The Network Newsletter for Geography Teachers

Term 3, 2016 Issue 71

Chairperson’s Report

Kia ora and welcome to the third edition of The Network

for 2016.

I was fortunate to spend some time in the July break

visiting Singapore and Malaysia and realize how important

our geographical perspective is. I took part in a survey for

some students from a High School in Melaka who were

looking at “Where tourists had come from and what sort of

transport we would choose if we visited again”. I later decided it wouldn’t be by

bus. The next day we were left stranded at the Singapore/Malaysian Border

when our bus driver refused to wait the 23 minutes it took us to cross the

border - via passport control. For some of our Global family however it has

taken years to finally migrate to a country where they are welcome and safe

Dunedin has become home to 150 Syrian Refugees and the effort put in to

welcoming and providing for them has been huge. The Red Cross took on the

responsibility for coordinating the arrangements of a multi-agency task force to

help resettle these new, New Zealand Citizens. There are some links in the

article further on in the newsletter about the efforts that have gone in to the

Resettlement Programme.

As we near the end of Term three we begin to look towards 2017. Students

are choosing options and our Year 13’s are looking to their tertiary or

workforce path. Time for us to reflect on the passion we have for our subject,

for the learning that has taken place and for the students we have inspired to

grab geography and make it their future focus. How many students have we

encouraged to go on and study / teach Geography? How many Geography teachers’ will be trained next

year? Let’s use the last few weeks with our Year 13 students being passionate about Geography, stressing its

importance as an academic subject and its huge importance to the world. It’s not all about examinations and

assessments.

The Australian Geography Teachers’ Association warmly invites any teachers who are able to get to

Melbourne in January, to attend their conference (9-12th January). Further information and an “early bird

registration form” can be found at their website http://agta.asn.au/conf2017/index.php

In this issue there is some great reading and links to useful resources. You can also read further about the

success of our Geography Olympiad Team, Place based Geography, the British Geo-capabilities project and

Inside this issue

Chairperson’s Report

Editorial

Where is this place?

Regional Reports

Curriculum

Pedagogy

Geograph - E

Assessment Update

Out in the Field

Current geographic

issues

News and Notices

The NZBoGT

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers. The Network. Term 3, 2016 2

some information from NZQA. It is also interesting to read what is happening in different regions around New

Zealand.

Nga mihi nui Sue Lynch Chairperson, NZBoGT.

Note from the Editor - Throughout the Network websites are referred to and can be accessed by clicking on

the blue underlined text.

Editorial: Cultural diversity and inclusion

his issue of the Network will focus on the area of cultural diversity and inclusion as principles of the

New Zealand Curriculum. These are useful principles that can be used to guide planning for both

geography programmes and for teachers considering their own classroom practice. There are a

number of resources which explain the principles in more detail, such as TKI which goes through the

principles, defines them and provides a number of readings and resources to support the inclusion of these in

planning for school programmes. The principles of cultural diversity and inclusion can lead us to examine what

we teach but it is important to consider how we teach also.

Suzanne Baldwin

editorthenetwork@gmail.com

Where is this place?

Can you identify where this

photograph was taken?

(The answer is given later in The

Network.)

T

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers. The Network. Term 3, 2016 3

Regional Representatives’ Reports

Auckland – Jane Evans

Term Three is always the crazy term – trying to complete internal assessments and

prepare students for school exams. Sometimes you feel like you take 3 steps forward

only to go back a couple and feel like you are getting nowhere! It has not been helped

by the dreadful weather as gale force winds and rain constantly lash our city and the

only consolation is that ‘it is great geography”! Despite all this the region seems to

have kept itself buoyant. The term began with the AGTA Senior Geography quiz which

had over 20 entries. Congratulations go to Mt Albert Grammar who came top. It was

followed by the Maatangi Whenua quiz for Level 1 with two venues – one on the North

Shore and the other Central Auckland. With 25 teams competing in total

congratulations went to Westlake Boys high School who scored the top marks of the region. This was all part

of Geography Awareness Week and I know several schools went to town with this. In my own we had quizzes

each day for all that kept us well entertained and it was a joy to hear ‘Geography Rocks’ booming down the

corridor. AGTA have also kept everyone busy providing useful practice exams and putting on their first getting

to know each other social. Next week is the second of the successful Scholarship Workshops at Auckland

University with a focus on good writing in geography. With all this happening no wonder we are all exhausted!

Waikato/BOP – Julie Farrell

Tena Koutou Katoa, It’s been another busy term around the Waikato, Rotorua and Bay

of Plenty region. With only nine weeks this term, we are all trying to pack in heaps of

good Geography. Firstly huge congratulations to Nick Price being awarded the NZ

Geographical Society Award for contribution to Geography. I am sure you will all agree

that Nick has done a lot to promote and improve Geography teaching in the region over

the years, and as past chairperson of the NZBoGT he has worked hard to get

Geography teachers’ views and frustration heard in Wellington.

