The Links Between Understanding, Progression and Assessment in the Secondary Geography Curriculum

Abstract

ABSTRACTUnderstanding has its roots in the complex inter-relationships between experiences, ideas and mental processes. While experiences help to inform and shape our ideas, the ideas that we construct enable us to interpret and make sense of those experiences. Cognitive activities, aided by the use of language, play a significant role in the development of personal and shared meanings. Geography is a broad field of study, with a diversity of subfields and a variety of perspectives. It is suggested that the secondary phase curriculum should aim to develop students' understanding of physical and human environments and processes; relationships between people and environments; the character of places and landscapes; the significance of location and of spatial patterns, interactions and interrelationships on the Earth's surface; and the relevance of place, space and environments to human welfare.The concept of progression, which focuses on the advances in students' learning over a period of time, is important for planning the structure of a curriculum and for assessing students' attainments. The article examines critically the relevance for progression of a range of theoretical concepts and models, including: the ‘spiral curriculum’, ‘prerequisites for learning’ and ‘learning hierarchies’, ‘stages of cognitive development’, ‘levels of performance’, and ‘dimensions of understanding’.After reviewing the current assessment patterns influencing secondary phase geography curricula in England and Wales, it is suggested that the development of students' understanding would benefit from a significant shift in emphasis, away from summative and towards formative assessment.