Edexcel A Level Geography

Transcription

1 Investigating Places, Landscapes and Change For teaching from September 2016 PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS DOCUMENT IS BASED ON THE DRAFT SPECIFICATION. DETAILS WILL BE FINALISED AFTER THE SPECIFICATION IS ACCREDITED The Blencathra Centre occupies a dramatic setting at 300m on a south facing slope of Blencathra in the Lake District National Park and offers an unparalleled panorama across the Keswick, Helvellyn and Skiddaw areas. Fieldwork opportunities at Blencathra take place in and amongst the rugged fells, magnificent glaciated valleys, and nestling villages and towns creating this view. The Centre generates its own hydro-electric power and has recently installed a Biomass District Heating system. Purposely converted from a former Sanatorium, these unique buildings are equipped with interactive whiteboards, visualisers, access to laptops and tablets, and WiFi throughout the centre, offering excellent facilities for schools and universities at all levels. We are also easily accessible by train to Penrith, where the M6 and adjoining A66 also offer quick road links to the centre. Our new courses are designed to fit the criteria of the specifications for first teaching in As such they are designed to: Complete the fieldwork requirements for AS level students within physical and human environments. Incorporate a number a qualitative and quantitative core geographical skills that students are required to understand. These include the use of GIS using ArcGIS software. Prepare AS level students for either Section B or C in both examination papers, worth 20% of their total marks. 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 Glaciated Landscapes and Change: Glacial landforms and landscapes In the Lake District, successive glacial advance and retreat over the past 1.8 million years has moulded a stunning glaciated landscape with a wealth of erosional and depositional glacial features, making it a fantastic location to study glacial landforms. Students will identify a range of erosional and depositional glacial landforms in the field, gaining a sense of their size, shape and an understanding of their formation. They will be encouraged to develop enquiry skills to uncover the Lake District s glacial and post-glacial history and consider the processes which have contributed to shaping the landscape. Data will be collected throughout the day on the orientation of various landforms including; striations, corries, valleys and drumlins The Lake District s glacial past can be investigated in two locations. Easedale: This classic 7km walk takes students up through a hanging valley to the corrie at Easedale Tarn. Along the route students will identify and interpret a range of erosional and depositional landforms. Borrowdale: The spectacular Borrowdale Valley at the head of Derwent Water hosts a range of erosional and depositional landforms. Students will walk up to The Combe a corrie and hanging valley to look at erosional landforms. Down in the bottom of Borrowdale students will a map and interpret depositional landforms Mosedale also gives an opportunity to see a classic fluvioglacial feature; an esker is easily accessible by the roadside of this lowland valley. and understanding for option 2.1: Glaciated landscapes and change; touching on areas 2.3, 3.1 and 3.2. This allows students to investigate questions relating to the specified fieldwork themes: Glacial landform morphology and orientation Changing glacial and/or fluvio-glacial sediments Changing valley cross-profiles Glaciated Landscapes and change: Threats to glaciated landscapes The spectacular glaciated landscape of the Lake District attracts over 16 million visitors each year. Tourism is an essential part of the local economy but it poses a threat to the landscape and its fragile ecology. Students will visit a part of the Lake District that suffers from such pressures, and where management by Fix the Fells has attempted to rectify the problems. Data will be collected to quantify the impacts of soil erosion and trampling on the Lakeland Fells including evaluating the approaches used my conservationists to manage the issue. This investigation can be carried out on a number of popular Fells or valley footpaths including the dramatic 450m high Cat Bells near Keswick or Easedale near Grasmere. and understanding for option 2.1; focusing on areas 4.2 and 4.3. This allows - The impact of human activity on fragile glaciated landscapes Orientation data collected in the field will be combined with secondary data for students to use GIS software to create a map of glacier flow directions around the Lake District Data collected on footpath cross sections will be presented using GIS. By including past data sets students will be able to look for trends and patterns in erosion over time and note the success of management strategies.

