Using development education tools or teaching geography
Development education has, over many years, contributed a large and diverse number of 'tools' and resources to help address the global dimension to geography. One such tool is the 'Development compass rose' developed by Birmingham Development Education Centre (Birmingham DEC, 1995). This framework encourages a range of questions to be asked about a locality, photograph or artefact representing that locality. The compass rose is used to raise questions which explore the interrelationship between environmental, social, economic and political issues.
Instead of North, South, East and West, the four main compass points represent:
- Natural/ecological questions
- Economic questions
- Social and cultural questions
- Who decides? Who benefits? (i.e. political questions)
(Birmingham DEC, 1995, p. 18)
Click on the link below and look at the 'Development compass rose' (adapted from Birmingham DEC, 1995, p. 19) for a further explanation of the four main points of the rose.
Development compass rose
(Adobe PDF 5.0)
Notice how:
The diagonal points highlight the relationship between the four main points. For instance, NE raises questions about how economic activity impacts on the natural world.
(Birmingham DEC, 1995, p. 18)
It is these diagonal points that often raise the most interesting and useful questions. For example, if considering whether to close the High Street to traffic, a NE question might be 'Will closing the High Street to traffic force shops to close and encourage people to drive to out of town shopping centres instead?'
It is also important to consider NS and EW linkages, that is the impact of social activities on the environment and the influence of economics on political decision making.
The activity on the right provides an opportunity to try out the compass rose as a tool for generating questions and helping to develop critical thinking. Look at this activity now.
Activity Resources:
- Images
- Interactive
- Sound
- Text
- Video
Activity
- We suggest you try using the development compass rose with groups of colleagues or as part of a staff INSET session. You could apply the tool to one of the following, making it clear that this is preparatory to trialling the tool with classes:
- examining a unit of work, such as 'Unit 20 - Local traffic: an environmental issue' (QCA, 1998);
- using a set of photographs where each group places one photograph in the centre of a large sheet of paper and marks on the four (eight) compass points around it;
- focusing on a local, national or international news story.
- one key question from each compass point;
- groups sharing any key issues arising;
- points of contention or disagreement;
- questions people found difficult to categorise;
- reflection on how effective the compass rose as a framework is for generating questions and critical thinking;
- the impact the activity will have on future geography teaching in the school and whether such a tool will help develop or adapt geography schemes of work to take a more global and all-round approach.
- Having tried the activity with colleagues, use the compass rose with a class of pupils, either by applying it to one of the issues in the QCA schemes of work for geography (on the DfES Standards Site) or to a set of appropriate photographs, such as locality images or images of economic activity, and so on. The compass rose can also be used to critically question and analyse news reports, stories, videos or posters. Younger pupils could be asked to think of just one question for each of the main compass points.