Geography Awareness Week was held from 15-19 August and thanks to Kieran Collier from the Manawatu

region for providing great Geography ideas to incorporate into our teaching. I hope you found them useful

and of course it was great that the Olympics were on in the same week. There were excellent opportunities

for students to explore a range of perspectives and geographic concepts in context.

The Mataangi Whenua competition was held at Sacred Heart College and a big thanks to Brian Kendrick and

his team for organising this. It was an enjoyable evening with 12 teams competing from Hamilton, Tokoroa

and Tauranga. The winners for this year were from Tauranga Girls – they also had a third placing and second

were Otumoetai College. Thanks to all teachers who organised this in their schools as it is a busy time of the

year and we all have different commitments, but it is a worthwhile competition where our subject can get good

exposure and also a lot of fun.

Apart from the busyness of the term and preparing for Benchmark examinations, teachers have continued to

provide students with great learning opportunities. Fieldtrips have included visits to Waitomo Caves, Rotorua,

Waihi, the Field Days and urban fieldtrips to Auckland and Tauranga. St Peters had a fun activity involving

cake, students brought a cake base to class and students then iced the cakes to demonstrate different

geographical patterns, which resulted in a pleasant way to learn about patterns.

As we come towards the close of term three the focus for most of us as teachers will be to prepare our

students for the external examinations and scholarship. Good luck and I hope these preparations go well.

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers. The Network. Term 3, 2016 4

Hawke’s Bay/Manawatu/Taranaki – Kieran Collier

Maatangi Whenua

The region enjoyed an excellent turnout to Massey University, whose NZGS members

supported the regions schools to host and run the Maatangi Whenua competition in August

There were 12 teams from 9 schools in the region; extending from Paihiatua in the east to

Whanganui in the west. All teams enjoyed the competition which had different teams

leading at different points. Teachers all indicated that they were keen to ‘steal’ the

resources as they found them as engaging and interesting as the students did. The MGTA donated a trophy

to the competition which now means there is something to win each year and display prominently somewhere

back at school.

Meetings

The central region teachers met in Term Two; the key topic of discussion was centred around the impending

Geography Awareness Week and a number of members volunteered their time to assist in the creation of

resources that were sent out to all schools via the NZBoGT website. The theme for Term three meeting will be

Oceanography. We will hosting a Geophysicist from NIWA who will outline the soon to be happening voyage

of the MV Tangaroa. We are hoping they will delve the deeps for us and help us to understand the nature of

the sea floor around the coast of NZ

Fieldtrip links

We have been pleased to have been offered the opportunity to participate in Massey University Geography

Fieldtrips. The department has extending the offer to all teachers in the region to join the Undergraduate trips

which allow access to up-to-date detail about the physical geography of our region. A number of teacher have

taken up the offer and have reported a very enjoyable, engaging experience.

Geo Awareness Week

The Olympic Games theme of the resources provided in the GAW activities was varied and interesting and

gave scope for teachers to investigate what the nature of Geography is all about for juniors in school and to

have a chance to provide relevant and recent detail to conceptual development in our seniors. A big thanks

must go to the various teachers who helped to create the resources in what has been a very busy term.

Wellington – Louise Richards

Already the term has been a busy one for the region and committee with several key events

taking place in the first weeks of the term.

A definite highlight was the Maatangi Whenua competition. This year it was hosted for the first

time by Victoria University School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences. They were

fabulous hosts with a large teaching space being used for the venue and we were also

fortunate enough to hear from some of their Masters and Undergraduate students who talked about their

current research project. They were a definite inspiration to our year 11 students who were able to see some

of the geography pathways they can take in the future.

All schools in the region who entered a team agreed the competition was a huge success and this year’s

triumphant winners were Hutt Valley High who were placed 1st

and 3rd, with Wellington Girls College placed

2nd

. As always Geography was the winner and the Wellington region would like to thank the NZBoGT teachers

for work they put in in making this event happen.

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers. The Network. Term 3, 2016 5

Another huge success for the region was the lecture series led by Victoria University and hosted by

Wellington Girls’ College. With a strong focus on this year’s theme of Migration, students and teachers alike

were inspired with new ideas and encouraged to think “outside of the box”, instrumental for success in the

scholarship paper. The lectures were titled: Perspectives in Geography: Moving Beyond the Surface (Mike

Taylor) Mapping forced migration in the Asia –Pacific in the 21st Century (Dr Kate McMillian) and Humanity on

the move: Mapping the refugees’ journey (Dr Simone Gigliotti). We would like to thank Victoria University for

supporting our students and teachers in their scholarship preparation.

