AGTA Conference 2024

The next AGTA Conference will be held in Darwin from 2 to 4 October 2024.

Planning is well underway for what is certain to be an outstanding professional learning event all geography teachers will not want to miss.

Save the date now!

 

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Australian Geography Competition

>> Entires are now open and will close on Friday 17 March 2023

In 2023, the Competition will be held online within schools, from Wednesday 10 May to Wednesday 24 May. The Competition consists of mainly multiple-choice questions testing geographical knowledge and skills. All participants receive results and certificates (top 1% in Australia, high distinction, distinction, credit or participation). Students will be graded at school Year levels – Year 7, Year 8, Year 9, Year 10, Year 11, and Year 12. Outstanding students at each Year level win prizes which include books and special certificates, and medals for first in Australia.

>> Further details

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Geographia December 2022

The December 2022 issue of AGTA's Geographia is now available. Contents include

• From the Editor
• So, ChatGPT – tell me why geography education is more important than ever?
• AGTA Conference 2022
• Conference Sponsors
• AGTA National Conference 2024
• Morocco are the first-ever African semifinalists
• Dumbed-down curriculum
• How well does the new Australian Curriculum prepare young people for climate change?
• Affiliates Reports: NT • NSW/ACT • QLD • SA • TAS • VIC • WA

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Australia Day Honours: Emeritus Professor Richard Howitt

Emeritus Professor Richard Howitt, will become a member of the Order of Australia for services to education and Indigenous affairs. Richie has been a major force in Australian Geography. After a career as a Primary teacher, Richie had a distinguished academic career at Sydney’s Macquarie University. Congratulations Richie!

>> See the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age for photograph and associated article published on Australia Day 2023. 

Free webinar: Geography education and the discipline's future

A question for geographers and allies always seems to be will we flounder or flourish?

Join Australian Geography Teachers Association President Susan Caldis and Vice President Simon Miller, Wiley's Shirly Griffith, Senior Director and Head of School Publishing, the Institute of Australian Geographer's President Jen Carter, and others in this latest webinar in our series. As geography educators working in schools, initial teacher education, higher education, and publishing our guests advocate for the field, take action to support it, and strategize to deal with pinch points. In this webinar they will consider how and with what effects the future of geography education is in lockstep with the discipline's and profession's future in postsecondary spaces. Deliberately preceding September's AGTA Conference, the discussion will include an evidence-based overview and a lively discussion with panellists from publishing, research, and teaching backgrounds that will also invite questions and comments from our audience and, we hope, a celebration of geography education.

The webinar is free to attend and its focus is on geography education. The webinar will be held at 430pm-6pm (AEST) on 20 September 2022.

>> Further information here.

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You are invited to do a free 1-hour 'PD bite' on: Primary Geography in Australia - Directions and Discussions

The Australian Geography Teachers Association (AGTA) is proud to announce a new, nationally focused professional learning initiative in an e-learning short course format. 

The short course is follows an 'In-conversation with...' structure connected to professional readings and opportunities for personal reflection. Associate Professor Alaric Maude and Dr Susan Caldis are joined in conversation to discuss the importance and implications of geographical knowledge and understanding in the primary years of schooling.

Primary Geography in Australia - Directions and Discussions is a 1 hour online short course offered at no cost until 1 October 2022. If you are interested in learning more about the development of the Australian Curriculum: Geography and implications of the recent curriculum review arising from Australian Curriculum: Geography version 9, this course is for you.

Please see the flyer for further information. If you have questions, please contact the AGTA e-learning team via email at agta.elearning@gmail.com.

>> Download flyer

 

National Summit on Teaching Out-of-field (TOOF)

The National Summit on Teaching Out-of-field (TOOF) was attended by academics, school leaders, classroom teachers across various career stages, representatives from curriculum authorities, and representatives from professional associations. The Australian Geography Teachers Association (AGTA) was represented by Trish Douglas (Immediate Past Chair) and Dr Susan Caldis, (Chair).

The report titled Australian National Summit on Teaching Out-of-Field: Synthesis and Recommendations for Policy, Practice and Research is one outcome of the national summit. There are two parts to the report. Part A synthesises contributions to the Summit into key messages, actions and recommendations across five themes. Part B provides summaries of the presentations.

