Geography Association Award for Excellence in Leading Geography for DCU IoE Lecturer
Joe Usher, DCU lecturer in Primary Geography Education in the School of STEM, Education, Innovation and Global Studies has received the Geography Association Award for Excellence in Leading Geography for his work and subsequent journal article entitled ‘BREXIT and Borders: Topical Geography’. The project entailed working with three 5th/6th class teachers and their pupils, teaching about BREXIT and its potential impact on the Irish border over five weeks in their geography lessons.
Colleagues working in Primary Geography Education in the IoE, DCU advocate strongly for the relevance and importance of geography in everyday life and in equipping children with the skills and knowledge to understand the world, engaging pupils in complex global and local issues, rather than merely delivering subject content. Authentic learning experiences using real-world examples, issues and content form the foundation for effective geography teaching and learning. Pupils are more motivated to engage in a problem or issue that affects them, their locality, or people and places familiar to them. Exploring real-world, everyday issues, events and problems is more exciting, engaging and memorable for pupils than if learning is confined to abstract issues in the classroom. Here, pupils can see the relevance and significance of geography to their lives and the wider world.
Joe has since made the lesson plans, content and resources freely available for all teachers and this project has been enacted in classrooms across Ireland, the UK as well as Singapore and Australia. Anyone is interested in a copy of the lessons/resources please contact joe.usher@dcu.ie