Programming for geographical inquiry K–10

This course has no prerequisites, however, it will be helpful to have completed the following courses available from the Professional learning/Curriculum page³ on the DoE Intranet:

• Your school and the Geography K–10 Syllabus¹

• Planning to teach geography K–10²

• Programming for quality teaching and assessing⁴

This course assumes that you are familiar with:

• what the study of geography entails

• the NSW Geography K–10 Syllabus⁵

• Quality teaching in NSW public schools (.pdf)⁶ (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2003).

At the completion of this course, you will have:

• reflected upon the programming process for structuring geographical inquiries for the NSW Geography K–10 Syllabus

• understood the breadth of geographical tools and their application in geographical inquiries

• understood the relationship between geographical outcomes, content, concepts, tools and skills in the geographical inquiry process

• programmed a geographical inquiry for a content area from the Geography K–10 Syllabus.

It is preferable to collaborate with a small team of colleagues when engaging with this course, as discussion enriches understandings. A more experienced teacher or supervisor may lead a group of teachers through this course as a presenter. Presenter notes are available below (see Course materials).

This course has been developed to cater for the diverse needs of teachers. Readings are recommended to develop knowledge and understanding of programming for quality teaching and learning.

Download and save the Activity booklet from the Course materials section below and add to it as you work through the course.

Throughout this course you will find the following icons:

This DoE course (code: RG00443) is registered professional development under the terms of the BOSTES Continuing Professional Development policy⁸.

Completion of this course will contribute three hours of QTC Registered PD addressing the standard descriptors in the table below from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers⁹ towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.

In order for new scheme teachers accredited at Proficient to have these hours added to their professional learning log at BOSTES¹⁰, the following steps must be taken:

• Before commencing the course, advise your supervisor of your intention to do so and discuss the course requirements.

Your supervisor/course deliverer will need to:

1. schedule an event against this course (course code RG00443) on My PL@Edu¹¹. For information on scheduling an event see DELIVERERS: Scheduling a professional learning event via My PL@Edu¹². Include the developer of the course as the Manage Event Support Person.

2. After the participant has enrolled, confirm their enrolment on the event’s Enrolment tab on My PL@Edu.

Participants will need to:

1. Enrol in the scheduled event in My PL@Edu using your DoE portal username and password. For more details see PARTICIPANTS: Searching for and enrolling in professional learning events via My PL@Edu¹³.

2. Check your enrolment on the event’s Enrolment tab on My PL@Edu after the course deliverer has confirmed it.

3. Complete all course activities and deliverables.

4. Provide the completed deliverable as evidence to your supervisor for approval.

5. Complete the online evaluation in My PL@Edu.

6. Have a follow-up discussion with your supervisor when you have completed the course and deliverable.
   Your supervisor/course deliverer will then be able to verify that you have met all requirements for the course and will ensure completion is recorded on the event’s Participation tab on My PL@Edu.

7. Allow at least 7–10 working days for your details to be passed on to BOSTES.

8. Within three months of completing the course, log in to your account on the BOSTES Teacher Accreditation¹⁴ website to complete the online evaluation so that the participation hours are recorded.