In response to contributions from Trish Douglas and Dr Susan Caldis, the complexities associated with out-of-field teaching in Geography are specifically explored and addressed within Theme 2 School Management and Leadership, Theme 3 Initial Teacher Education, and Theme 5, Teacher Professional Learning. A total of 22 Actions and 46 Recommendations to inform policy, practice and research have been further distilled to five Key Messages, namely definition, measurement, strategy, policy and collaboration.

Report downloads
>> Executive summary
>> Report: Part A
>> Presentation summaries: Part B
>> Actions and recommendations

 

Everyday Stories of Climate Change

Announcing a free online event on Tuesday, 12 July 2022 from 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm AEST

The event will launch the comic, 'Everyday Stories of Climate Change', which threads together research about low-income families' experience and adaptation to climate change across five countries.

Readers will start in Australia and then head to Bangladesh where sea-level rise impacts women’s domestic duties. Next, you travel to South Africa, where drought is experienced differently based on a person’s race. After this, you cross the Atlantic Ocean to Bolivia where migration allows families to adapt to climate change, but the separation of family members can strain relationships. From here, you go to Puerto Rico where people are recovering from Hurricane Maria. Finally, you go to the Caribbean Island, Barbuda, where people are resisting disaster capitalists after Hurricane Irma.

The event will be chaired by Professor Lauren Rickards (RMIT University, Australia) joined by speakers Adeeba Risha (BRAC University, Bangladesh), Dr Gemma Sou (RMIT University, Australia), Dr Gina Ziervogel (University of Cape Town, South Africa), Katrina Davey (Geography Teachers’ Association of Victoria Inc., Australia)

The event will be live-streamed and recorded.

>> Register for this free event

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Vale Dr Donald Sidney Biddle AM, BA, MEd, PhD, FRGS, FACE 12 March 1923 – 21 January 2022 The Board of the Australian Geography Teachers Association (AGTA) are extremely saddened to learn about the passing of Dr Donald Sidney Biddle and wish to extend their deepest sympathies to the Biddle family. Dr Biddle remains a leading light in geography education across Australia. Dr Biddle was the founding President of AGTA, and although on paper his leadership term went from 1967 – 1969, his influence remains to this day. Don’s service to and advocacy for geography education was exemplary. We remain inspired by Don’s conviction about the importance and role of collaboration, demonstrated through his distinguished service to several professional associations for geography - the legacy of which continues to provide the glue which keeps us all connected across school, initial teacher education, and academic geography research contexts. In recognition of the high esteem in which Don is held, AGTA established the Dr Don Biddle Friend of Geography Award in 2010. The Award recognises, through peer nomination, those who make a significant and sustained contribution to the work of the Association and in promoting geographical education across Australia. Read more about the Don Biddle Friend of Geography Award. The immense contribution of Dr Don Biddle to AGTA and to geography education in Australia continues to inspire geography educators across career-stages and contexts. Don was a progressive educator who led by example and created a treasured legacy of collaboration, inclusion and scholarly endeavour. To read more about the life of Dr Biddle and his contribution to geography education, please see the following: A paper written by Dr Susan Bliss based on an interview conducted with Dr Don Biddle A citation written by Dr Stephen Codrington when Dr Don Biddle was awarded Life Membership to the Geographical Society of NSW. A tribute written by Dr Susan Caldis and shared at his Celebration of Life Service on behalf of the AGTA Board and Past AGTA Chairpersons.

Geographia December 2021

The December 2021 issue of AGTA's Geographia is now available. Contents include

• Chair of Director’s Annual Report, 2021
• I am a Geographer Career Profile: Tarryn Harding — Oxana Repina
• Fieldwork: Examining Nature-Based Tourism — Land Use Change
• Affiliates Reports: NT — NSW/ACT — QLD — SA — TAS — VIC — WA
• 2022 Calendar

AGTA Conference 2021 — Postponed

Regrettably the AGTA Conference 2021 has been postponed to 28-30 September 2022 due to the challenging and evolving COVID-19 situation across each of our States and Territories.

All enquiries should be sent by email to AGTA2021@gmail.com.

 

 

 

Geographical Education: How can STEM be enhanced by geography?

