Developing thinking skills through teaching about the global dimension
Teaching about the global dimension in geography encourages pupils to engage with and question information and ideas, and to develop their thinking skills. Such teaching and learning strategies represent good practice in geography education. Indeed, they are promoted as part of the Teaching and Learning in the Foundation Subjects strand of the Key Stage 3 National Strategy in England.
Now complete the activity on the right, which looks at developing pupils' thinking skills.
Activity Resources:
- Images
- Interactive
- Sound
- Text
- Video
Activity
- Watch a video of life in a settlement in a less economically developed country (LEDC) with a class. Ask a colleague to watch a video of life in a settlement in a more economically developed country (MEDC) with their class. These should both be from your department's video collection.
- Click on the Text icon and look at the 'Thinking characteristics' table. Use the characteristics in the table as a scaffold for pupils to consider the information in the video they are watching. This will enable pupils to be made aware of different ways of examining the information provided. Pupils could go on to identify what further information they would need to find in order to get a full picture of life in the settlement.
- Now consider a place-based unit in your current teaching programme that explores place at a superficial level. Revisit your unit using the key ideas from this unit to enhance it with the global dimension. Click on the Text icon and use the 'Before/after' table to help you do this.
