Geography

In the absence of fieldwork over the last year due to Covid-19 restrictions, this 4-week course will introduce the investigative ‘sequence of enquiry’ that is applied to all geographical field studies and reports. All A Level Geography courses include a NonExamined Assessment (NEA) unit (worth 20% of the result), so our intention is to fully prepare our students for the challenge of the A Level independent investigation project (NEA). Students will complete their own ‘mini-NEA’ investigation, using secondary sources and/or (depending on restrictions later in the Summer Term) primary data collection.

Lesson Outline:

Week 1: An introduction to the geographical sequence of enquiry; hypotheses, background theory, methodology, data presentation, data analysis, conclusions and evaluation.

Week 2: Students will select a topic for investigation of their choice, formulate their own hypotheses and then plan their methodology for data collection. Depending on access restrictions, they will then begin their data collection (whether from primary or secondary sources).

Week 3: Students will be introduced to a variety of data presentation and data analysis techniques before choosing the most appropriate for their own investigation and applying them accordingly.

Week 4: Students will complete their ‘mini-NEA’ reports and present their findings.

Project Outcome: A concise but detailed ‘mini-NEA’ project that incorporates the full sequence of enquiry appropriately to test a personalised hypothesis and draw well-reasoned conclusions.