Finally the region would like to congratulate Barnaby Roche and Isla Hutching Bryant who have recently

returned from the 2016 igeo Olympiad Competition in Beijing. Barnaby and Isla were accompanied by Nick

Webber from Auckland and Henry McCallum from Christchurch. Both students from Wellington would like to

thank the region and committee for their support in helping them reach Beijing. This year the number of

countries competing has reached 45 and the calibre of students and competition had reached new heights.

We were delighted to hear, Barnaby a student at Rongotai College in Wellington, was awarded one of two

Bronze medals awarded to New Zealand! This is an outstanding achievement and having had the honour of

accompanying the team to Beijing this year and to Russia last year I really want to encourage teachers in the

region to put forward and encourage their students to apply for future competitions. Although the first selection

round for the 2017 competition hosted by Serbia has already taken place, in 2018 Quebec, Canada are the

hosts. From the preview premiered in Beijing this promises to be an amazing experience. So start seeking

out your talented Level 1 Geography students. That would definitely be a field trip they would not forget!

Finally we would like to wish all students the best for their senior exams and wish all teachers the best with

the marking and the start of the exam preparation season. How far away is summer?!

Canterbury – Donna Lee

On the evening of Thursday 18th

August, 22 teams from around the

Canterbury region participated in the

annual Maatangi Whenua quiz

competition. Hosted by the University

of Canterbury, students fuelled up on

pizza before the competition

commenced. Congratulations goes out

to the winning team from Christchurch

Boys’ High School (Blue team) -

William Erenskjold, Ben Wilkinson and

Will Gilbert. Second place went to

Cashmere High School (Team 1) and

the third place getters were Papanui

High School (Green team).

In June, a number of teachers from

Canterbury schools attended the

GIS/Spatial Analysis - Professional

Development day run by Claire Thurlow from Eagle technology and hosted by Lincoln University. The

workshop covered the basics of ArcGIS Online through to integrating GIS via the spatial analysis standards.

Teachers attending the course agreed that implementing GIS does not necessarily have to be just for higher

stakes internal assessment. Indeed, it is good practice to widely utilise GIS in junior Social Studies

programmes and Geography programmes as a teaching and learning tool.

If you are after some inspiration then watch this space………….Dr Adrian Lowe (Schools Linc Co-ordinator) at

Lincoln University has sign-posted that they are currently developing a Global Challenges Generation website.

Here there will be a range of resources available to support geography-based teaching and learning (Year 9 -

Year 13) - all focussed on finding solutions to the global challenges that face the next generation. The site will

The winning team from Christchurch Boys’ High School with

Professor Simon Kingham.

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers. The Network. Term 3, 2016 6

have NCEA assessments, unit plans, one off lessons and a forum for discussion with other teachers

nationally.

Upcoming events to diary: (further details will be emailed to schools)

Geography Scholarship Day: All day course (9am - 3pm), Monday 12 September at the University of Canterbury. The format will include a series of lectures on the topic of migration, followed by a writing workshop. Geography Teachers Day: All day course (9am - 2.30pm). To be hosted by the University of Canterbury with an emphasis on Geospatial Research. Followed by drinks at the University Staff Cub. Date yet to be confirmed (Term 4/November).

Lastly, we extend huge gratitude to our outgoing Chairperson and Board representative, Siobhan Murphy, for

all her dedicated years of service to the Geography cause. We wish her well in her new role as Acting

Assistant Principal at Aranui High School. She remains an active and committed member of the Geography

community!

Otago – Simon Cushen I had the privilege to be elected to represent the Otago region on the NZBoGT at our AGM in

June. I take the baton from Sue Lynch who has served the region admirably for six years.

I returned to the south last year after 15 years teaching Geography in the Waikato and am

heartened by the energy and enthusiasm for the subject in the Dunedin area and beyond. We

held our recent AGM at the Civil Defence HQ bunker and witnessed a quality presentation on

Dunedin’s natural hazards and response programmes. In light of the 2015 floods, well

publicised rising sea level issues facing areas of Dunedin, and potential offshore fault lines

and their associated hazards, it is reassuring to know the city is well prepared for future events, should they

arise (fingers crossed they don’t!).

The July school holidays saw the start of the geography scholarship tutorials that were well attended. These

will continue on the 26th and 27

th September if any schools have students who may be interested in attending.

In addition, The Otago round of Maatangi Whenua was held on the 11th of August with 15 teams competing. A

closely fought contest ensued with South Otago High School running out the eventual winners.