The contents of Geographical Education Volume 34, 2021 include

• Editorial: How can STEM be enhanced by geography? — Terri Bourke & Susan Caldis
• Recognising Geography As a Partial Stem Subject: The Journey So Far — Susan Caldis & Dr Grant Kleeman
• GeoSTEM: “The Urban Mess” Interdisciplinary Learning in a Project-based Learning High School Environment — Kimberley Parnis & Adam L. Hendry
• STEM in Geography Education – an Earth Science Perspective — Dr Kate Selway
• Making It Happen: An Experience of Using Earth Observation-Based Research Outputs for Engaging High School Students in Novel Technologies for Sustainable Agriculture — Bronwyn L. Teece, Graciela Metternicht, Antonio Gnassi, Francesco Vuolo & Oscar Rosario Belfiore
• Book Reviews

>> Download individual articles

ACARA Australian Curriculum Review

The ACARA updated curriculum following the Review is available for feedback.

The following proposed curriculum documents, survey and FAQ can be accessed via the consultation website:

• HASS learning area F-10
• HASS F-6 Geography sub-strand information
• Geography 7-10 All elements consultation curriculum
• Geography 7-10 Scope and sequence consultation
• Geography 7-10 Comparative information

Public feedback was sought until Thursday 8 July 2021.

Check your State/Territory association website and/or newsletters for details of information sessions and forums.

Careers Website Project

AGTA has appointed Linda Jeffry from Career Ideas Hobart to update the career information on the website - we are really grateful to Linda for agreeing to join the Careers project and look forward to learning from her expertise in career development.

Linda is the National Vice President of the Career Development Association of Australia and provides career and employment consulting services to local, national and international clients. 

Thank you to Rowan Harrison and Greg Calvert (recent AGTA Board members from Tasmania) who continue to lead the work they started on this project. 

A national symposium for Geography and STEM

AGTA is proud to be a joint supporter of a national symposium for Geography and STEM.

The visibility of Geography in the STEM field and its contribution to STEM education. The symposium is part of an actioned response to a recommendation in the strategic plan Geography: Shaping Australia’s Future (National Committee for Geographical Sciences, 2018). The symposium co-chairs are Dr Grant Kleeman and Susan Caldis; panel presenters include Dr Karen Joyce, Kimberley Parnis, Professor Ian Rutherfurd, Dr Kate Selway and Professor Michael Solem.

>> Please see the flyer for further information.

The national symposium is proudly sponsored by the following professional associations:
• Australian Geography Teachers Association (AGTA);
• Geographical Society of NSW (GSNSW); and
• Institute of Australian Geographers (IAG).

Australian Geography Competition

The Competition is open to students in all Years of secondary school. Primary schools may also enter, and teachers should check the past questions for level of difficulty. To be eligible for major prizes, students must be studying geography (or an integrated social science that includes geography).

In 2021, the Competition will be held in schools between Thursday 18 March and Wednesday 31 March 2021. It consists of multiple-choice questions testing geographical knowledge and skills. The answer sheets are centrally marked and all participants receive results and certificates (Top 1% in Australia, high distinction, distinction, credit or participation). Students will be graded at school year levels – Year 7, Year 8, Year 9, Year 10, Year 11, and Year 12.

The Competition is a joint initiative of the Royal Geographical Society of Queensland and the Australian Geography Teachers' Association.

>> Entry Form

GTANSW

Free access to selected Geography Bulletin Resources K – 10

 Supporting students and teachers through the COVID-19 pandemic.  

• Geoscience Careers
• Careers Poster: Kids Survey
• Careers Poster- Q&A
• Stage 3 Primary_Bushfires
• Stage 4 Canada_Landforms
• Stage 4 Canada_Landforms&Biomes
• Stage 4 Canada_Water Inquiry
• Stage 4 Canada_Water
• Stage 4 – 5 Urban Places and Liveability
• Stage 5 Human_Wellbeing_Assessment
• Stage 5 Human Wellbeing Workbook
• Stage 5 Biomes_Oceanography_Sharks
• Stage 5 Biomes_Assessment_Task
• Stage 5 Env_change_SydHarbour
• Stage 5 Env. Change_Coral Reefs
• 7-10_Skill Development
• Liveability – Kauri Coast

Online Professional Learning

GTANSW & ACT is continuing to offer its acclaimed online learning opportunities through the Open Learning platform. These flexible, anywhere, anytime courses are NESA-accredited for 3-5 hours. The last year has seen an exciting expansion of course offerings to support new and experienced Geography teachers:

