--------------------------------------------

TEACHING GEOGRAPHY TO NON-GEOGRAPHERS

Higher Education Study Group session
at the Sussex RGS/IBG Annual Conference 2000

Convenors
Dr. John McKendrick and Dr. Elizabeth Mooney
(Glasgow Caledonian University)



Call for Papers
Titles and 250-word abstracts should be submitted to either of the session
convenors by 30th April 1999.  Decisions on the final papers will be made
by mid-May.  Those interested in presenting a paper are encouraged to
discuss their proposals with either of the session conveonors before
submitting an abstract.  Background notes on the session are provided below.


Geography in Higher Education
Not all Geography in HE is delivered to students who are registered on
geography degree programmes and to students who identify themselves as
'geographers'.  Modularisation, itself an increasingly common framework for
degree programmes, facilitates, and to some extent encourages,
cross-disciplinary learning.  For example in the UK, not only is
'geography' taught in modules on Geography degree programmes to Geography
students: these same geography modules are also presented as:
… elective modules on non-Geography degree programmes on which
non-geography students are able (even encouraged) to participate (at
undergraduate and postgraduate levels, on interdisciplinary and
non-Geography/subject-specific degree programmes).
… core modules for Year 1 students with no formal background in
geographical education and no interest in pursuing further 'Geography' in
HE (on interdisciplinary and non-Geography/subject-specific degree
programmes)
… an integral part of the degree course of students on interdisciplinary
degree programmes: students may follow a Geography pathway, but identify
themselves as 'interdisciplinary' students.
… an elective module in undergraduate interdisciplinary degree programmes
… an integral part of the degree course of students on joint
Geography/'other subject' degree programmes: some of these students do not
identify themselves as 'geography' students.
 Furthermore, Geography is also taught as
… a theme within 'non-Geography' modules taught by non-Geography staff on
'other-subject' degree programmes.


Teaching non-geographers - pedagogical issues
The pedagogical implications of teaching 'non-geographers' have yet to be
addressed.  Examples of issues requiring consideration include:
Exam performance,     e.g. do Geography students out-perform non-Geography
students on Geography modules?
Fiscal implications,     e.g. when financial allocations follow FTEs, do
Geography departments gain from teaching more non-Geographers, or do they
lose from more of their students electing modules beyond Geography?
Department policy/strategy,     e.g. do departments have explicit/implicit
policy/strategy toward teaching non-Geography students?
Marketing modules,     e.g. how, and by whom, are Geography modules
presented to non-Geographers at the point of subject choice?
Curriculum/module design,     e.g. are modules/programmes modified to
account for/encourage the participation of non-Geography students?
Disciplinary learning norms,     e.g. what challenges are presented in
teaching students whose host discipline may approach learning in a
different fashion, and how are these challenges met?
Communicating geographical concepts,     e.g. to what extent are
non-Geographers hampered by their lack of background knowledge of key
geographical concepts and ideas, and how is this tackled?
Class interaction,     e.g. do students from different degree programmes
participating on the same module, gain 'additional' benefits from
interacting with students from other programmes, or is factionalism
intensified?
Resourcing implications,     e.g. are additional supplementary resources
required to support non-Geography students on Geography modules?
Fieldwork/Laboratory Work,     e.g. do the practical/hands-on aspects of
many Geography modules present particular challenges for non-Geography
students?
Student motivation,     e.g. what is the student reaction to compulsory
Geography modules at Year One (often a feature of Scottish degree
programmes)?
Benchmarking: the challenges ahead,     e.g. what will be the implications
of Benchmarking on desirable learning outcomes and how might this impact
upon the teaching of Geography to non-Geographers?

Organisation of session
The session will start with an introductory overview (McKendrick and
Mooney), end with a plenary discussion following the reflections of a
discussant (t.b.a.), and will include six-eight substantive papers.
Authors of the introductory paper and the substantive papers will prepare a
written version of their talk by the end of October 1999.  These 'working
papers' will be posted to the WWW.  The availability of these papers will
be publicised and session participants (audience and presenters) will be
encouraged to review these papers before RGS2000.  The conference
presentations will be short (15-20 minutes) and presenters will be required
to summarise only the key points of their paper.  A substantial part of
each '15-20 minute slot' will be given over to discussion.

Dissemination and publication
The preparation of pre-conference papers will facilitate their subsequent
publication as a 'collection' in an appropriate outlet (e.g. JGHE Arena
symposium).

Convenors
Dr. Mooney is Geography Subject Leader at Glasgow Caledonian University and
is a member of the Education Committee of the Royal Scottish Geographical
Society.
Dr. McKendrick is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of
Geography in Higher Education.
Drs. Mooney and Dr. McKendrick are Geography lecturers in the School of
Social Sciences at Glasgow Caledonian University.

Contact details
Drs. Elizabeth Mooney and John H. McKendrick
Geography, School of Social Sciences, Glasgow CALEDONIAN University,
Glasgow, G4 0BA
+44 (0)141-331-3494 / 3492  (tel.)
+44 (0)141-331-3439 (fax)
[log in to unmask] / [log in to unmask] (email)




Dr. John McKendrick
Lecturer in Geography
School of Social Sciences
Glasgow CALEDONIAN University
Glasgow
G4 0BA
+44 (0)141-331-3492 (tel.)
+44 (0)141-331-3439 (fax)
[log in to unmask] (email)




%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%