We look forward to the Geography Teachers’ Day at the University on November 24th

Curriculum – Incorporating cultural diversity

New Zealand is becoming an increasingly culturally diverse country. In the first instance our obligations under

the Treaty of Waitangi mean that it is important to consider ourselves a bi-cultural country and then beyond

that a multi-cultural country. The New Zealand Curriculum principle of cultural diversity is closely linked to that

of inclusion. For teachers in the classroom this comes down to knowing and valuing the learners and the

knowledge and understanding they bring with them to school and making connections with the students. It is

also having an understanding that even in a less culturally diverse school preparing the students for living in

New Zealand society and in a global world means exposing them to cultures different from their own.

Adrienne Alton Lee in Quality Teaching for Diverse Students in Schooling (2003) recommends that teaching is

responsive to diversity within ethnic groups. We understand that not all Pasifika students have the same

perspectives eg. There may be significant differences between Samoan and Tongan students. The same

applies to Asian students. Diversity also goes beyond ethnicity, it is considering aspects such as gender,

socio economic background and so on.

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers. The Network. Term 3, 2016 7

Having an understanding of what the principle of cultural diversity means is the first step to considering what it

means to incorporate this principle both into a geography curriculum and into our practice in the classroom.

Within the geography curriculum in school ensure that a range of contexts are incorporated from around the

world. Leave flexibility in the programme for teachers to use contexts each year that relate to the students in

their classes. This could mean that when introducing concepts such as sustainability we might use a context

which relates to some students eg. Sustainable tourism practices in the Pacific Islands. This flexibility may

mean that you use a different context each year depending on who your students are. Provide opportunities

for students to have choice in the curriculum. This could mean that students are involved in choosing

particular contexts that have meaning for them; in this way it may be possible to address all aspects of

diversity in addition to ethnicity. Involve the wider community in curriculum design, talk with parents at parents

evening about what is being done in the geography programme and get some feedback from them.

Classroom practice, as with all good pedagogical practice starts with finding out who the students are and

what they are bringing with them into your classroom. In recent years a number of Afghani students have

been at Burnside High School including some who came to New Zealand via the Tampa, getting students to

share their experiences of migration in this way is a powerful tool to helping both develop other students

understanding of this process and to make a connection with students own lives. It is important to be sensitive

around this. Other pedagogical practices that are identified by the Quality Teaching for Diverse Students BES

include that we make the learning relevant and that this is clear to the students and making sure that new

information is linked to students experiences.

Further reading and resources

Alton-Lee, Adrienne. Quality Teaching for Diverse Students in Schooling: Best Evidence Synthesis.

Wellington, N.Z.: Ministry of Education, 2003.

Asia New Zealand Education Resources:

Responding to earthquake risk in China – Year 11 geography unit

China – differences in development – Year 12 geography unit

Urban patterns of tourism in Seoul – Year 12 geography unit

Other resources on Asia

Pedagogy – The role of place based education in

geography trips

This section of Pedagogy is contributed by Anna

Wilson, Wellington East Girls College

Many of us have our favourite fieldtrips to lead. We are

comfortable with the environment, we have been there

many times before, we know and work well with the

providers we use and have a great RAMS form. But are

these the reasons why we should be taking our

students out to these environments?

As Geographers it is important to take time to reflect on

the trips we are taking and one lens to look through

when reviewing our trip is the idea of place based

education. Place-based education (PBE) is seen as a

great way for students to explore places in their local environment and learn about the history, environment,

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers. The Network. Term 3, 2016 8

culture, economy and school-community relations which can in turn help them to explore their own

relationship with a place. These are all important aspects of Geography. However, we sometimes tend to omit

some of these aspects when planning our trips. Starting with a local focus can help our students to

understand the Geography of an area before applying this to wider context.

Research into PBE has shown that using it is an effective tool to engage indigenous cultures with their

learning and could be a great way for us to engage Maori learners with our subject as it can help students to

explore “what is this place and how do we fit into it” (Penetito, 2009, p.7). Conducting field trips locally in a

place that is close to the students’ normal daily loves can give a “sense of being a stranger replaced by a

sense of belonging and connection” (Brown, 2012, p.67). While some of our case studies see us travel

outside of our local areas we can still take on some aspects of PBE in our planning.

Some examples to take into our Geography and Social Studies students could be:

Using a pepeha to introduce themselves and share their own connections to an environments. It gives students a chance to share their links to the places that we visit in an authentic way.

Sharing traditional myths and legends about a place while we are in the environment

Creating a ‘journey’ experience where students can incorporate ways of experiencing places and engage in experiences, learning about the geography, history and Maori world view of an area, as well as a scientific explanation

While stepping outside our comfort zone can be challenging we could all look within our school communities

to gain support from students, staff, parents and local iwi to help us plan for these activities. We can also work

with Physical Education and Outdoor Education teachers in our own schools who often use a PBE lens in

their fieldwork.