• Geography 101: Concepts, Part 1 (5hr)
• Geography 102: Concepts, Part 2 (5 hr)
• Geography 110: Intro to Maps (3hr)
• Geography 111: Intro to Topographic Map Skills (3hr)
• Geography 141: Teaching Place and Liveability – for teachers new to the unit (3hr)
• Geography 241: Teaching Place and Liveability – for experienced teachers (3hr)
• Geography 142: Teaching Landscapes and Landforms (3hr)
  

>> For more information contact the GTANSW & ACT Online Learning Coordinator
>> Website listing

 

A STEM Ambassador to represent geography education

On 5 March 2020, Science & Technology Australia (STA) announced 16 STEM Ambassadors who will work, together with their local MP, to help bridge the gap between science and government in Australia. The GTA & ACT NSW and the AGTA Board would like to congratulate GTA NSW & ACT President and AGTA Director, Susan Caldis, on her appointment as one of the STEM Ambassadors. As a contributing author to the Geography in Australia Schools chapter in the Academy of Sciences' Geography: Shaping Australia’s Future, we know Susan works hard to take informed action around the recommendations connected to geography education; and we wish her every success in her advocacy for geography education to become more visible in STEM education and for geography to become formally recognised in policy and practice as a STEM subject. Congratulations Susan!

 

Professional Learning Package

GTANSW & ACT is excited to announce a digital Professional Learning Package for flexible use in schools in Term 4, 2020. The theme is Planning for 2021 and will contain presentations with a focus on teaching approaches, resources and tools that can be integrated into programs during the review and planning process that occurs in Term 4 in most schools. These will include Creativity in Geography; Design Planning; Building Cultural Capabilities; Geography as a critical intelligence and how we can teach capabilities in a transdisciplinary context; Integrating spatial technologies, new resources.

The Digital Learning Package is open to Geography Teachers across Australia. Members of State and Territory Associations can use their membership to get members rates.

>> More details
>> Registration

 

AGTA Conference 2021 Announced

 

Plan ahead for an amazing national conference you will not want to miss!

The next AGTA Conference will be held at the Crowne Plaza in Hobart, Tasmania. With so many opportunities for pre- and post-conference activities this destination will be sure to attract many attendees from all parts of Australia and beyond.

Key dates to record are Wednesday 29 September to Friday 1 October 2021.

>> Register your interest

 

Geographia: October 2020 issue

Geographia is AGTA's newsletter containing the latest news and information about AGTA Board meetings, news from each of the member associations and other news related to the teaching of geography.

 

Geography:  Shaping Australia’s Future

Geography: Shaping Australia’s future was prepared by the National Committee for Geographical Sciences and presents the state of play of geography as a discipline in Australia. It provides a unified vision for Australian geography over the next decade.

The plan offers a framework for engaging research, teaching and industry that aligns strategically with contemporary social, economic and environmental challenges of our region.

>> Download decal plan summary

>> Download the decal plan

 

 

2019 Australian Geography Competition: Entries Open

Entries close 1 March 2019
Competition dates 27 March – 10 April

The Australian Geography Competition is a contest for Australian secondary school students, assessing their geographical knowledge and skills. The Competition aims to encourage student interest in geography and to reward student excellence.

• for students from Year 7 to Year 12
• only $4 per student, with no minimum number of students or other registration fee
• in schools from Wednesday 27 March to Wednesday 10 April 2019
• achievement certificates for all participating students, special certificates for top 1%, major prizes for highest performing students and schools

>> To find out more and enter your students, visit the competition website and follow on Facebook.

 

Latest issue of AGTA's Geographia

The July 2019 issue of AGTA's newsletter Geographia is now available. Contents include

• AGTA Membership
• AGTA Board
• AGTA Conference 2019
• Australia Geography Competition 2019
• Geography Unlocked Series
• EUROGEO Mini-Conference 2019, Paris
• Around the affiliates

 

Latest issue of AGTA's Geographia

The November 2018 issue of AGTA's newsletter Geographia is now available. Contents include

• AGTA Conference 2019
• 2018 Geography Big Week Out
• TGTA Milestone
• New York City Teacher Orientation Study Tour
• GeogSpace
• Geography Literacy Unlocked Textbook
• Around the affiliates

Australian Geography Competition: Australian Team win two bronze medals at the 2018 International Geography Olympiad in Quebec City

Congratulations to the four young Australian geography students who represented Australia at the XV International Geography Olympiad (iGeo) held in Quebec City, Canada, from July 31 to August 6. The Olympiad was organised under the auspices of the International Geographical Union (IGU) with the support of Université Laval, North America’s second oldest university.

