim of “nudging” visitors to change their behaviour.
The piece quotes the Director Doug Gurr:
Until recently, Gurr told the Guardian, the museum had seen itself as a “passive observer … our job was to collect, to conserve, to research, to display”.
“[Then] we stepped back a bit and said: ‘Well, hang on, if your subject matter is planet Earth and it’s under that much threat, you’ve got to do something about it. If you want the sporting analogy: how do you get off the sidelines and get on the pitch?”
In 2020 the museum declared a planetary emergency, and Gurr said the redevelopment was part of its continuing response. “The best contribution we can make is to create what we call ‘advocates for the planet’. And what that really means is: how do you inspire people at scale to care about nature and to care enough to want to do something about it?
“Of course, we still want people to have a brilliant, fun family day out. But if you can come out of that being a little bit more interested in nature and a little bit more aware of some of the challenges, you’re a bit more likely to want to do something about it.”
Image: Alan Parkinson, shared on Flickr under CC license
I've blogged about fungi resources previously, but here's an updated notification on the work of the Fungi Foundation.
The Fungi Foundation has made its free Mycological Curriculum resources available.
Are you a teacher or educator looking for ways to incorporate fungi into your classes? Remember, you can access all of our free educational resources through https://t.co/5M21YldI7E, including our free Mycological Curriculum available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese 🙌🏽 pic.twitter.com/FihwIGCWKI
They also have a film and course that you can watch when you enrol for free. Excellent support for those wanting to learn more about fungi, which one would expect to be included in any final draft specification - when it emerges....
Hopefully the final specification for the GCSE Natural History will follow up on the promise of the original draft thoughts of Mary Colwell and others. From the clues that I've seen at OCR Consultative Forum meetings and elsewhere, I'm not sure that all of the more interesting (to me) elements such as reference to art, literature and poetry will survive OFQUAL reviews.
One thing I hope stays is an exploration of how Natural History has been represented in art, and how that has changed - from prehistoric cave paintings to the iPad drawings of the Yorkshire Wolds through the seasons by David Hockney. Here's a really beautiful painting - I'll share more of these on the blog in the next year or so as things hopefully get back on track for an eventual launch.
'A City Garden', James McIntosh Patrick, oil on canvas, 1940.
A new(ish) resource which can be accessed and used by members of the Geographical Association. I am considering adding a section of this to my teaching this year.
Sycamore Gap is a significant landmark in Northumberland where three distinct features combined: a natural and dramatic dip in the physical landscape about halfway along the 80-mile run of Hadrian’s Wall, itself an ancient monument and reminder of the power of the Roman Empire, and until recently, a lone, 300-year-old Sycamore tree. The site has UNESCO designation and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Arguably, it will still be known as Sycamore Gap because of its story.
The tree has stood for hundreds of years, perfectly framed by the landscape, thrilling locals and visitors alike until it was deliberately cut down, under cover of darkness, sometime between the evening of 27 September 2023 and the following morning.
The loss of the tree has caused an outcry and reaction of public grief.
These materials are designed to help children think about some of the issues this story raises. What do they know about Sycamore Gap? Where is it? Have they been there? Why and how do certain landmarks hold such meaning? What is the cultural impact of this and other significant landmarks on our lives? Whose place is this? Who decides what happens here?
While these materials provide a relevant and current context for developing geographical substantive, disciplinary and procedural knowledge, they also model how you might investigate other landmarks with particular significance to your own local community and landscape and the emotions they engender in people.
Sycamore Gap 1: What’s the geography story? Sycamore Gap 2: What can images and maps tell us about landmarks? Sycamore Gap 3: Why can we see so many stars? Sycamore Gap 4: Changing views Sycamore Gap 5: How do we feel about it? Sycamore Gap 6: A Gap in the landscape Sycamore Gap 7: Why should we value trees? Sycamore Gap 8: What would be your ‘tree of the year’? Sycamore Gap 9: Change Sycamore Gap 10: How do we fill the Gap?
Thanks to Steve Rawlinson, Tessa Willy, Sharon Witt and Margaret Mackintosh for feedback, edits and ideas.
Given that the next stage of consultation on the curriculum and other statutory steps have not yet been taken and it's September 2024, first teaching from 2025 was not going to happen, but the date has apparently been changed on OCR's timeline, according to this Schools Week post.