Follow up reading:

Penetito, W. (2009). Place-Based Education: Catering for Curriculum, Culturand Community. New Zealand

Annual Review of Education, 18, 5-29.

Brown, M. (2012). Student perspectives of a place-responsive outdoor education programme. New Zealand

Journal of Outdoor Education: Ko Tane Mahuta Pupuke, 3(1), 64-89.

Geograph - E

Geograph – E replaces the website section in the Network and will give ideas about websites and other useful e-learning resources and tools. The following is contributed by Kieran Collier, Freyburg High School.

Cultural diversity and e-learning The New Zealand Curriculum reflects New Zealand’s cultural diversity and values the histories and traditions of all its people (NZC, p.9). Cultural diversity is one of eight principles in the New Zealand Curriculum that provide a foundation for schools’ decision making. The principle of cultural diversity calls for schools and teachers to affirm students’ different cultural identities, and incorporate their cultural contexts into teaching and E-learning programmes. In respect to E-learning by being culturally responsive teachers can harness e-learning tools and online resources to recognise and value the cultures that students bring with them to the classroom.

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers. The Network. Term 3, 2016 9

This is a good place to start for designing learning experiences that allow for opportunity to encourage students to understand the diversity within their classes and schools as well as their wider communities. There are plenty of rich geographical experiences to be shared as part of that exploration too. The Living Heritage website is a great web based resource too which is referred to at the site above. Schools or classes can sign up to work collectively to create and curate content to support the further

development and awareness of the cultural diversity of their learning community

Developing teacher understanding:

For those of us who need to have plenty to read about in order to develop our awareness and understanding of this principle of cultural diversity and inclusiveness can be found through these links:

Background on cultural diversity with a geographical perspective

Powerpoint presentation on cultural diversity – lots of theory and models with examples

The following are some interesting resources that make the link between disparities in development and cultural diversity

Article which discuss how the shape of a country affects the dispersion of ideas and transfer of cultural practice.

Article which discusses the early causes of disparity and impacts on cultural diversity

YouTube clip which is an example of the starkness of differing cultures – seems like the subjects were exploited though!

There are a vast array of TED and TEDx talks that deal with the subject matter of diversity and cultural inclusiveness. Here is one link Cross cultural communication

GeoGames

On another note here are some fun games with a geographic/mapping theme.

I am particularly taken by the Pursued game, which uses Google street view and requires users to discover clues about each location from the visual imagery. I find it more involving than GeoGuessr but this is also a lot of fun.

The placeSpotting game is in the same vein but allows for the student to make their own Geo Location quizzes which makes for some fun lessons for map-based geography themed work in class on a Friday afternoon.

The Stop Disasters Game has been around for a while but will keep students entertained due to its complexity and detail, but can be enjoyed at a more basic level as well. This game has been found mentioned on a number of CORE Ed Learnz Virtual fieldtrips as well. www.learnz.org.nz for some really interesting content

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers. The Network. Term 3, 2016 10

The travel pod game requires the placing of pins into maps just like geogessr but has a series of increasingly difficult sets of clues which will certainly extend the most able cartophiles!

Assessment Update The following is contributed by Siobhan Murphy, Aranui High School.

GeoLinks with the alternative education community near your school

A tutor from an Alternative Education Unit across town was recently keen to support the academic

achievement of Y11 students she taught. Students at AltEd Units (aged under 16) aren’t required to gain

credits, however there are many students who are able to do just that – especially those who are in Y11. The

problem is finding assessments they are able to access and achieve. The tutor thought that Geography AS

1.5 and 1.6 (Research and Issue) would be an engaging way to motivate students and then to achieve the

seven L1 credits attached to the assessment.

The tutor’s unit of work was about a hypothetical café being proposed for a local park area. Students would

visit the park and survey local park users to find out their views about the proposal.

Basically the tutor was looking for some curriculum and assessment advice; another set of eyes (as preferred

by our moderator) to have a look over her assessment, have a look at the student instructions, expected

answers and marking guide to see if it fitted the criteria and to also offer advice on how the assessment could

successfully proceed.

It was a great example of collaboration and the tutor left feeling more confident in her field trip to the local

park and the follow-up work required to meet the standard in class. All it took from me was to relay my own

experience during the 1.5 and 1.6 assessments. I have offered support with moderation however as numbers

are usually very low in AE Units – this will mean only one or two student papers.

Some things to note if you are keen to offer help to your nearest AE Unit…

Many do not have internet access or their students using computers. Also they may not be as flexible with

getting out on EOTC trips as you are, so let ideas come from the tutors to you regarding fieldtrips etc. Here is

the link to find out more about Alternative Education…

http://alternativeeducation.tki.org.nz/Alternative-Education

Otherwise I strongly suggest you link in with the tutors at your nearest AE Unit. It’s another way of getting

Geography into students’ lives and who knows, if they return to school at aged 16, they may be your next Y12

Geography student enrolment.