The four-member Australian team were selected through their outstanding performance in last year’s Australian Geography Competition (AGC) and Geography’s Big Week Out (from left to right): Phoebe Blaxill from St Mary's Anglican Girls' School, WA – bronze medal; Harry Hall from Trinity College (Gawler), SA; Hannah Wright from Walford Anglican School for Girls, SA – bronze medal, and Sophie Ohlin from Sydney Girls High School, NSW. The Australian team was accompanied by two team leaders: Kath Berg, Australian Geography Competition Committee and Liam Sloan, Geography Teachers Association of South Australia. Forty-three countries took part in this highly prestigious one-week international competition with the Romanian team declared the overall winners at this year’s event.

To test the best young geographers in the world, the iGeo programme involves three academic challenges over the course of a week: a written response test, a multimedia test and a fieldwork exercise requiring observation, cartographic representation and geographical analysis. The programme also included poster presentations by teams, a cultural session showcasing Canadian cultures, and visits to Old Quebec (a UNESCO World Heritage site) and Forêt Montmorency.

The value of the iGeo experience cannot be underestimated; participating students appreciate not only the opportunity to travel abroad and challenge themselves, but also the experience of meeting and making friends with passionate geography students from all over the world. "The iGeo was a fantastic opportunity not only to learn about geography, hearing from bright minds in the field and undergoing insightful fieldwork, but also to make friends from all around the globe. Being around such a wide variety of international cultures, personalities and languages is a rare event, and because of it the experience was invaluable." said Harry Hall, participating student.

Kath Berg, Australian Team Leader commented that “The iGeo is a prestigious international contest. It inspires active interest in geographical studies among students and contributes to greater intercultural understanding through the friendships developed between students from different countries.” The Australian team has once again scored commendable results. This highlights the strength of Australia's Year 11 and 12 geography curricula in teaching students to think, analyse and interpret information. The role of geography in schools is continuously supported by the Australian Geography Competition. The pre-selection for the four-student team that will represent Australia at the 2019 iGeo in Hong Kong, China, is under way. Sixteen high-achieving Year 11 students from the 2018 Australian Geography Competition will soon be selected to take part in Geography’s Big Week Out, a six-day training/selection event, to be held on Kangaroo Island, South Australia in early October this year.

The participation of the Australian team at the International Geography Olympiad is made possible with the support of the Australian Government Department of Education and Training, Australian Geography Competition and with sponsorship of the AGC from Monash University (School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment and School of Social Sciences), Macquarie University (Department of Geography and Planning and Department of Environmental Sciences), and The University of Queensland (School of Earth and Environmental Sciences).

The annual Australian Geography Competition is a joint initiative of the Royal Geographical Society of Queensland (www.rgsq.org.au) and the Australian Geography Teachers’ Association.

For further information about the Australian Geography Competition and its associated events, iGeo and GBWO, visit http://www.geographycompetition.org.au/.

 

 

Latest issues of Geographical Education

 

 

Latest issue of AGTA's Geographia

The October 2017 issue of AGTA's newsletter Geographia is now available. Contents include

• AGTA Membership
• AGTA Conference 2017
• AGTA Conference 2019
• Geography Skills Unlocked Textbook
• The GeoSix and the Bushfire Story
• New resources for teachers: Hunger in a world of plenty
• Affiliate Contribution
• Around the affiliates

AGTA 2017 Conference

A highly successful conference was held during January 2017 at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne. The conference attracted two hundred attendees from all Australian States and Territories as well as the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Singapore and New Zealand. A pre-conference tour of western Victoria was one of the highlights as were the full and half-day fieldwork trips. Keynote speakers included Dr Rachel Carey, Professor William Cartwright, Professor David Lambert, Professor Bruce Rasmussen, Dr Michael Solem. Keynote, workshop and field trip presentations are available for download from this website.

