The workshop examines the question of what it means to think geographically. With the Australian Curriculum: Geography to be taught in many Australian schools by non-geography teachers, the issue of what it means to think geography will need to be explored during professional learning activities in coming years. Through the use of the Australian Curriculum: Geography concepts and a range of thinkpieces, the workshop will develop with participants a model of geographical thinking, which identifies the teaching of geography as a unique experience, quite different to the thinking in other disciplines.

1. THINKING GEOGRAPHICALLY WITH A 21ST
CENTURY GEOGRAPHY CURRICULUM
A GEOGRAPHY CURRICULUM FOR AUSTRALIA
Malcolm McInerney: AGTA Chair

2. THROUGH THE GEOGRAPHICAL LENS

3. GEOGRAPHICAL THINKING
We know what it is but can we articulate
how a geographer thinks?
The p ublic p e rc e p tio n o f g e o g ra p hy
is a s a fa c t-ba s e d ra the r tha n
c o nc e p tua l d is c ip line . Pe te r Ja c ks o n
2006
•The geographers headset
•Through the eyes of a geographer

4. “I’m a geographer, frankly, I’m proud of that fact
.” I meet someone
even if I have to explain when
exactly what it is a geographer does.”
Can you spot a geographer
from just looking at them?

5. It was decided that it is through the
concepts that we can identify
geographical thinking
What is a concept?
• A general idea derived from specific
instances or occurrences
• Something formed in the mind, a thought or notion
• An abstract or psychological thing that can be understood,
operate with, and apply
• May lead into judgments, propositions or even theories
• Concepts have a tendency to be referred to in connection
with the general rather than singular terms
• Are often used to organise/group and classify thoughts
• May be based on a generalisation, abstraction or occurrence

6. THE CONCEPT SMORGASBOARD
from the AC: Geography Shape Paper
•change • place
•distance • process
• diversity • proximity
• relationship
• interaction
• risk
• interdependence • scale
• landscape • space
• location • spatial distribution
• pattern • sustainability
• system
• perception

7. Fine tuning the concepts
• What are the key Geographical concepts
to build a curriculum around?
• What concepts best reflect and enhance
geographical thinking?
• How many can we say are major and
imperative concepts for geographical
thinking?

8. Conceptual questions to muse over
• The 7 major concepts have related
concepts dovetailed into them.
• What then are the related concepts?
• Are they just geographical concepts –
does geography own them?
• Are these concepts what makes
geography geography and unique?
• Are all of the 7 concepts of equal
importance?
• Geographical thinking is more than just
spatial thinking!

9. CONCEPTS: THE LENS AND KEY TO
GEOGRAPHICAL THINKING
• As a discipline, geography is based on a series of concepts that fundamentally
underpin the geographical approach to the world.
• They provide a framework and common language to thinking geographically.
• These concepts are the lenses through which geographers view the features,
activities, processes, phenomena and issues of our earth in the past, present
and future.
THINKING AND QUESTIONING USING THE GEOGRAPHICAL CONCEPTS

10. CONCEPTS: THINKING GEOGRAPHICALLY

11. The
geographical
Location
concept meaning human
wheel sustainability
pattern distribution
diversity
uniqueness natural
identity interconnection
local-global trends
density
processes characteristics proximity
futures
Human- intangible virtual
environment relative sustainability
links
Impact of change time consistency
association pace
system dynamic
flow
movement
interdependence
system equilibrium
zoom
interconnection
futures directions measurement
change
Triple bottom line
system distance
hierarchies
change ecology
biosphere local-global
Generational biodiversity space
equity Non-living
living
interconnection maps
justice
Human-physical
processes
sustainability

12. Place
• Place describes specific areas of the Earth’s surface, and range from a small place
such as a classroom, through to a local area, to a country to a major world region
and the solar system. The uniqueness of places is closely linked to identity and
culture
• The characteristics of places that are studied in geography include population,
climate, economy, landforms, built environment, soils and vegetation, communities,
water resources, cultures, minerals, landscape, and recreational and scenic quality.
• Some characteristics are tangible, such as rivers and buildings, while others are
intangible, such as wilderness and socioeconomic status.

