Curriculum21 — literacy

Geography is a Separate Subject. Really?

Cross posted to Langwitches.

How is geography being taught in your school? Is it a weekly time block designated under the umbrella of Social Studies in Elementary School? Is it a semester or one year required credit course in High School?

Geography is a separate subject. Really?

Heidi Hayes Jacobs says (p. 36) in her Curriculum 21. (ASCD, 2010) book:

Geography should be cut as a snapshot unit with an integrated approach continuously woven into the academic year. Rather than the token “let’s start off the school year with our classic unit on geography,” the curriculum should include an ongoing injection and use of geography and a full range of maps. When schools do not use maps of all kinds with regularity in a range of classes (English, science, art), our students do not get to apply geography in a meaningful way.

Heidi Hayes Jacobs compares a segregated and isolated teaching unit of geography to a first grade teacher posting an ABCs poster on the wall, only to take it down after a month.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/courtneybolton/ / CC BY 2.0

It is about making continuous connections of geography themes to what we teach. Where does the content fit into the world? How does the content relate to other subject areas. How does it affect the people who live there? Where do we find Math concepts in the physical world around us? Do literary or historic perspectives change due to geographic locations? How does Geography impact the economy?

How can we help classroom teachers make these connections from their teaching subject/content to geographic awareness/compentency?

Vivek Wathwa states in an article on TechCrunch about American competitiveness in the global educational field that

if we create the incentives for American children to study math and science and to complete advanced degrees, the magic will happen. In addition to math and science, we should teach our children about world culture, geography, and global markets. In the era of globalization, these subjects are equally important.

Bill Ferriter (@plugusin) recently tweeted

Really heartsick about NC’s decision to make social studies a history instead of geography focus. That’s narrowminded in today’s world.

If geography is equally important as math and science, than why is it being made a “lesser” focus?

I presented recently at the Teacher2Teacher conference in Bow Island, Alberta, Canada. The topic of one of my sessions was: “Geography is All Around Us”

Take a look at the slides and check out the tools and resource links discussed at the presentation for examples how geography can AND should be integrated into other subject areas.

Geography Is All Around Us

View more presentations from Silvia Tolisano.

Resource Links:
Google Maps
Google Earth
VoiceThread
Wikis Blogs
Skype
Twitter

Examples:

How do you integrate Geography into your subject area? How can you upgrade one unit, one lesson or one assignment to integrate geography. What tools are you using? What projects are participating in? Please share you tips and techniques.

Take a look at previous blog posts on Langwitches with examples of Geography integration:

Here are a few tips through Twitter.

Curriculum 21 – Visual Book Review

Cross Posted to Langwitches Blog

Curriculum 21

I am usually a fast reader, but I have been taking my time with this book. There is not only a wealth of information, but it connects to so many of my thoughts and ideas I have contemplated in my mind as well as on this blog over the last few years. It resonated with me when Heidi Hayes Jacobs says:

a school does not need reform— it needs new forms.

Heidi advocates that

New essential curriculum will need revision- actual replacements of dated content, skills, and assessments with more timely choices.

I really liked her approach when she suggests the distinction between a “growth model” instead of a “change model” that needs to be introduced to a school’s culture.

As I was reading the book (hard copy, not on my Kindle), I was using highlighters to not miss thoughts or quotes that I wanted to remember. It did not take long to realize that I was highlighting too much 🙂 How was I going to get through this book and make sense of it, connect and wrap it around my thoughts which were floating around but had not been verbalized?

I know that I work best through concepts and ideas when I create diagrams or use mind mapping tools. I really like using the SmartArt Graphics in PowerPoint. The visuals below are a summary of what I “read out of the book”, the most important points in my mind and quotes.

Curriculum 21- What does it mean to be educated?

Based on Curriculum 21 (ASCD, 2010) by Heidi Hayes Jacobs.

What does it mean to be educated in the 2st Century?

Information Literacy

Understanding of knowledge, creation & authority
Make meaning of information to create new knowledge
Find, evaluate, organize, interpret & distribute information
Pattern recognition, critical thinking, perception
Gather knowledge to become intelligent vs. apply knowledge

Network Literacy

Social production is enabled by power of networks to connect people
Nature of learning & teaching
Locating experts & eyewitnesses
Relationships NOT technologies determine learning
Enhancing the process of learning to be (Identity)

Global Literacy

Compete. Cooperate & connect with global peers
Greater understanding of 95% of world’s population
Knowledge-driven global economy
Global competency knowledge, language &respect
Global perspective

Media Literacy

Critical Thinking
Literary Authority & participatory culture
Media is shaping the way students think and express themselves
No longer print-centric world
Find, analyze, evaluate, organize, remix, store and share media

Student Portfolios

Collecting-Selecting-Reflecting
Metacognition
Gather data about own learning
Self-Modifying as lifelong learner
Alternative assessment tool

Connecting

Non-linear learning
Semantic Web
Interdisciplinary linkage to real world applications
Global Connectivity
Ubiquitous connectivity

Collaborating

Learning is social
Collective Intelligence
Engage students to produce meaningful contributions
Students making contributions to learning communities
Establishing & maintaining working relationships

Communicating

Tools to share what we learn open up new ways of thinking
Professional Development
Community
Nationally/ Internationally
Foreign Languages

Adapted from Alan November (pp. 186-194) in Curriculum21 (ASCD, 2010) by Heidi Hayes Jacobs.

Adapted from Arthur Costa & Bena Kallick (pp. 210-226) in Curriculum21 (ASCD, 2010) by Heidi Hayes Jacobs.

Adapted from Arthur Costa & Bena Kallick (pp. 223-225) in Curriculum 21 (ASCD, 2010) "by Heidi Hayes Jacobs.

Adapted from Curriculum21 (ASCD, 2010) by Heidi Hayes Jacobs.

Adapted from Stephen Wilmarth's chapter in Curriculum21 (ASCD, 2010) by Heidi Hayes Jacobs.

Visual based on Heidi Hayes Jacobs in "Curriculum 21" (ASCD, 2010) by Heidi Hayes Jacobs. We need to upgrade curriculum content. She suggests to start with assessments. Decide what kind do we need to keep, what do we need to throw out and each teacher pledges to at least upgrade one assessment type a year.

I also like taking quotes and create visuals of them.