Diverse Places 3 days

Transcription

1 AS Level Geography Edexcel Diverse Places 3 days Deliver two days of fieldwork within a dynamic human environment and cover the recommended themes in depth. Fieldwork in these locations provides a contrast to the place studied where students live or study, developing wider knowledge and understanding. Prepare AS level students for Section C in Paper 2: Dynamic Places, worth 10% of their total marks. Cover human specification content for AS fieldwork in Topic 4B: Diverse Places. For those going on to A level, this course will contribute two of the four days of fieldwork requirements and provide contextualised learning in inspiring real world environments to develop their geographical understanding for the A level examinations.

2 Example Course Timetable DAY MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING 1 Arrive Midday Students will be greeted by FSC staff, with a welcome talk followed by a brief tour of the Centre and the local area. Diverse Living Spaces Outline of the Course Allocation of wellies/waterproofs. In this session learners will explore and compare the role of direct experience with the way others represent place, they will explore different groups of people s image of a local places considering the potential for improvement in the area. A range of different media will be used to provide contrasting evidence about the image different people have of the places. Students will then consider how the representations of the place could be used to influence the perception of cultural and demographic issues. The way we understand a place is also manipulated by a range of agents and learners will examine the way we ultimately develop our sense of place through the analysis of a range of qualitative and quantitative data that look into these different ways place is planned and communicated. Skills Workshop: Qualitative Data / Information Analysis and Evaluation A range of different tools will be used including coding, textual and photo analysis to interrogate the results from the previous practical research session. Students will engage in qualitative data analysis which involves such processes as; Identifying how formal and statistical representations of a place, such as census and geospatial data, contrasts with informal representations. Examining a range of secondary data (e.g. map representations of IMD) which will be combined with the fieldwork data to better understand how social inequality impacts upon peoples daily lives in different ways. Recognition of the values laden nature of this work will be made, with consideration of the part played by personal values and the values being engaged by place in our daily lives and this work. These skills will be invaluable in interpreting outcomes of this contemporary, complex topic. A range of geographical skills, including statistics will support students analysis of the investigation. 2 Perceptions of Living Space: Urban or Rural Through working outside into the local environment students will explore the concept of place, how we and others see, experience and understand place in different ways and how this can change over time. When investigating a place, students should consider where it is, what it is like, how it became like this and how it might change in the future. Geographical Investigation Process: Presentation, Interpretation, Analysis and Evaluation Students will follow a structured scientific investigation process to interpret their data within relevant economic, social and environmental perspectives. This will enable students to contextualise their knowledge and develop their understanding of the complexities of the regeneration process and the importance of an individual s role in society. Students will engage in a qualitative data analysis using their personal observations and data collated during the day s session. A range of analysis techniques will be introduced and there will be an opportunity for students to apply these skills to the data and draw their own conclusions as they work through the course. 3 Demographics and Cultural Characteristics: Urban or Rural Different communities may be distinguished from other urban areas and their rural hinterland by exploring the variety of its demographic and cultural characteristics such as ethnic variation, land use, income, health, levels of crime, and density of population, education and health. Data sets such as Indices of Multiple Deprivation and police crime statistics provide an insight into spatial differences such as crime, poverty and deprivation across the UK. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provides a powerful tool to view and interrogate this data spatially and graphically in order to identify distinctive areas and issues related to demographic and cultural change. Depart at Midday A final farewell from FSC staff as the students depart at midday. Please note: to ensure safe and quality learning experiences for students, the timetable may alter depending on weather conditions and local factors at Centres.

