Geography Module Research Articles

An investigation into electronic‐source plagiarism in a first‐year essay assignment

Since the emergence of the electronic era, plagiarism has become an increasingly prevalent problem at tertiary institutions. This study investigated the role electronic sources of information played in influencing plagiarism in an essay assignment in a first‐year geography module at the University of KwaZulu‐Natal in South Africa. Despite explicit instruction in tutorials on academic writing, referencing and plagiarism, a quarter of students still plagiarised in their essay, with the majority having done so off the Internet. A survey questionnaire and interviews revealed that not only did the school writing experience prepare students poorly for academic writing discourses, but also highlighted that student ignorance with regard to acknowledgement of electronic sources, a pervasive perception of difference between electronic and print sources, as well as the availability of the copy‐and‐paste facility which reinforces the product view of writing, all contributed towards electronic‐source plagiarism. Active instructional engagement with electronic‐source material, and open dialogue on ownership of knowledge as well as on moral and ethical issues with students, are recommended as strategies to overcome such plagiarism.

Finding Space for Education for Sustainable Development in the Enterprise Economy

The promotion of education for sustainable development (ESD) is likely to be constrained by its compatibility with other missions and objectives of higher education institutions (HEIs). Finding space for ESD in the Enterprise Economy invites consideration of opportunities for increasing the visibility and audibility of environmental messages in HE sectors primarily committed to equipping national economies with skilled graduates. A survey of undergraduates registered for a physical geography module at the National University of Singapore was undertaken for three successive cohorts. Students fundamentally associate sustainability with resource-based definitions and usually construct environmental issues in terms of access to and utilization of the resource base. A limited articulation of environmental problems in neighbouring countries suggests that a geographical perspective (emphasizing space and scale) could be usefully enhanced. However, the role of the geography discipline in best serving ESD is ambiguous given the need to infuse ideas through traditional disciplinary boundaries. Reflections on environmental awareness and attitudes among students in Singapore concur with UNESCO recognition that models for ESD must be locally defined in culturally appropriate ways.

Gender representation in geography: Singapore

In Singapore, geography emerged as a strongly masculinist university discipline during the interwar years under colonial rule. Localizing staff hires in the postcolonial era did not immediately produce gender‐balanced staff profiles. Instead, a more equitable gender representation was achieved only in the last decade, following the increasing ‘feminization’ of the student population in the discipline resulting from compulsory National Service for male citizens some two decades earlier and the subsequent ‘drift’ of male students to the hard sciences and engineering. In turn, the current geography curriculum has taken on board a stronger interest in gender issues (including a dedicated gender and geography module) while staff research on gender issues in the context of the Asia‐Pacific region is also making important strides.

Teaching Geography to Non-traditional Students: Inducting, nurturing and retaining them

The Department of Environmental and Biological Studies at Liverpool Hope University College recruits an above-average number of students who could be classified as 'non-traditional'. Many are mature and many have gained entry to higher education via routes other than A level. In addition, and increasingly, many have selected or been allocated to the first-year geography modules with little or no experience of geography education. These students undertake a carefully structured programme of small-group teaching, designed to induct and train them in the practices of higher education and through which they are introduced to key geographical concepts. This paper highlights some of the issues arising from teaching non-traditional students and identifies as case studies elements of the programme, which support the development of students' skills and geographical understanding.

Teaching Geography to Non-traditional Students: inducting, nurturing and retaining them

The Department of Environmental and Biological Studies at Liverpool Hope University College recruits an above-average number of students who could be classified as 'non-traditional'. Many are mature and many have gained entry to higher education via routes other than A level. In addition, and increasingly, many have selected or been allocated to the first-year geography modules with little or no experience of geography education. These students undertake a carefully structured programme of small-group teaching, designed to induct and train them in the practices of higher education and through which they are introduced to key geographical concepts. This paper highlights some of the issues arising from teaching non-traditional students and identifies as case studies elements of the programme, which support the development of students' skills and geographical understanding.

Integration and Evaluation of CAL Courseware and Automated Assessment in the Delivery of a Geography Module

This paper discusses the software and logistical issues and proposed solutions in the move to a pilot scheme for delivery of flexible and distance-based learning using a suite of CAL modules and integral formative and summative tests delivered by QuestionMark software. The issues are set within a holistic framework of managing the learning experience in a semester-long optional module in geography, open to a mixed group of students with representation from varied degree courses. Initial evaluative responses to the use of a newly developed CAL module, as well as this mode of learning, are briefly assessed.

Issues of sexuality in the teaching space

This article is based on the author's personal experience of teaching sexuality within the context of a second‐year geography option on social and cultural geography. The paper considers the issues which might surround deciding to teach sexuality and the complex questions around ‘coming out’ as a straight or gay tutor. It also addresses the question, ‘Why should I teach sexuality within my human geography modules?’. The final section of the article gives some brief description of materials useful for teaching sexual geographies.

Introducing objective tests and OMR‐based student assessment: A case study

This paper describes the process by which objective‐question tests, using an OMR, were introduced into a number of first‐year geography modules at the University of Plymouth. It discusses the rationale for such a move and some of the issues which have arisen. The paper goes on to present the results of various statistical tests, including a comparison of student performance in the objective‐question exams and in the traditional examination essays. A key aim was to determine whether individual students perform consistently across the two forms of assessment.

Class size, coursework assessment and student performance in geography: 1984–94

Abstract Despite increases in student numbers, a decline in resources and an accompanying increase in class sizes, the overall performance of students in geography in the UK has improved over the past decade. This paradox is explored by examining the relationship between module enrolment and student performance in geography modules at Oxford Brookes University over a period of 10 years alongside changes in the pattern of teaching and assessment. No relationship between module enrolment and performance was found, and there was no decline in average performance as average module enrolment increased. This pattern of performance is attributed to changes in teaching, learning and assessment methods: away from large lecture‐based courses to small workshop‐based discussion seminars, away from examinations towards continuous assessment, away from passive learning towards active learning, and away from individual and competitive to collective and collaborative learning and teamwork.