New AGTA publication

Geography Literacy Unlocked has been written for secondary geography students seeking to improve their literacy skills. It includes a focus on written, visual and oral literacy.

Geography Literacy Unlocked is published by the Australian Geography Teachers Association and written by Dr Grant Kleeman. One of Australia’s leading geography educators.

Key features:

• An engaging, easy-to-navigate design
• A student-friendly approach featuring step-by-step explanations and annotated exemplars
• A focus on the basics of effective written communication – spelling, punctuation, tense and the use of connectives
• Descriptions of the principal text types used in geography, supported by annotated examples
• Guidance for writers in quoting, paraphrasing, summarising and referencing the work of others
• A focus on the responsible use of social media
• A comprehensive coverage of the principal forms of visual and oral texts students encounter in geography
• Templates or scaffolds to support the interpretative skills students are expected to demonstrate.

>> Download brochure and order form

 

Geographer awarded Order of Australia (AM) in Queen's Birthday Day Honours

Associate Professor Alaric Maude has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2017 Queen's Birthday honours. The AGTA Board congratulates Alaric on receiving this award which recognises his significant service to education in the field of Geography as an academic, researcher, author, and mentor. Alaric made a notable contribution to the development of the Australian Curriculum: Geography as a Lead Writer and Writing Coach. He has authored an impressive list of peer reviewed papers and numerous books as well as having provided presentations at national and State Geography conferences.

Evidence for learning and feedback resources

Effective feedback practice is shown to increase student progress by as much as an extra eight months over a year. AITSL in partnership with Evidence for Learning have developed new materials to support teachers and school leaders to enhance feedback practices with students in their context.

The resources draw upon global evidence and research-based approaches, including from AITSL’s own Board Chair and world-renowned education researcher, Professor John Hattie. The suite of materials is free to access from the AITSL website and includes the following:

• A spotlight research summary – Reframing feedback to improve teaching and learning – to describe the underpinning research on effective feedback.
• Written and video case studies that profile effective implementation of feedback within Australian schools.
• Implementation resources, such as a readiness check, planning overview and an introductory presentation, to help schools introduce an effective feedback strategy.

 

The AGTA Board met in Sydney in October 2016 for the biannual meeting and AGM.

There were some significant changes to the Executive. In a changing of the guard, Grant Kleeman completed his term as President and was replaced by Trish Douglas. As such, Malcolm McInerney also completed his term as Immediate Past Chair. AGTA would like to formally express their thanks to both Grant and Malcolm for their outstanding leadership and support of the organisation and for the teaching of Geography in Australia.

The AGTA Board Executive 2016-17:
Chair:Trish Douglas (VIC)
Deputy chair: Darryl Mitchie (WA)
Secretary: Susan Caldis (NSW)
Treasurer & Immediate Past Chair: Dr. Grant Kleeman (NSW)

 

National Committee for Geography

National Committee for Geography has made more progress on the Decadal plan for geography. It has been decided to develop a program called Strategic Directions for the Geographical Sciences. This will assist in explaining the role of geography to policy makers and decisions maker. This will include the development of an educative document organised around the Federal Government list of the five main focuses for strategic research to be delivered by March 2016. Working parties will be formed to investigate and report on these five strands:

• Living in a changing environment
• Promoting population health and well being
• Managing our food and water assets
• Securing Australia’s place in a changing world
• Lifting productivity and economic growth

All of these have explicit links to geographical research and the importance of geographical knowledge in the classroom. There will be a sixth working party focussing on school geography and developing support for the foundational nature of Geography and the fundamental need for compulsory Geography F-10 in schools. More information is available on the Geographical Sciences — Australian Academy of Science website. AGTA has supported this initiative by contribution to the seeding funding to begin the project. Look out for opportunities to get involved.

AGTA Awards

Have you developed an exciting new teaching resource? As the conference program begins to take shape don’t forget about the AGTA awards. The entry details will be added to the website soon. Bookmark this link for further information.

AC—Professional Learning

AGTA has been active in the provision of PL opportunities for a range of teachers across the whole country. Contact your local GTA for information about upcoming events. Also look out for exciting new opportunities in 2016. AGTA continues to fund experts to attend workshops and forums in different locations where a need has been identified. If you would like more information about this please contact AGTA via this link to see if we can help.

