teaching - Earth Science Teachers' Association
teaching - Earth Science Teachers' Association
teaching - Earth Science Teachers' Association
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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 31 ● Number 4, 2006<br />
Inspiring the New Generation to Opt for<br />
A level Geology*<br />
PAUL DOUGLAS, KARL GRAY, CHRIS KING AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE ‘SELLING GEOLOGY’ WORKING GROUP<br />
‘How could you best inspire pupils lower down your school to think about taking Geology at<br />
A level?’ This is the question that was asked at the workshop for A level geology teachers held in<br />
Keele in May 2006. Here are some of our suggestions.<br />
Figure 1<br />
Annual Geology<br />
prize winner<br />
A display<br />
A great way of attracting students to geology is through<br />
display work. An interesting visual display immediately<br />
outside the geology department or <strong>teaching</strong> room will<br />
stimulate interest and set the right tone for exciting<br />
lessons. This can run in parallel with geological displays<br />
around the school to familiarise pupils with the subject.<br />
Displays can take a variety of formats including examples<br />
of pupil work, photographs, PowerPoint presentations,<br />
videos, rock, mineral and fossil collections and so on.<br />
Specimens, for example, dinosaur bones, exotic minerals,<br />
could be borrowed from a central lending source to<br />
display at special events for a short time period.<br />
Open Days<br />
Open Days for new prospective Year 7 pupils, for those<br />
considering options at Year 9 or those choosing A levels<br />
at Year 11, can provide a wonderful opportunity for<br />
highlighting the ‘delights’ of geology not only to the<br />
students and their families but also to existing students,<br />
members of staff and the school hierarchy. All sorts of<br />
imaginative approaches are possible involving displays,<br />
activities and ICT.<br />
PowerPoint shows are very effective and will attract<br />
more attention than a ‘handout’. A good piece of video<br />
footage either from past fieldwork expeditions or perhaps<br />
from a recent television programme/news article<br />
can add a great deal to any open evening display. For the<br />
more adventurous, and especially if you have willing<br />
sixth form students to assist, you could turn part of your<br />
classroom into a geological environment, for example,<br />
a mine – pupils could work their way through the mine<br />
(wearing the obligatory hard hat of course!) and identify<br />
items of geological interest along the way. Why not<br />
try Pete Loader’s approach of dinosaur footprints in the<br />
school grounds (Loader, 2006), or use a range of interactive<br />
activities that students (and their parents) can try<br />
for themselves.<br />
Assemblies<br />
An entire year group, and even a whole school, can be<br />
reached effectively through a good assembly. Year 9<br />
pupils on the verge of choosing their option subjects<br />
could be targeted with an assembly outlining what geology<br />
has to offer as this would be a new subject to them<br />
at GCSE. Likewise, if geology is first offered at AS level<br />
within a school this would be a good opportunity to<br />
inform students about this new subject. Some teachers<br />
are required to take at least one assembly each year and<br />
just recently one of us took the opportunity to deliver an<br />
assembly on geology. Not only did it give an opportunity<br />
to show off the Grand Canyon photographs from his<br />
recent visit, but he could also sow the seeds for potential<br />
AS Geology students amongst the current Year 11 students.<br />
The main emphasis of an assembly/talk will focus<br />
on an explanation of what geology entails and this will<br />
then hopefully change in the minds of many pupils from<br />
the misconception that geology is simply about ‘rocks’<br />
and nothing else!<br />
In Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE, or<br />
PSE) lessons, career advice plays an important role and<br />
this could be an opportunity to involve an outside<br />
speaker, either from an established industry with geological<br />
connections or perhaps from a local university.<br />
A geology prize<br />
Offer a prize that will be presented in front of the whole<br />
school.<br />
Highlight geology in the curriculum<br />
Although all pupils are taught geology through the science<br />
curriculum and through the geography curriculum,<br />
since the teachers usually don’t highlight it as<br />
‘geology’ the pupils often don’t know what geology<br />
means or what studying geology at A level entails. So a<br />
good idea is to provide details of where geology is found<br />
in science and geography, through posters, PowerPoints<br />
or leaflets. Alternatively list some of the main topics of<br />
the A level specification and highlight where they might<br />
have been met down the school.<br />
© PETE LOADER<br />
www.esta-uk.org<br />
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