Further Considerations

From Concrete to Abstract

In addition to the discussion of what geography’s key concepts are, it is also important to consider where various geographical concepts sit on a continuum of ‘concrete’ to ‘abstract’.

Concrete vs abstract

Concrete concepts relate to things / events / phenomena that we can experience through our senses whereas abstract concepts we cannot (Roberts, 2013).

Student interpretation

However, what is a concrete concept to one student can be highly abstract for another (Brooks, 2018) depending on their previous geographical learning and the everyday geographies they bring to the classroom.
For example, ‘place’ will mean different things to different people.

Dynamicism

As mentioned previously, the concepts of your curriculum cannot be static in the long-term. Geography is a discipline that is in a constant state of becoming and involves creating new concepts in response to changes in the nature of the world (Lambert & Morgan, 2010).
New concepts need to be accounted for.

Well done!

Thank you for completing our CPD course. We hope you've enjoyed it and that it has given you some ideas for your own classroom.

1Organising a KS3 Geography Curriculum

1.1Introduction

1.1.1Organising a Key Stage 3 Geography Curriculum

1.1.2Regional Vs Systematic Geography

1.2Concepts in Curriculum Making

1.2.1The Value of Using Concepts in Curriculum Making

1.2.2What are Geography's Key Concepts?

1.2.3More Key Concepts

1.2.4Further Considerations

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