AGTA Membership

Membership of AGTA: as of the last board meeting in October with a new constitution; AGTA now has 15 directors. These consist of two directors from each member affiliate, one being the President of the Affiliate Association and the other being nominated by the affiliate. Individuals can only make representation to AGTA and connect with your local associations. New South Wales Northern Territory Queensland South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia through their association to bring issues to the national attention. AGTA exists as a national body representing the interests of Geography Teachers across Australia. If you have an issue that you believe would merit national attention you can raise it through your local state Geography Association. You can inquire about membership. In addition AGTA have a range of resources available to support the teaching of Geography and they can be investigated here. AGTA continues to support the work of the AAAE as a peak body representing Education Associations. They are an active group and have produced several positions papers on a range of contemporary issues in education which are useful professional reading. AGTA has developed an Action Plan:

• Posters - development of a new set of classroom posters. These will be available for purchase from Affiliates and directly from AGTA
• AGTA Roadshow — further implementation of the travelling roadshow to support the implementation of geography in the classroom. The aim is to offer the roadshow in each state as many times as required
• Textbook - AGTA is seeking to produce a text book to support the implementation of the AC:Geography. This will help support the development of the key skills and inquiry methodology.
• Brochure - the development of a reproducible resource for use in schools advocating for the range of careers that the study of Geography can support. Useful in subject counselling and careers events. √ Work with RGSQ regarding the Geography competition in order to further develop the project and to initiate a primary school version.
• Response to HASS — AGTA has already developed a response to the AC: Geography review and is continuing to respond to the push for a single HASS curriculum. The AGTA Board will monitor and respond to further developments.

Tim Costello to continue as AGTA Patron

AGTA is delighted to announce that Tim Costello AO has agreed to continue in the role of patron. Tim has a long standing interest in the promotion of geography as a key part of the curriculum in developing active citizens who are willing to strive against inequality in any level. You can read more about Tim here along with some of the articles he has contributed in support of geography.

Don Biddle Award — Wayne Sutton

The Don Biddle Friend of Geography Award is named in honour of the founding president of AGTA, Dr Don Biddle. The Award is made by the AGTA Board based on the recommendation of a selection committee comprising three members of the Board. Current serving members of the AGTA Board are not eligible to receive the award. It was awarded posthumously to Wayne Sutton in recognition of the enormous contribution he made to AGTA and to the consolidation of geography within Tasmania.

Review of the Australian Curriculum

The newly elected federal government announced a comprehensive review of the curriculum to be held that would hear all submissions and report back by the middle of the year. AGTA developed a response document on behalf of all affiliates and Grant Kleeman was asked to appear before the review body to present this document and answer any questions.

The review panel had very specific areas of focus – the curriculum development process and potential bias and the applicability of the cross curriculum priorities. The review panel did not appear to have closely read any of the submissions.

AGTA was given a series of questions to respond to focussed on the process of the curriculum development. AGTA highlighted the role that state jurisdictions ended up having especially with regard to specific agendas. Also raised the issue of multiple hats – writer, reviewer, adviser, and jurisdiction representative could be the same person and this did impact on how the curriculum was developed. AGTA supported the notion that the relationship between AGTA and ACARA was supportive and was only superseded in the final moths where the pressure of the timeline took over.

The most likely outcome appears to be that recommendations are made to strip back the AC to a very basic and general series of core content statements – with contextual information, priorities or competencies left to the jurisdictions. On behalf of AGTA Grant Kleeman lobbied for more geography teachers to be trained. More information will be available here.

 

AAAE Founding Membership

AGTA is proud to be a founding member of the newly formed AAAE.

AAAE is a body specifically formed to represent the interests of teacher professional associations at a national level. There are 23 founding member associations, and the AAAE will be able to lobby at a federal level on issues affecting teachers and their professional practice. More information will be available later in the year but in the meantime checkout the website for further details.

 

Decadal plan for Geography

This is a new initiative by the Academy of Sciences to work on a long term plan for the development of Geography as an academic discipline with strong and real connections to developing the key skills needed in the 21st Century.

AGTA is keen to be partner in this as a major player in the teaching and development of geography in schools. There will be some funding available for affiliates to get involved in the process and to ensure that school based geography remains a major focus for the work. An example of a decadal plan for space science can be viewed here.