NZQA Information

The latest moderator’s newsletter of August 2016 can be found here. There are sections on Online

moderation and Group work and the collection of evidence.

Useful links for this year’s examinations:

Sample 2016 External Assessments – Level 2 Assessment Specifications – Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers. The Network. Term 3, 2016 11

Teacher Education

The following is contributed by Mike Taylor, Victoria University, Teacher Education Portfolio holder, NZBoGT.

The international GeoCapabilities project has recently released a website

that will interest geography teacher educators, mentor teachers, and

indeed any teacher who likes to give serious consideration to the purpose

of geography education. The website is not so much based on ‘how’ we go

about teaching geography, but ‘why’ we do so, what implications this

brings to curriculum-making, and what the resulting educational benefits

might be for students. The geocapabilities website is the culmination of

over four years of research and practice by leading geography education

academics and partner schools from USA and Europe.

Specifically, the website aims are to:

Enable critical reflection on the teaching of geography at the level of goals and purposes

Develop ideas of disciplinary rigour in geography education and to link this effectively with enquiry pedagogies

Empower teachers with new understandings of the significance of their role in ‘enacting’ the curriculum

Inspire teachers of geography internationally to take responsibility for ‘curriculum making’ and to learn from each other

Provide examples of curriculum leadership.

The website consists of four engaging, and in some instances, truly interactive modules. Module 1 (Capabilities and Powerful Disciplinary Knowledge) is an introduction to some of the ‘big ideas’ of the geocapabilities approach. At the heart of this module is the growing bank of vignettes of geography as ‘powerful disciplinary knowledge’. After engaging with this material, which includes multimedia and further readings, teachers are encouraged to submit their own vignette of teaching that is disciplinary powerful.

Module 2 (Curriculum Making by Teachers) seems particularly useful for the NZ setting in which so much responsibility is given to teachers to make defensible choices about the geographical knowledge they select to teach. Module 3 (Video Case Studies) is designed to encourage critical reflection, and might attract

geography curriculum leaders seeking stimulus material for departmental discussion.

Module 4 (Curriculum Leadership and Advocacy) encourages teachers to make creative and committed responses as they consider their role as curriculum leaders rather than just classroom managers. This may particularly strike a chord with those who are proud to be teachers and suspicious of being labelled facilitators!

The website has the potential to become a significant professional learning resource that unashamedly

advances disciplinary knowledge as being important for all students to access. It is available at:

www.geocapbilities.org.

Answer to Where is this place?

A picture of Merlion Park, Singapore. The Merlion is the

national symbol of Singapore and represents Singapore’s

beginnings as a fishing village.

Picture sourced from https://pixabay.com/en/singapore-merlion-marina-

baysand-900614/

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers. The Network. Term 3, 2016 12

Out in the Field…

This section of Out in the Field is contributed by … the New Zealand Geography Olympiad Team to Beijing, China 2016.

After nearly a year of training, preparation and fundraising the 2016 New Zealand team were all set to compete against 45 other countries in the 13th International Geography Olympiad (iGeo). Representing New Zealand were Isla Hutching Bryant and Barnaby Roche from Wellington, Nick Webber from Auckland and Henry McCallum from Christchurch. Accompanied by team leaders, Nick Page and Louise Richards, the students were an absolute credit to their geography teachers, schools, and families.

The team flew out from Auckland and en route to Beijing had a stopover in Hong Kong. In Isla’s words: “we stopped off in Hong Kong for a few days to rest and ease ourselves into the heat and humidity we would be experiencing in China. From the moment we

touched down our itinerary was full with activities like walking through the never ending markets, taking the Star Ferry across to Hong Kong Island and heading up Victoria Peak. Staying in this vibrant city was definitely great preparation for what we would encounter in Beijing”. Feeling rested and acclimatised, the team flew from Hong Kong to Beijing – after the 11-hour flight from Auckland to Hong Kong the three-hour flight felt like a walk in the park! Arriving in Beijing at the same time as the Brazilian and Nigerian teams, everyone was soon making friends and we all set off together to our accommodation, the Beijing Convention Centre (BCC). This was a memorable first journey on Beijing’s motorways as the traffic, and driving, was certainly a contrast to anything we’d experienced in New Zealand! After we settled into our accommodation we set out for our first excursion – the famous Bird’s Nest stadium built for the 2008 Olympic Games. Alas, while we were unable to recreate Usain Bolt moves on the 100m track or practise our sprint starts the stadium certainly offered up amazing architecture and views of the city. The extent of the Olympic Park wowed the team, but thinking like geographers, the team were quick to question the legacy of the stadium and use of the facilities built.

