How-why reflection on geography teaching
We conclude this unit by considering Walkington's 'How-why model', which can be used for reflecting on two types of geography teaching practice. How-type practice means teaching in a descriptive way by:
- raising pupils' awareness of distant localities;
- encouraging visitors into the class to describe localities in more detail;
- sharing knowledge of the locality with the pupils through stories, slides, pictures, videos, artefacts, and so on.
Why-type practice means teaching in an enquiry-based way by:
- giving pupils the skills to find information for themselves;
- seeking explanations as to why localities are the way they are;
- finding ways of making pupils participate so they experience something of what it is like to live in localities.
The final activity, which we recommend you carry out with colleagues, or as part of a staff INSET session, enables you to reflect on the balance between how-type and why-type teaching practice in your school. Research by Walkington (1999) has shown a unanimous desire among teachers to increase the proportion of why-type practice in their teaching, and this activity will provide an opportunity to reflect on how the ideas presented in this unit may help move you towards more why-type teaching strategies.
Activity Resources:
- Images
- Interactive
- Sound
- Text
- Video
Activity
- Consider the teaching of geography in your school. Discuss with colleagues the balance between how-type teaching and why-type teaching of geography in terms of both teaching content and teaching methods in your school.
- Click on the Images icon and use the 'How-why model' (adapted from Walkington, 1999, p. 31) to help in your reflection. Print the page out and draw a vertical line to represent the relative proportion of how- and why-type methods that are currently used in your teaching of geography. Consider whether, in light of the methods and activities tried during this unit, the line is likely to shift or not. Draw a second line that you feel represents the ideal - one which you will aim to achieve when planning future schemes of work for geography in your school.
