Albany Senior High School/Curriculum plans/Geography

Curriculum Plan for Geography.

Vision

In Travel and Tourism young adults will increases their knowledge about the opportunities and economic significance of the tourism industry. They will also improve their knowledge of local, national and international tourist destinations and impacts of tourism on these destinations. Students will develop personal skills and confidence to be able to present themselves.

The subject aims to nurture a desire to travel, appreciation for and awe about the diverse people and physical regions of the world, both natural and cultural. A desire to engage in travel or work in the industry will indicate success in the subject.

In Geography students will be encouraged to regard themselves as global citizens and guardians of the earth. This will be promoted through an appreciation of, knowledge and understanding of the earth as our home. A responsibility to both cultural and natural environments will be indicative of success.

Values

We will promote excellence in all we do through:

   * by a commitment to continual improvement of practice. By using formative assessment to set realistic, challenging targets for each student.
   * by engendering intrinsic motivation in students through ownership of the  subject material.
   * by maintaining high expectations based on individual best practice and targets for progression.
   * by keeping up with developments in the subject areas by regular reading of subject related material.
   * by participating in subject organizations
   * by incorporating current events and issues into subject material.

Fairness, openness, honesty and trust through:

   * by adopting a transparent approach to teaching and learning activities.
   * by providing ongoing feedback to students, parents and other interested parties.
   * by being approachable and responding to student queries and issues.
   * by maintaining a genuine, ongoing interest in students learning.

Learning together and making decisions together through:

   * a continuous process of shared target setting and clarifying ongoing needs for progress through discussion with students and parents.
   * supporting students as they master skill in the subject area.
   * by offering alternative ideas and contexts which support student problem solving skills.

Using evidence and reflection to make decisions through:

   * scheduled submission dates and feedback on assessment tasks.
   * facilitating a range of learning activities in order to develop individual study skills.

Delight in learning through:

   * being an autonomous, creative problem solver.
   * engaging in real world issues through discussion and a desire to find out more about current events.
   * appreciating the excitement of the earth and our local environment
   * through making a contribution to the sustainability and improvement of our society.

Participating in the local community and the world through:

   * through involvement with local, national and global agencies.
   * recognising their personal role in caring for their community. 

   * assessing information through the eyes of a global and local citizen ie what can I do to make a difference?

Caring for our environment through:

   * by stimulating an interest and awareness of environmental issues.
   * by developing positive attitudes towards taking care of our environment and becoming active in their environment and community.

Diversity that enriches our learning area through:

   * contributing towards the development of a strong cross curricular culture. 

   * recognising the contribution that students from a broad range of cultures can make towards the school community.
   * creating opportunities for students to develop organisational and  leadership skills.

Partnership with families through:

   * developing ongoing relations which will reinforce a strong culture of learning
   * being proactive in involving parents in the life of the school

The bicultural foundations of New Zealand through:

   * promoting and celebrating our shared values and our individual contributions

Expectations

How will we ensure students: Know what they are learning and why?

   * by providing explicit learning targets at the beginning of the lesson.

   * by putting learning into the context of long term targets for personal and academic success using split screening.

Connect learning to real life situations?

   * by offering opportunities for students to solve problems.
   * by using local environments as case studies
   * by offering opportunities for students to engage with communities.

Have multiple opportunities to build on existing knowledge?

   * by approaching learning topics from a range of perspectives
   * by reviewing existing knowledge and adding to it. 

Examine and use new knowledge?

   * take care to ensure that learning is constructed so that prior knowledge is not assumed.
   * develop study habits based on inquiry, students develop individual skills of research and analysis.
   * select new knowledge which can be used as a working tool to aid problem solving.

Have time to reflect on their learning?

   * provide structured opportunities for students to think about the value of learning methods and the quality of information collected, post research evaluation.
   * allow students to formulate learning goals.

Key competencies

How will we develop each of the key competencies in the learning area? How will we promote the split screen? These are a means and an end.

Thinking: * Students will learn skills of critical analysis in order to justify decisions in relation to context and issue. * Being intellectually curious * Making connections with other learning areas and with real life situations * Identifying perspectives and questioning these for understanding. * Generating a range of alternative courses of action and critically evaluating these. . Using language, symbols and texts: * Students will develop subject specific vocabulary and show evidence of appropriate use of concepts. * Students will learn to use appropriate graphs to represent statistical data and graphic organisers to present information. * Interpreting and using the map symbols and conventions and codes. * Close reading for deeper meaning and understanding * Using ICTs to effectively communicate and present ideas and knowledge. Managing self. * Students will plan and carry out individual research, organise work schedules and meet deadlines. * Setting personal goals (academic and personal) and monitoring progress on these * Taking responsibility for own learning and behaviour eg staying on task and completing work. * Effective time management and planning eg meeting deadlines * Regular reflection on individual learning practice and utilisation of this self-assessment to enhance learning and skills eg identifying need for expert assistance etc. Relating to others * Students will negotiate and work collaboratively with their peers. * Sharing knowledge and responsibility, constructively engaging as a group member through active listening and involvement. * Recognising different viewpoints and understanding the importance of respect for alternate perspectives. * Being prepared to negotiate in group situations * Behaving appropriately in cooperative situations. Participating and contributing. * Students will develop a responsible approach to the sharing of knowledge and idea relating to global and local issues. * Participating in discussion in different contexts, class, groups and presentations etc. * Actively and constructively contributing to group activities and goals. * Creating opportunities for, and supporting others in their learning * Awareness of self as a constructive member of different communities. Curriculum design What do we want our students to learn and/or develop?  As per Student Course Handout; * Level 1 Geography * Level 3 Geography * Level 2 Travel and Tourism * Level 3 travel and Tourism Quality assurance * all teachers are to be familiar with and apply ASHS Assessment guidelines (see NZAQ Teachers’ Handbook) * teachers are to refer to and use current versions of standards, assessment specifications and moderators' and markers' reports * early in the year provide students with a year plan for this subject and assessment dates * follow ASHS guidelines on moderation, resubmission and reassessment * valid assessment activities match the objectives and criteria of the standard being assessed. * copies of moderated work which have been verified and levelled must be stored. * Tasks will be guided by NCEA requirements for assessment as described. * Workable and effective moderation. * Moderation to be kept up to date, requirements at the end of each term to be consistent. * All assessment tasks and schedules must be taken from the current version of NZQA achievement standards. Self review * setting targets for improvement or targets for new learning. * achievement data - NCEA and ASHS achievement data as indicator of course effectiveness, individual student progression and identification of learning support needs * monitoring of national NCEA statistics and comparison with ASHS student results * online course evaluations (at ends of units/semesters) by students to assist future planning/effectiveness of courses * discussion with tutors, ESOL, parents, other teachers to identify learning needs * utilise teacher observation to profile and identify students at risk of falling behind and to gather data for future modification of programmes * ongoing course support and appraisal using external agencies such as Team Solutions and subject associations and course providers * exemplars of student work photocopied for future reference also photographic evidence, video evidence.