Returning from the Olympic Park it was time to get ready for the opening ceremony. It was here that the students had the chance to experience what schools were like in Beijing as both the ceremony and the competition exams which followed were held at the No.80 High School. A highlight of the opening ceremony were the various cultural performances performed by students from the No. 80 High School. Visiting teams were treated to a visual symphony of both tradition and modern chinese music and dance.

With all the new sights, experiences, team camaraderie and banter it was easy to forget we were here for a competition and the team soon found themselves in the examination room pitting their geographical knowledge and understanding against the best geographers in the world. As Nick Webber describes: “The competition was challenging to say the least. The written response and multimedia [exams] depended mainly on how well the questions suited you and your knowledge. The fieldwork worked well for us kiwis as it looked more so at critical thinking and evaluation as well as being a collaborative task. The theme for the fieldwork this year was eco cities and looked at Beijing's sustainability and liveability in terms of residential spaces, water management and traffic”.

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers. The Network. Term 3, 2016 13

To break the intensity of the examinations, excursions were often made to popular attractions around Beijing. As Barnaby reflects : “Excursions were to the Forbidden City, Summer Palace and The Great Wall. Each provided insight into the rich history thanks to our tour guide, Sunny, who was extremely enlightening. A team highlight was the iconic landmark, The Great Wall. A physical challenge in the heat was climbing the several kilometers of steps to the 12

th Fortress – it was worth the views when we,

eventually, reached the top!

After six days of rigorous competition and excursions, the 13th iGeo concluded with a closing ceremony including medal presentations to the highest performing students. All of the NZ team members performed admirably, but a special mention must go to Barnaby Roche (Rongotai College) and Nick Webber (Pakuranga High School) who both achieved bronze medals for their efforts. This year’s competition was the biggest yet and the standard and calibre of students was very high.

The team concluded their time in Beijing with two extra days based in the older, traditional hutong area just to the north of the Forbidden City. Haggling in the Silk and Pearl markets for clothing and souvenirs, negotiating our way on the crowded subway system and deciding whether or not we were game enough (we were not!) to try delicacies like locusts or scorpions were all memorable experiences. An absolute highlight for the team was a half day guided cycling tour around the narrow lanes of the hutong districts. If you want to experience a completely different side to Beijing, then the team would highly recommend this! The trip is certainly one the team will never forget. As Henry explains: “China was intense and much more frantic than New Zealand. It was interesting to explore a place and culture different to our own. In addition to the competition meeting other teams from across the globe was a highlight, in particular we spent a lot of time with Team Great Britain, creating firm friendships over the course of the competition”.

Geography is about developing our understanding of place and to critically evaluate our individual and collective decisions about our interactions with places. The Geography Olympiad, by way of its host city location and the global scale of the competition, certainly provides students with a unique, memorable and fantastic opportunity to do just that. We hope that more teachers will be inspired to enter their students into our national selection process for this prestigious competition in the years that follow!

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers. The Network. Term 3, 2016 14

Current geographic issues

The following is contributed by Sue Lynch, Otago Girls’ High School.

Dunedin – a new home for refugees

Thirteen Syrian families arrived in Dunedin in April, the first to be resettled in the city since it was chosen as the new refugee resettlement location last year. Another group arrived in June.

The decision to choose Dunedin was made by the New Zealand Refugee Resettlement Strategy Senior

Officials' Group, made up of representatives from Immigration New Zealand (INZ), Ministry of Education,

Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social Development, Office of Ethnic Communities and Department of Internal

Affairs.

Dunedin joined the five other settlement locations, Auckland region, Waikato, Manawatu, Wellington region

and Nelson, where quota refugees are settled after they have completed the six week reception programme at

the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre.

INZ General Manager Steve McGill said an extra settlement location was needed following the Government's

decision to welcome 750 Syrian refugees over the next two-and-a-half years in response to the ongoing

conflict in Syria.

Dunedin was chosen as it has a strong set of services, and it was a well-connected city where a number of

government agencies have a presence. There are good employment opportunities in the area, suitable

housing is available and there is excellent support from the community.

A host of other agencies including the Southern District Health Board, the Dunedin City Council, The MOE, Church Groups, the Otago Regional Council, representatives from Dunedin Schools, Government agencies, Healthcare groups, Community organisations, former refugees, Dunedin locals who speak Arabic and other volunteers were all involved in resettlement training. Natural History New Zealand also made a video welcoming the refugees to Dunedin. The Red Cross will continue to provide support for up to twelve months as the families resettle in Dunedin.

