Where to find enquiry lesson ideas

One brilliant source of inspiration for enquiry lessons has to be BBC documentaries, and in particular Simon Reeve.

Only last week, I taught a lesson entitled, "What is Simon doing in the desert?", based on a clip from an episode (below) from his Tropic of Cancer series. Students learnt about the Namib desert and how sand dunes are formed before discovering that Simon was sand boarding; the newest tourist craze in Namibia involving hurtling down a huge dune on a piece of what can only be described as MDF.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx9NXoOxleM


I have been watching his Australia series (still available on BBC iPlayer) and it has been inspiring me with new ideas for lessons. During the first episode you could create a lesson on biodiversity in the outback of Australia - feral camels who have started to destroy the local ecosystem have been rounded up to manage and control their numbers. "Why has Ian been rounding up camels?"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22522695

In the first episode, there was also a story about millionaires who made their money from tuna fishing in Port Lincoln in South Australia - "Why are there so many millionaires in Port Lincoln?" - could be used to explore the issue of overfishing and whether certain species of fish should be protected.

Or you could even use it to teach about economic migrants. One bin man left his life in Hull to teach people to drive trucks in Australia where he can earn enough money to buy a speedboat. Many UK migrants are moving to Perth to have a better lifestyle with a larger income. "Why did a bin man leave Hull to move to Australia?"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19222037

I hope that the next two episodes give me just as many ideas for future enquiry lessons!

I had the lucky experience last Saturday to lead a teacher to teacher session at the GA Conference in Derby. It was well worth the 6am start and the 3 hour train journey for the people I met (one of the highlights was being starstruck by sitting in front of Professor Iain Stewart), the ideas people shared and the chance to share my own work.

The first lecture of the day I attended was by Terry Callaghan about the future of the Arctic and why people are so interested in it. Aside from the scientific evidence that he showed to prove that the Arctic is warming it was interesting to hear some of the impacts on both the abiotic and biotic world. For example, the melting of permafrost and the increasing depth of the active layer may lead to damages in infrastructure, damage to ecosystems and the potential destruction of gas pipelines.

Terry Callaghan also argued that the Arctic faces a range of challenges and opportunities for both Arctic residents and the global community. These challenges include sea rise in countries such as Bangladesh and insecure travel routes whereas the opportunities include a development of trading routes such as the northwest passage. Overall, a fascinating lecture about a part of the world that will increasingly become an important battleground in the future.

I was keen to watch Margaret Roberts (as a pioneer of enquiry) talk about controversial issues to a room of PGCE students, NQTs and PGCE tutors. She questioned whether issues such as global warming should be taught from both sides (e.g. scientists who believe in global warming vs. those who do not). Most of the people in the room decided that as geography teachers we should teach both sides but stick to the science. Activities such as role play, class discussions and spider diagrams should be used to explore these controversial issues with the teacher acting as a neutral observer.

Leading my teacher to teacher session was probably the highlight of my day. I was so pleased to see so many turn up and also many wanting to ask questions. I started my enquiry journey during my PGCE at Henry Box (James Clark as my mentor showed me how it enthused the kids in his department) and it was exciting to share my ideas with other people.

The final session of the day was entitled 'Geography of Hope' by David Hicks. David argued that geography teachers should also focus on the hopes of the future, the success stories of sustainability rather than the doom and gloom of climate change. An interesting approach which made me think about my teaching and whether my lessons are often a little pessimistic. As geography teachers should we not also be teaching students that they can help to look after the world, instead of teaching them about the gloomy future which is predicted?

The trip to Derby was really enjoyable and I would recommend the GA conference to all geography teachers. It makes you remember why you love the subject so much and forget about the paperwork and marking of the daily routine.