3 Diverse Living Places All that a city will ever allow you is an angle on it - an oblique, indirect sample of what it contains, or what passes through it; a point of view. Peter Conrad, Australian Academic and Author Can a concept as dynamic and complex as place ever be definitively isolated and defined? Places are shaped by interacting forces of economics, society, politics and the physical environment. The diverse range of individuals that live and work in, use and promote a place will also have influence and be influenced by a place. With such vibrancy and intricacy, a considerable range of lived experiences and representations of place arise. What is more, these interpretations of a place will be further manipulated and managed across a range of temporal and spatial scales. An appreciation of the complex way a sense of place is acquired, cultivated and conveyed will be developed by learners help them know and understand places. Visiting an area local to the centre or within the centre grounds, learners will immerse themselves in their surroundings, gaining a sense of place through a series of data collection tasks. Initially incorporating qualitative and quantitative methods in the field, learners will explore the idea of place developed through both their own, direct experience and the perceptions of other users of the area. The relative significance of these findings will then be compared to other representations of this place in a range of media sources to examine how the sense of place is built and communicated to bring about a holistic understanding. With this foundation of understanding, learners will discuss how this representation of place can be and has been manipulated and managed to meet a range of stakeholder aims. Fieldwork, measurements, calculation and analysis may include: A centre-based exploration of place across a range of scales and perspectives. Use of simple materials to build places and evaluate these for inclusivity and quality of lived experience compared with implications for engagement. Collection of qualitative data via observations, questionnaires, image and textual analysis to assess the concept of place in and around the field centre. Critical evaluation of lived experience and engagement within the centre grounds. Non-participant observations, place imageability, questionnaires and textual analysis of a range of media to assess the role of the lived experience in developing a sense of place compared with other representations of place. Using GIS to analyse and compare the spatial distributions of different representations of place and how the perception of place has been managed. Collating and analysing mental maps based on qualitative data from local people on their perceptions of an area and the way they use and experience the space and the qualities they ascribe to them. Testing the strengths of relationships through the use of scatter graphs and statistical techniques. Evaluation of different sources, such as music, film etc. and the appreciation of why they create different representations and image of a local place.

4 Skills Workshop: Qualitative Data / Information Analysis and Evaluation Learners will engage in a qualitative data analysis using their personal observations and data collated during the afternoon session. A range of analysis techniques will be introduced and there will be an opportunity for learners to apply these skills to the data and draw their own conclusions as they work through the course. The role of values in the perception of place will be recognised, and the unavoidable biases and dilemmas this can bring forward in this sort of work. Qualitative data analysis techniques could include: Coding (open, axial, selective), categorising and interpreting data by engaging directly with original, primary data or secondary data in a variety of media in order to discover significant underlying patterns and trends. Image and textual analysis with consideration for the source of the image/text and the meanings that can be drawn from this data source in context. Concept mapping to define and explore the web of relationships between different themes within the data. Collating and analysing mental maps based on qualitative data from local people on their perceptions of an area and the way they use the space and different services

5 Perceptions of Living Space: Urban No place is a place until things that have happened in it are remembered in history, ballads, yarns, legends, or monuments. Fictions serve as well as facts. Wallace Stegner. Every place has unique physical and human characteristics, which can be interpreted and represented in different ways. Learners have mental images of places the world, the country in which they live, their neighbourhood which form their geographical imaginations. They should recognise that there are many different perceptions of places, some of which may be different or even conflict with their own. When investigating an urban place, learners should consider where it is, what it is like, how it became like this and how it might change in the future. Through working outside into the local environment learners will explore the concept of place, how we and others see, experience and understand place in different ways and how this can change over time. Fieldwork, measurements and analysis may include: Gathering local representations of place, e.g. on postcards or tourism literature and brochures - how are local places represented? To what extent do the learners relate to these representations? How could the learner represent the area differently? Taking photographs to represent the identity of area with digital camera. How and why is a place seen differently by different people? Producing geographical narratives to help understand the informal and formal representations of place? Using Placechecks as a tool to examine the qualities of a place and opportunities for improvement. Detailed photographic (still and video) representations to describe the built and natural environment. Discourse analysis, participant observation and questionnaires to explore how the physical environment relates to the local neighbourhood character or identity. Evaluating the spatial lived-experience of space, including exclusion (for whom). Mapping evidence of place-making elements, such as planning approaches or management plans to contextualise understanding. Analysis of personal biographies, oral histories and stories of people who have lived in different places: migrants, refugees and mapping their experience of place.

