GEOG504 (NET)
Geographies of Education
30 points

Lecturers: A.Prof L ex Chalmers and Paul Keown
Emails: lex@waikato.ac.nz and paulk@waikato.ac.nz

Paper description

This course deals with issues in geographical education across the curriculum, from primary to tertiary levels. It explores the changes that have occurred in Aotearoa/New Zealand, and maps these against international commentaries on the evolution and status of geography as an area of applied and theoretical endeavour. 

There are four pieces of assessed work in the course, and at least one of these is based on multiple submissions through Moodle. Moodle is the University’s on-line teaching facility. Moodle allows those registered for this course to work in distance education mode (on or off campus), and at times to fit their timetable. Those enrolled in the course are encouraged to select their own focus for project work.  Topics selected in the past include feminist geographies, the place of sport in geographical education, contemporary practice in Maori and Samoan geographical education, the prospect of constructivist geographical education and the politics and role of GIS in geographical education.

The course may be taken for BSocSc (Hons), as part of an MEd degree or as an IPS. Components of the course are also offered as part of a professional development package offered through the School of Education.

Paper Objectives

This paper targets four significant learning outcomes in geographical education:

1. Experience with an Internet-based learning environment that focuses on creating a community of learners (including life-long learners). The ability to comment critically and constructively on the work of community members is an important part of this environment. From widely distributed locations, those enrolled in the Geographies of Education paper become part of a community discussing contemporary issues in New Zealand education.
2. Longer-term, active participation in the post-compulsory geography curriculum process (Curriculum/Marautanga Project) is an intended outcome of the community of learners' experience. Participation will be based on a professional development experience with current commentaries on curriculum development in New Zealand.
3. Those completing the paper will develop skills in using an international,  on-line bibliographic database (ERIC) to support research at the graduate level.  This learning outcome is directed towards enriching the content base for teaching and learning geography. Members of the community work on teaching and learning in topics like geographies of the Amazon basin, cartography, Maori geographies or field work in geography.
4. Developing a full range of skills in the preparation of graduate-level working papers that identify and comment on issues in geographical education. The intended learning outcome includes the capacity to conduct research at the masters thesis level.

Assessment

Internal assessment/examination ratio:  1:0

Timetable and Organisation:

Refer to the Online Timetable.