3 Coastal Landscapes and Change: Changing coastal sediments and profiles The Solway Coast was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1964 on account of the qualities of the landscape as well as its historic and scientific interest. Occupying a secluded setting on the North West Cumbrian coast, our fieldwork will take place on the Grune spit, which juts out into the Solway Firth, providing shelter for important wetlands and saltmarshes beyond it. Moving along the length of the spit, students will investigate the process of longshore drift. Sediment transportation and deposition will be measured pebble analysis and constructing beach profiles. The effectiveness of groynes on slowing the process of longshore drift can also be analysed at the nearby town of Silloth. and understanding for option 2.2; focusing on areas 2.1 and 2.2. This allows - Changing coastal sediments - Changing coastal profiles Coastal Landscapes and Change: Coastal management approaches The small coastal village of St Bees is located on the most western point of Cumbria, overlooked to the north by the red sandstone cliffs of St Bees Head. The St Bees bay is a popular tourist destination, and its seafront and wide, sandy beach is protected by a range of hard and soft engineering approaches. Students will investigate the management strategies taken at St Bees, constructing beach profiles to provide data on how the current engineering and management interacts with physical process and systems. By conducting a cost benefit analysis and environmental impact assessment and by including beach measurements students will consider the management strategies currently used along the coastline and their long term sustainability. and understanding for option 2.2; focusing on areas 4.2 and 4.3. This allows - Success of coastal management approaches Coastal Landscapes and Change: Coastal ecosystems transect The sand dunes at Drigg in south west Cumbria have been designated SSSI and SAC on account of the dune heathland flora and fauna found amongst them. The Drigg dunes provide the ideal location to investigate the formation and characteristics of sand dunes. Students will investigate the development of the dunes and the role of vegetation succession in stabilising the coastline by conducting beach profiles and measuring abiotic and biotic characteristics of the ecosystem along a transect away from the shore. and understanding for option 2.2; focusing on area 1.3. This allows students to investigate questions relating to the specified fieldwork themes: - Coastal (ecosystem) transect The data collected will be analysed by drawing beach profiles and using GIS to spatially display changes in sediment size along the coast. Changes observed can also be supported with secondary data including the use of historical mapping or imagery. With the data collected students will draw profiles to examine the impacts of current defences on beach morphology. By researching current shoreline management plans and analysing the cost benefit analysis results students will develop an appropriate sustainable plan for St Bees A range of graphical techniques including kite diagrams will be used to look at vegetation changes and dune development. Statistical analysis can be used to test for correlations in the data.

4 Shaping Places: Regenerating Places In 2018 Cumbria, as well as being known for world-class landscapes, will have an unrivalled reputation for outdoor adventure, heritage and culture- Cumbria Tourism Vision Tourists have been visiting the Lake District for over 200 years, and Cumbria s economy is reliant on tourism bringing in 1.2 bn to the local area. To ensure this is a sustainable resource, Cumbria Tourism has employed a number of strategies to bring a wider range of visitors to the area throughout the year. After considering why the region might need to rebrand and the key players involved, students will immerse themselves in the honeypots of Grasmere and Keswick. They will carry out primary data collection to identify different brands and analyse their sustainability, as well as using questionnaires and participant observation to discover whether visitors have been drawn in by the brand and the perspectives of different groups. and understanding for option 4.1; focusing on area 3.3. This allows students to investigate questions relating to the specified fieldwork themes: - Spatial variations in the health of a local area - Evidence of rebranding/ re-imaging strategies - Public opinion on local rebranding/ re-imaging - Historical change in the area Shaping Places: Changing places Defoe wrote in 1724 of his travels through the wildest, most barren and frightful [country] of any that I have passed over in England. And then with Wordsworth and the romantic poets, public perception of the region changed dramatically. 300 years on and the Lake District is very different, both in reputation and function, and offers a fascinating location in which to explore the changing nature of place. Students will explore their own perceptions of the Lake District as a place, using questionnaires and social media to compare the opinions of other user groups. Students will map current land uses and service provision, comparing them to historical maps, images and (people s memories) to find evidence of change. We will explore the impact and success of national and local strategies to manage cultural and demographic issues in these places and understanding for option 4.1; focusing on areas 1.3, 3.1. This allows - Spatial variations in social groups of a local area - Evaluation of areas that have potential for improvement - Attitudes towards geo-demographic change - Extent of deprivation in an area By combining research into how the place has been represented in the press and social media with their own fieldwork data and observations, students will analyse and draw conclusions about the success of rebranding in the Lake District. We will use population and deprivation datasets to explore the demographic and cultural characteristics of the area, such as population structure and density, ethnic variation, income, health, levels of crime, and education. 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.