13. Space
• Space refers to the location of human features, such as a town or a specific
building. Space also refers to the location of natural features, such as a rainforest
or a specific habitat.
• Human and natural features have locations within space.
• Space is also about the distribution of human and natural features, including the
pattern of those distributions.
• The world is organised spatially i.e. location, distribution and pattern.

14. What is the difference between place and
space? A fundamental question for
teachers teaching geography.

15. Environment
• The concept of environment refers to the biosphere including living and non-
living elements.
• The environment has intrinsic value and is essential to, and interconnected with
on-going human wellbeing.
• Environments which have been significantly altered and created by human
activities such as rural or built environments (constructed urban places) are sub
sets of the bio-physical environment

16. Change
• Places, environments and spatial patterns alter over time.
• Changes may be quite slow as is the movement of the tectonic plates or they
might be quite rapid as the advancement of a bushfire.
• Places, environments and spatial patterns may be in a state of equilibrium or
inertia with little change occurring over a long period of time until an event such
as a flood, cyclone or political decision occurs, which rapidly alters the place,
environments or patterns.
• Social changes may be rapidly accepted, gradually accepted or actively and
passively resisted.

17. Interconnection
•Interconnection refers to the linking of places, environments and spatial
patterns either by tangible links such as roads, railways or by intangible links
such as political, economic systems or electronic systems.
•Places, environments and systems may also be linked by cause and effect
relationships between them.
•Interconnections are important in understanding why things are changing or
need to be changed in different places or environments.
•Interconnections may occur between environmental and environmental (effect
on water on soil), human and human (impact of political decision on industry) or
between environmental and human processes (impact of water on cities).

18. Sustainability
• Sustainability addresses the ongoing capacity of Earth to maintain all life.
• Sustainability is a broad social goal linking on-going natural environmental
(ecological) wellbeing with human (social and economic) wellbeing

19. Scale
• Scale is about the hierarchy of divisions from the personal to the local, regional,
national, world, regional, global and sometimes, universal.
Where are the 4 corners of the earth

20. The
geographical
concept wheel meaning
Location
human
diversity sustainability natural
pattern
uniqueness distribution
identity trends
local-global
proximity density
processes characteristics
virtual futures
Human- intangible
environment relative sustainability
links
Impact of change time consistency
association pace
system flow movement
dynamic
interdependence
equilibrium
system zoom
interconnection
futures directions measurement
Triple bottom line change
distance
ecology system hierarchies
change
biosphere local-global
Generational biodiversity space
equity
living Non-living
justice maps
interconnection
Human-physical
sustainability processes

23. The deconstruction and subsequent construction of
knowledge/content using the key concepts when
studying geography = geographical thinking
Developing geographical understanding

24. A GEOGRAPHICAL INQUIRY OF BRISBANE WATER SUPPLY
Harvest 1.Collect all the information you know about Brisbane water supply.
2. View through the geographical concepts of: Place
Space
Deconstruct Environment
Change
Interaction
Sustainability
Scale
Construct
3. Based on the concepts pose the geographical
Question questions for inquiry (can?, should?, what if? why not?)

25. PRIMARY STAGES OF LEARNING IN GEOGRAPHY
Foundation Year: People live in places
Year 1: Places have distinctive features
Year 2: People are connected to many places
Year 3: Places are both similar and different
Year 4: People have a relationship with the
environment
Year 5: Human and environmental processes
shape places
a ft
Year 6: People belong to a diverse world
dr

26. 7 – 10 Year Level Units
dra
• Water in the world (7)
ft
• Places in which to live (7)
• Landforms and landscapes (8)
• Shaping the Nation (8)
• Biomes and food security (9)
• People experiencing and making geography (9)
• Environmental challenges and geography (10)
• Global geographies of human well-being (10)

27. WHAT IS 21ST CENTURY GEOGRAPHY?
http://worldnames.publicprofiler.org/

28. SINGH
HAN
So what!
This is data attached to place – we call it spatial data
and it is the raw material for modern geography.

29. http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/