The following link provides detailed information on the resettlement, eCALD, and healthcare: http://www.southerndhb.govt.nz/pages/refugee-resettlement/

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers. The Network. Term 3, 2016 15

News and Notices

Professional Development Opportunities Asia New Zealand – Overseas Opportunities Asia New Zealand provide a number of professional development opportunities, teaching resources and other support for teachers to help develop understanding of Asia. Information about their overseas opportunities can be found here. Australian Geography Teachers Association Conference 2017

This is being held in Melbourne 9-12 January 2017 at the University of Melbourne. Early bird registrations are now open and the full early bird registration fee is $550 AUD. Further information on keynote speakers and other details can be found here.

Useful Resource for Geography Teaching and Learning

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers. The Network. Term 3, 2016 16

The Network newsletter

The Network is the quarterly newsletter of the NZBoGT. We welcome contributions from teachers for

publication in future issues. Material should be sent electronically in Word format. Permission should be

gained by contributors for the publication of any photographs before they are submitted (i.e. from any students

shown).

It is understood that contributions for publication reflect the views of their authors, and not necessarily those of

the NZBoGT. Articles may be edited prior to publication. Material or ideas can be sent to the editor at:

editorthenetwork@gmail.com

Teachers are able to use any information and material from The Network within their schools e.g. as

professional readings and for professional development for departments. However, please acknowledge the

source.

No part of the publication should be used out of the school or by non-members of the NZBoGT without prior

permission.

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers. The Network. Term 3, 2016 17

Sue Lynch Chairperson Otago Girls’ High School ly@otagogirls.school.nz

Jane Foster Secretary Marist College j.foster@maristcollege.school.nz

Regional representatives

Jane Evans Auckland Takapuna Grammar Auckland J.Evans@takapuna.school.nz

Julie Farrell Waikato/Bay of Plenty Trident High School Whakatane FarrellJ@trident.school.nz

Kieran Collier Central Freyburgh High School Palmerston North collierk@freyberg.ac.nz

Louise Richards Deputy Chairperson Wellington Rongotai College Wellington LouiseRichards@rongotai.school.nz

Donna Lee Canterbury Burnside High School Christchurch lo@burnside.school.nz

Simon Cushen Otago King’s High School Dunedin cn@kingshigh.school.nz

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers. The Network. Term 3, 2016 18

National Representatives

Nick Page Past Chairperson, Treasurer Otumoetai College Tauranga npage@otc.school.nz

Mike Taylor Pre-service Education Victoria University Wellington Mike.taylor@vuw.ac.nz

Suzanne Baldwin Curriculum, the Network Burnside High School Christchurch bi@burnside.school.nz

Anna Wilson Geography Olympiad Coordinator Wellington East Girls’ College Wellington anna.wilson@wegc.school.nz

Tony Binns Tertiary Liaison University of Otago Dunedin jab@otago.ac.nz

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers. The Network. Term 3, 2016 19

The New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers

(NZBoGT)

The Board’s functions are to represent and support quality teaching and learning of geography in New

Zealand secondary schools. More information and a membership form can be found at:

http://www.nzgs.co.nz/become-a-member

Members of the Board

Board Representatives Portfolios

Sue Lynch Chairperson, NZGS Executive

Jane Foster Board Secretary, Maatangi Whenua

Jane Evans Auckland, Assessment

Julie Farrell Waikato/BOP, Competitions

Kieran Collier Massey (Central), Geography Awareness Week

Louise Richards Wellington, Publicity, Deputy Chairperson

Simon Cushen Otago

Donna Lee Canterbury

Mike Taylor Pre-service Teacher Education, Awards

Suzanne Baldwin Curriculum, the Network

Nick Page Past Chairperson, Treasurer

Anna Wilson Geography Olympiad Coordinator

Tony Binns Tertiary Liaison

Regional Representatives

The regional representatives on the Board each represent a region based on a branch of the New Zealand

Geographical Society. Each branch is based in a university, and this is why the regions’ names reflect these.

However, these Board members represent the wider regions throughout the country. For example Auckland

includes Northland, and Otago includes Southland.

The NZBoGT website

The url for the Geography New Zealand website is: http://www.nzgs.co.nz/

This is the site of the New Zealand Geographical Society and the NZBoGT (its subsidiary). The pages that

directly relate to the NZBoGT and teachers can be found under the section School Zone on the left of the

home page, below the NZBoGT logo. It has a number of sections of particular interest to teachers and

includes resources. It is planned to add to the Teachers’ Resources section and contributions would be most

welcome. Please email any suggestions for the website through to Siobhan Murphy: siobhan@ahs.school.nz

The New Zealand Geographical Society

The parent body of the NZBoGT is the New Zealand Geographical Society. The society has branches based

in universities around the country. Members are encouraged to attend meetings and participate in branch

activities. Contact details are available at: http://www.nzgs.co.nz/nzgs-branches

Please copy or circulate this newsletter to all geography teachers in your school