5 Linear A level option The water cycle and water insecurity: drainage basin hydrology Various methods will be used to quantify water flow at a local scale. Infiltration and throughfall rates will be calculated for different land uses to assess the rate of water flow through a small catchment. Some measurements to calculate water storage will also be made, such as calculating soil moisture content. As well as collecting measurements ourselves, discharge data for the river at different times of year will be used to assess the fluxes of river discharge throughout the seasons. and understanding for topic 5, with a focus on area 1.2 and 1.3 The water cycle and water insecurity: water surplus The students use digital mapping skills to investigate and assess flood risk within Keswick. This is followed by an evaluation of the social, economic and environmental impacts of flooding and the town s flood defence strategies and understanding for topic 5, with a focus on area 2.2 The water cycle and water insecurity: managing water supply Students visit Thirlmere a reservoir created to provide water to Manchester in Field techniques such as mapping and sketching will develop their understanding of the management of the area, by United Utilities. Looking forward, the planned pipeline to distribute some of Thirlmere s water to West Cumbria will be investigated through environmental quality surveys and local interviews to assess local opinions on the engineering work. and understanding for topic 5, with a focus on area 3.3 Earth s life support systems: the carbon cycle Various methods will be used to calculate stored carbon at a local scale: such as calculating the stored biomass of trees, grassland, and the carbon stored in leaf litter on the ground. We will also use simple methods to estimate carbon flux within a small catchment, using colorimetry to quantify carbon in solution and suspension, and river discharge measurements to allow up to calculate carbon running off the landscape. and understanding for topic 6, with a focus on area 1.1 and 1.2 Earth s life support systems: alternatives to fossil fuels Students examine the Renewable Energy Project at Blencathra. Students make an Environmental Impact Assessment of the hydro-electric scheme, and visit the turbine house that supplies 35kW of power to the centre. We also visit the biomass boiler house, an example of a finite renewable energy, and encourage students to consider the pros and cons of both technologies they have seen. and understanding for topic 6, with a focus on area 2.3 Using GIS and statistical tools to zone land use across the catchment, students will analyse their data to assess the variety and speed of water transfers throughout the drainage basin. This will be combined with discharge data to contextualise flow variation through the year. Students apply their data to industry-standard GIS tools to enable them to map the extent of flood risk in Keswick, and assess the potential impacts of water surplus on the town Students complete land use maps to allow them to analyse the visual impact of the Thirlmere reservoir on the local environment. Using maps and aerial imagery to zone land use across the catchment, and GIS to analyse their data, students will estimate the total carbon stored in parts of the catchment. They will also make calculations allowing them to analyse their data in the context of carbon flux Follow up exercises can include a decision making exercise on Renewable Energy and a calculation of the maximum abstraction allowed at Roughton Ghyll.

6 As well as being tailored to fit the topic content of the Edexcel specification, our courses cover a number of qualitative and quantitative geographical skills required at AS level, set out below: Students will develop their understanding of the following skills more specific to qualitative data: use and understanding of a mixture of methodological approaches, including using interviews interpretation and evaluation of a range of source material including textual and visual sources, as applied to particular data sets, places and communities understanding of the opportunities and limitations of qualitative techniques such as coding and sampling, and appreciation of how they actively create particular geographical representations of places and communities understanding of the ethical and socio-political implications of collecting, studying and representing geographical data about human communities Students will develop their understanding of the following skills more specific to quantitative data: understanding of what makes data geographical and the geospatial technologies (e.g. GIS) that are used to collect, analyse and present geographical data an ability to collect and to use digital, geo-located data, and to understand a range of approaches to the use and analysis of such data understanding of the purposes and difference between the following and be able to use them in appropriate contexts: - descriptive statistics of central tendency and dispersion - descriptive measures of difference and association, inferential statistics and the foundations of relational statistics, including (but not limited to) measures of correlation and lines of best fit on a scatter plot - measurement, measurement errors, and sampling As part of this, we will focus on covering the following core geographical skills as stated in the specification during our courses: Cartographic skills (including atlas and other map skills and OS* map skills (1:50,000 and 1:25,000 scales)) Graphical skills (including images and photography) Numerical and statistical skills Technology/ICT skills (including GIS and geospatial**skills) Qualitative, quantitative, data and information research skills Communicating and evaluating findings.