Available August 2020
Topographic mapping is an important aspect of teaching Geography in NSW. This professional development course, created by Paul Batten and Katerina Stojanovksi behalf of GTA NSW & ACT, examines the use of these tools for teaching in the NESA Geography Syllabus K-10. The course explores skills e.g. related to elevation, aspect, and gradient, using spatial technologies as appropriate.
The purpose of the course is to build teachers’ capacity to have their students utilise topographic maps meaningfully. By completing the learning activities participants will demonstrate their capacity to develop – through three general capabilities: literacy, numeracy, and ICT – Geography lessons that are engaging.
Skills developed in this course include: applying knowledge of the content and teaching strategies of Geography to develop engaging teaching activities (NESA Standard 2.1.2), creating questions to : assess student learning(NESA Standard 5.1.2) and contributing to collegial discussions to improve professional knowledge and practice (NESA Standard 6.3.2).
The course is designed for flexible delivery, where participants can start, progress and finish at times convenient to them. The collaboration is in a ‘pay it forward’ style, where participants engage with previous contributions and contribute themselves – learning in the process, but also adding to the galleries of exemplars and case studies for future participants to review. Minimum posting is once for each particular item.