6 Perceptions of Living Space: Rural No place is a place until things that have happened in it are remembered in history, ballads, yarns, legends, or monuments. Fictions serve as well as facts. Wallace Stegner. Every place has unique physical and human characteristics, which can be interpreted and represented in different ways. Learners have mental images of places the world, the country in which they live, their neighbourhood which form their geographical imaginations. They should recognise that there are many different perceptions of places, some of which may be different or even conflict with their own. When investigating a rural place, learners should consider where it is, what it is like, how it became like this and how it might change in the future. Through working outside into the local environment learners will explore the concept of place, how we and others see, experience and understand place in different ways and how this can change over time. Fieldwork, measurements and analysis may include: Gathering local representations of place, e.g. on postcards or tourism literature and brochures - how are local places represented? To what extent do the learners relate to these representations? How could the learner represent the area differently? Taking photographs to represent the identity of area with digital camera. How and why is a place seen differently by different people? Producing geographical narratives to help understand the informal and formal representations of place? Using Placechecks as a tool to examine the qualities of a place and opportunities for improvement. Detailed photographic (still and video) representations to describe the built and natural environment. Discourse analysis, participant observation and questionnaires to explore how the physical environment relates to the local neighbourhood character or identity. Evaluating the spatial lived-experience of space, including exclusion (for whom). Mapping evidence of place-making elements, such as planning approaches or management plans to contextualise understanding. Analysis of personal biographies, oral histories and stories of people who have lived in different places: migrants, refugees and mapping their experience of place.

7 Geographical Investigation Process: Presentation, Interpretation, Analysis and Evaluation Learners will complete their investigation by following the latter parts of the scientific approach to the presentation, interpretation and analysis of their data. Discussion and demonstrations of appropriate techniques will ensure that learners draw well-reasoned, accurate and valid conclusions and are able to evaluate the outcomes of their investigation into urban or rural places. There will also be an opportunity for students to supplement their understanding and reinforce conclusions by incorporating secondary information with appropriate analysis and evaluation.

8 Demographics and Cultural Characteristics: Urban Urban communities may be distinguished from other urban areas and their rural hinterland by exploring the variety of its demographic and cultural characteristics such as ethnic variation, land use, income, health, levels of crime, and density of population, education and health. Data sets such as Indices of Multiple Deprivation and police crime statistics provide an insight into spatial differences such as crime, poverty and deprivation across the UK. The indices are mapped to lower layer super output areas which are small homogeneous geographical areas. These can be ranked and scored across a whole range of poverty indicators to enable local and national government and other agencies to fund services and assess need. Fieldwork, measurements and analysis may include: Students will use industry standard software (ArcGIS Online) to display and interpret data from a range of sources. Students will critically analyse a variety of different secondary data sets in combination with Digital and Geo located data collected during the course to enable them to identify spatial patterns. This will draw together their findings across the course to enable them to better understand a range of issues related to demographic and cultural change.

9 Demographics and Cultural Characteristics: Rural Rural communities may be distinguished from other rural and urban areas by exploring the variety of its demographic and cultural characteristics such as ethnic variation, land use, income, health, levels of crime, and density of population, education and health. Data sets such as Indices of Multiple Deprivation and police crime statistics provide an insight into spatial differences such as crime, poverty and deprivation across the UK. The indices are mapped to lower layer super output areas which are small homogeneous geographical areas. These can be ranked and scored across a whole range of poverty indicators to enable local and national government and other agencies to fund services and assess need. Fieldwork, measurements and analysis may include: Students will use industry standard software (ArcGIS Online) to display and interpret data from a range of sources. Students will critically analyse a variety of different secondary data sets in combination with Digital and Geo located data collected during the course to enable them to identify spatial patterns. This will draw together their findings across the course to enable them to better understand a range of issues related to demographic and cultural change.

10 FSC Centres Centres that offer this course BL CH DF FM JH MA MT NC OR PM RC SL Blencathra Castle Head Dale Fort Flatford Mill Juniper Hall Margam Malham Tarn Nettlecombe Orielton Preston Montford Rhyd-y-creuau Slapton To book this course, simply: Choose the time of the year you would like to attend 1. Pick the Centre(s) of interest 2. Check availability online, contact head office to check availability across multiple Centres or contact the Centre(s) of your choice directly To book this course the minimum size of your group must be 12 students and one member of staff. Head Office contact details: Tel: