Programming for geographical inquiry K–10

boy looking through binoculars — Primary fieldwork, Penrith Lakes EEC

Teaching and learning programs allow teachers to:

plan teaching and learning sequences
organise syllabus content into structured and meaningful lessons
measure student learning through assessment
use assessment results to report student progress to parents in a timely manner.

When programming, teachers should consider and respond to:

the local school context
students’ learning needs, abilities and interests
what you want students to learn
how you want students to learn
how you will know the students have achieved the learning.

This course will lead teachers through the steps of programming a geographical inquiry guided by the Geography K–10 Syllabus.

BOSTES NSW also has support materials on programming¹ for the Geography K–10 Syllabus.

Diagram of quality teaching and assessing cycle. — Text version, Quality teaching and assessing

The teaching and learning cycle represents the four stages in the design and delivery of outcome focused tasks.

The cycle has no start or end point, with each step informing the next through ongoing evaluation. It is the process of gathering data and reflection that dictates where in the cycle you need to be operating.

quality teaching diagram, concept of intellectual quality being comprised of quality learning environment and significance

The study of geography enables students to:

question why the world is the way it is
reflect on their relationships with and responsibilities for the world
propose actions to shape a socially just and sustainable future.

When programming for geography, teachers will incorporate aspects of the Quality teaching model and address the three dimensions of: Intellectual quality, Quality learning environment, and Significance.

Questions to consider:

What do you want the students to learn about?
Why does the learning of this content matter?
What are you going to get the students to do to demonstrate geographical skills and understandings?
How well do you want them to understand geographical concepts, content and work geographically?

program builder screenshot — BOSTES Program builder homepage²

The BOSTES Program builder is a programming tool for NSW primary and secondary teachers.

View the short video guides³ on the features page to help you get started.

It is preferable to use Program builder to create the course deliverable of a programmed geographical inquiry, however an alternative programming template can also be used.

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