Geography

What is the nature of Geography at IGCSE level?

Geography is a diverse discipline, which bridges the arts, social and natural sciences. It is concerned with developing a balanced understanding of the dynamic, interdependent world we live in, and through this understanding, helps us respond to complex and current issues. It is distinctive in its spatial dimension, and it takes advantage of its position to draw on a wide range of disciplines to examine issues and concepts.

Because of the nature of the subject, geographers are necessarily international-minded and adaptable, Geography at IGCSE offers students the opportunity to develop and strengthen a range of transferable skills, which equip students for a world, which is constantly changing.

What is the approach to learning?

IGCSE Geography lessons are dynamic and engaging. Students are introduced to a range of different contemporary issues such as changes in demographic structures in different countries, migration flows between places and globalisation. All units draw on real world situations, and students are able to apply their understanding of theory and critically consider the effectiveness of management responses to issues in different places.

Fieldwork is an important element within IGCSE Geography as it allows students to interact with their environment directly, and allows students to develop and strengthen their skills planning and investigating geographical issues in authentic contexts. Students also learn to handle data, both in terms of presentation and interpretation, and evaluate data collection methods.

Students further develop and strengthen learning skills related to for example, research and synthesis, collaboration, effective communication and self-management. Students also continue to develop their information and literacy skills as well as media literacy skills.

What is the subject content?

The IGCSE Geography course aims to enable to students to develop:  an understanding of location (place) and scale  an awareness of characteristics, distribution and processes affecting contrasting physical and human environments  an understanding of the ways in which people interact with each other and their environments  an awareness of the contrasting opportunities and constraints presented by different environments  an overall appreciation of and concern for the earth and the diversity within

The syllabus is divided into three themes:  Theme 1 – Population and settlement (including population dynamics, migration, urbanisation and urban problems and solutions)  Theme 2 – The natural environment (including earthquakes and volcanoes, weather and climate, rivers and coasts)

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What is the nature of assessment?

Formative and summative assessments will be used through the two-year course to determine student progress and introduce students to exam skills.

The final examinations are externally assessed and are structured as follows:

 Paper 1 Geographical Themes (45% of the final grade) – 1 hour 45 minutes The paper has three sections based on the themes, and students answer three questions, one from each section.

 Paper 2 Geographical Skills (27.5% of the final grade) – 1 hour 30 minutes This paper tests the skills of application, interpretation and analysis of geographical information (such as topographical maps, graphs, tables of data and diagrams). Students answer all questions,

 Paper 4 Alternative to Coursework (27.5% of the final grade) – 1 hour 30 minutes This paper tests skills related to the route to geographical enquiry. Candidates answer two questions. Fieldwork scenarios for each questions are drawn from the three themes.

29  Theme 3 – Economic development (including development and globalisation, industrial systems, agricultural systems, tourism, energy and water security and the environmental risks of economic development)

All topics within these themes draw on current case studies of real-world situations. Students also learn to interact with and/or produce a range of resources such as photographs, map extracts, satellite images, drawings, diagrams, graphs, statistics and tables of data.

In Grade 9, to support the teaching of Paper 4, which focuses on fieldwork, there will be a residential field trip to teach students how to design and conduct geographical enquiries across the different themes. Students will also learn how to present, analyse and evaluate their data. The location of the fieldwork varies, in the past students have travelled to Vietnam.