Why do we teach Geography?

Students need to understand the world around them, in both a local and global sense. All of us make a mark on where we live, and where we live leaves its mark on us. One of the more important issues students learn about in Geography is their effects on the environment and how to minimize negative effects. Students also learn about and compare different places and societies around the world. This helps them to understand the inequalities that exist and hopefully enable them to become responsible citizens of the world.

Teaching for every student

Students learn to use geographical skills to find out about:

1. A wide range of people, places and environments at different scales around the world.
2. Patterns in natural and human environments and what causes them (for example, why different kinds of housing are found in different parts of cities; why it rains more in Malaysia than in the UK).
3. How environments change, and ways in which they can be looked after and managed sustainably.

Countries

Students study a range of both economically developed countries and less economically developed countries and make links between places in the world.

Themes

Students study the following themes:

1. Weather and climate - the difference between them, and how and why they differ from place to place
2. Ecosystems - the different conditions that allow different types of plants and animals to live in harmony together, and how people can upset that balance
3. Population and migration – causes and consequences and the development of shanty towns
4. Development - how places develop and how this affects the people who live there
5. Environmental issues - the ways in which environments may be damaged or improved, and how people try to manage them in a sustainable manner
6. Climate change – how global warming is threatening our environment and how we can become global citizens
7. Tectonic processes - how and why earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur, and how they affect landscapes and people
8. Geomorphological processes - the effects of water and waves on landscapes, as well as the causes and effects of hazards such as floods and hurricanes.
9. Tourism – how the development of tourism can create employment and wealth but it also causes problems for people and spoils the environment.

Students learn about these themes at different scales - local, regional, national, international and global - and in different parts of the world. They carry out fieldwork investigations outside the classroom (for example, how does the Central Business District of Kuala Lumpur compare to Seri Kembangan.) To support their study, students collect and record data, present and analyse the geographical information, make evaluations and draw conclusions. This enquiry approach helps to develop independent enquirers, reflective learners, team workers and creative thinkers. Students learn how to use a range of resources, including satellite images, aerial photographs and information from the internet.

Staffing: History Department

Curriculum Organization

Targets for every student

At the end of each year, students will have acquired particular knowledge and skills, as follows:

Year 7:

1. basic skills of Geography – including atlas and Ordnance Survey mapwork skills, interpretation of photographs, diagrams and maps
2. the causes of tourism, the impact it has on environments and the need for careful planning and management so tourism can be made sustainable
3. through a study of earthquakes and volcanoes, students learn:
1. how movements in the earth’s crust can cause both volcanic eruptions and earthquakes
2. to describe and explain the social, economic and environmental impact of such hazards
4. the basic processes of weather and climate and how extreme weather affects people’s lives.

Year 8:

1. how natural and human processes lead to changes in places, through a study of the water cycle and flooding in Bangladesh
2. how the sea shapes coastal features and how coastal erosion can be reduced.
3. through a fieldwork investigation, students learn:
1. How to collect, present and analyse data.
4. through a study of global fashion, students learn:
   
5. how globalisation affects them and the arguments for and against it.

Year 9:

What development means, Third World debt, fair trade and sustainable aid schemes to provide a better life for people living in poorer countries

• through studies of population and migration, students learn that the world’s population is unevenly distributed and the reasons why population is increasing; the causes and consequences of migration
• the causes and consequences of climatic change
• through a study of ecosystems, students learn to appreciate the different types of vegetation and wildlife found across the earth’s surface, the need for careful management and the importance of sustained use.

Other Information

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