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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 31 ● Number 4, 2006 Inspiring the New Generation to Opt for A level Geology* PAUL DOUGLAS, KARL GRAY, CHRIS KING AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE ‘SELLING GEOLOGY’ WORKING GROUP ‘How could you best inspire pupils lower down your school to think about taking Geology at A level?’ This is the question that was asked at the workshop for A level geology teachers held in Keele in May 2006. Here are some of our suggestions. Figure 1 Annual Geology prize winner A display A great way of attracting students to geology is through display work. An interesting visual display immediately outside the geology department or teaching room will stimulate interest and set the right tone for exciting lessons. This can run in parallel with geological displays around the school to familiarise pupils with the subject. Displays can take a variety of formats including examples of pupil work, photographs, PowerPoint presentations, videos, rock, mineral and fossil collections and so on. Specimens, for example, dinosaur bones, exotic minerals, could be borrowed from a central lending source to display at special events for a short time period. Open Days Open Days for new prospective Year 7 pupils, for those considering options at Year 9 or those choosing A levels at Year 11, can provide a wonderful opportunity for highlighting the ‘delights’ of geology not only to the students and their families but also to existing students, members of staff and the school hierarchy. All sorts of imaginative approaches are possible involving displays, activities and ICT. PowerPoint shows are very effective and will attract more attention than a ‘handout’. A good piece of video footage either from past fieldwork expeditions or perhaps from a recent television programme/news article can add a great deal to any open evening display. For the more adventurous, and especially if you have willing sixth form students to assist, you could turn part of your classroom into a geological environment, for example, a mine – pupils could work their way through the mine (wearing the obligatory hard hat of course!) and identify items of geological interest along the way. Why not try Pete Loader’s approach of dinosaur footprints in the school grounds (Loader, 2006), or use a range of interactive activities that students (and their parents) can try for themselves. Assemblies An entire year group, and even a whole school, can be reached effectively through a good assembly. Year 9 pupils on the verge of choosing their option subjects could be targeted with an assembly outlining what geology has to offer as this would be a new subject to them at GCSE. Likewise, if geology is first offered at AS level within a school this would be a good opportunity to inform students about this new subject. Some teachers are required to take at least one assembly each year and just recently one of us took the opportunity to deliver an assembly on geology. Not only did it give an opportunity to show off the Grand Canyon photographs from his recent visit, but he could also sow the seeds for potential AS Geology students amongst the current Year 11 students. The main emphasis of an assembly/talk will focus on an explanation of what geology entails and this will then hopefully change in the minds of many pupils from the misconception that geology is simply about ‘rocks’ and nothing else! In Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE, or PSE) lessons, career advice plays an important role and this could be an opportunity to involve an outside speaker, either from an established industry with geological connections or perhaps from a local university. A geology prize Offer a prize that will be presented in front of the whole school. Highlight geology in the curriculum Although all pupils are taught geology through the science curriculum and through the geography curriculum, since the teachers usually don’t highlight it as ‘geology’ the pupils often don’t know what geology means or what studying geology at A level entails. So a good idea is to provide details of where geology is found in science and geography, through posters, PowerPoints or leaflets. Alternatively list some of the main topics of the A level specification and highlight where they might have been met down the school. © PETE LOADER www.esta-uk.org 26
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 31 ● Number 4, 2006 De-emphasise rocks Mention to most pupils about geology and the general response is either, ‘What is geology?’ or ‘Do you mean rocks?’. To many pupils (and some teachers), rocks are boring specimens that gather dust in drawers and on shelves. Whilst we may see rocks as bundles of evidence of how the Earth used to be, to many children, they are things to be thrown into a pond or at a bus shelter! Clearly rocks play a major role in the subject, but perhaps they need to be de-emphasised in order to broaden the pupils’ view of the subject. Focus instead on the dynamic processes of the Earth, how they can affect our lives and how evidence for them is preserved in the rock record. Cover lessons If you are asked to cover a lesson of an absent colleague and no work has been set – why not try using this as a recruitment opportunity? Try using the ‘Walking with dinosaur’ activity from the ESEU website (www.earthscienceeducation.com/workshops/worksheets/earth_an d_atmosphere.PDF ) pages 30 - 31. This can not only be fitted into a 35 minute lesson, but involves pupils in scientific investigation and lateral thinking as well ‘dinosaurs’ and ‘geology’. Use your own favourite exercises, bits of practical work or best specimens to engage the pupils and help to ‘turn them on’ to geology. Field trips Field trips can be a very effective recruiter – especially if you deliberately set out to use them as a recruitment tool. You can do this through a focus on fieldwork in displays, assemblies, open evenings, etc. But you can also make sure you leave school when everyone is there to see. Get your students to come in field clothing - so they stand out, particularly when they have helmets and other field gear. Take photos – and use them as widely as possible. Put together a fieldwork display too and write something for the school magazine. might it capture the interest of your young audience, but it may help the teachers there to bring more Earth science into their teaching and help them to know who to ask for advice when it is needed. Working with secondary school clusters Many students at KS3 and 4 do not have a true picture of geology. If you are in a post-16 college, to maintain numbers of A level geologists, try marketing to your feeder schools. Offer to go into these schools to give a presentation about geology using a generic ESTA PowerPoint (under preparation) or one you have devised yourself. You could also offer to go into feeder schools to teach an aspect of geology to students at KS3 or KS4 since if the Earth science in science is poorly-taught, this gives the wrong messages about geology. Once prepared, this session could be adapted for future years so the rewards of time spent in preparation now can be reaped in the future. Develop a central bank of resources across several schools For schools which are new to teaching Geology at A level, resourcing the subject can prove to be laborious and expensive. With the onset of Specialist Science schools and Leading Edge schools think of developing a central bank of resources that all local centres can share, where specimens and equipment are held centrally and loaned to nearby schools. Bring in a real geologist The SETNET ambassador scheme has a network of ambassadors across the country willing and able to visit schools to give presentations on science and technology. They are, ‘enthusiastic, dynamic individuals of all ages and backgrounds’ to quote the SETNET website. Many of them work in industry and include professional geologists across the country. You can contact your local SETNET ambassadors through your local SETPOINT which can be found using the SET- POINT locator map on the SETNET website, by phoning SETNET on 0207 636 7705, or by e-mailing SETNET from the website. You can also contact local professional geologists through the Regional Group network of the Geological Society by contacting the Geological Society Education Officer, Judi Lakin at (judi.lakin@geolsoc.org.uk). Figure 2 ‘Earth Week’ activity, teaching plate movements to primary children Outreach to primary schools If your school offers sample lessons to primary feeder schools, why not offer a geology lesson? Not only © PETE LOADER Geology in the news Students do not necessarily associate geology with news-worthy articles either in the TV, newspaper or on the web. Why not have a noticeboard in the Geology Department that emphasises this. Cut out relevant articles and add a brief resume of the relevance of geology. These could be updated regularly, either by yourself or even better by the students themselves. How about prizes for the most original article? Winners could be included on the school website or newsletter 27 www.esta-uk.org
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