 

National Geography Competition

The RGSQ continues to offer the National Geography Competition for schools and students and in 2014 over 70 000 students took part.
It is a great opportunity to inspire your students and to identify high achievers at your school. Winners of the competition can also be invited to join the Geography at your school. Winners of the competition can also be invited to join the Geography Olympiad team. The Olympiad team represents Australia in 2014 at the international competition to be held in Krakow, Poland.

Further details about the National Geography Competition are available here.

GeogSpace

The GeogSpace website developed by AGTA and Education Services Australia (ESA) is now live. AGTA thanks all members of the writing and development teams for their outstanding contributions to this resource which will support the teaching of the Australian Curriculum: Geography. AGTA will be running special professional learning programs to support teachers in their use of this wonderful new resource. Further information about these programs can be obtained from AGTA Chair Malcolm McInerney.

>> Download GeogSpace flyer

 

Australian Geography Competition

The Australian Geography Competition is an initiative of AGTA and the Royal Geographical Society of Queensland (RGSQ) and is proudly sponsored by National Geographic Channel.

High-scoring students are announced in early May and the results distributed to schools at the end of May. Australia’s team to the next National Geographic World Championship is chosen from this Final. Our team to the International Geography Olympiad is selected from high-scoring students in the Competition’s senior division.

View past questions in the Australian Geography Competition or order posters from RGSQ.

GeogSpace

The GeogSpace project team has been hard at work throughout the second half of 2012 writing resource units for this project which is being undertaken with Education Services Australia (ESA).

 

AITSL llustrations of practice

AGTA has completed three Illustrations of practice to be published by Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). At present one of these titled Sustainable cities has been added to the AITSL website. It is expected that the two dynamic illustrations will follow shortly.

 

Australian Curriculum: Geography

The draft geography F-12 Australian Curriculum: Geography went live on-line for consultation in October 2011 and is available for feedback until 28 February 2012. If you want to have a look at the draft scope and sequence for geography just go to http://consultation.australiancurriculum.edu.au/ and log-in. The draft includes the Rationale, Aims, Concept definitions, General Capabilities and Cross Curriculum priorities for geography, F-12 content descriptions, elaborations, skills and inquiry sequences and achievement standards.

Well done to all involved - quite an achievement to finally have a draft curriculum public and ready for feedback.  ACARA looks forward to being overwhelmed in commentary from geography teachers around Australia. Don’t hesitate to make your points heard.

 

True Blue Geography

‘True Blue Geography’, is an Op-Ed article from Bill Pritchard and Nick Hutchinson

 

Geography teaching positions

Looking for a Geography teaching position? Register your profile at this website and schools looking for a teacher with your qualifications and/or experience may contact you. Alternatively, you can search the online databases for positions currently available.

 

Sprol

Sprol is a blog dedicated to pulling sweet images off of GoogleEarth, and using the images to motivate interesting (and often very public-health-relevant) stories about the environment. In their own words, “sprol shows the visual macroscopic effects of the decisions and behavior of our society

 

Spatial education resources

A collection of free GIS classroom activity templates for use with ArcGIS or other GIS software can be accessed here.

Professional standards for accomplished teaching school geography

AGTA was a partner, along with Melbourne University, the GTA V and VIT, in a project to develop professional standards for teaching school geography. The national Professional Standards for Accomplished Teaching of School Geography are designed to describe a continuum of capabilities and expectations appropriate to the Australian teaching profession at four levels; graduate, proficient, highly accomplished and lead teacher.

 

Destination Spatial

Teachers are advised that Destination Spatial is a newly created education sub-committee which includes representatives from the spatial industries, tertiary institutions and subject associations, including the GTAV and Careers Teachers association. Careers in the spatial industry are underpinned by Geography and offer a number of opportunities in Australia and overseas with excellent wages and future prospects.

>> Further details

 

National Regional Profiles: The One Stop Shop for data about a geographic area

National Regional Profiles (NRP) available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics website provide ‘snapshots’ for over 2,000 regions across Australia. The profiles contain a range of data from both the ABS and other sources, for geographic areas such as Local Government Areas, Statistical Local Areas up to States and Territories. The data are presented for a number of years (2004-2008) where it is available, and therefore provides the opportunity to compare regions over time. The National Regional Profiles are found on the left hand navigation bar of the home page of the ABS website.