Geography

A Good History or Geography Student shows….

• An interest in the world as it is now and how it came to be so.
• A thirst for knowledge to explain and explore the current situation.
• An ability to express themselves accurately and to support their arguments with relevant information.
• An appreciation of historical sources and a geographer’s understanding of causes.
• An interest in reading and watching relevant programmes on television and video.

Rationale

Geography is concerned with the study of people and their environment.

A study of geography will help students develop an understanding of their physical and human surroundings. It examines the changing interrelationships between the physical and human worlds.

Through their study of geography, students will develop geographical skills that will help them make informed judgements about issues at local, national, and international levels. Such skills include:

• Information gathering
• Presentation and communication
• Investigative
• Social
• Evaluation
• Structure

The syllabus in presented in the form of Core, elective, and optional areas of study.
There is a clear differentiation between Higher and Ordinary levels.
Only Higher level students must study an optional unit.

Ordinary level – Units of study

Ordinary level students are required to study:

Core - Unit 1 Patterns and Processes in the physical environment ~ (examine the relationship between the tectonic cycle and rock cycles, the process of land form development and human interaction).

Core - Unit 2. Regional geography ~ (Examine how economic human and physical processes interact)

Core Unit 3. Geographical Investigation and Skills ~ (Handling spatial information leading to the completion of an individual geographical investigation)

One of the following two electives:

Elective Unit 4 Patterns and processes in economic activities ~ (Examine patterns in economic development and growth of a single independent global economy)

Elective Unit 5 Patterns and processes in the human environment (examine the dynamic nature of population and the pattern and distribution of settlement)

Higher Level – Units of study

Higher level students are required to study:

Core Unit 1 Patterns and processes in the physical environment
Core Unit 2 Regional geography
Core Unit 3 Geographical investigation and skills

One of the following two electives

Elective unit 4 Patterns and processes in economic activities
Elective unit 5 patterns and processes in the human environment

One of the following four optional areas of study

Optional unit 6 Global interdependence – (Examines the interdependent nature of global economic social and political process and to challenge the differing views of development)

Optional unit 7 Geoecology – ( Examines the inter-relationships at a global scale between soils, climates, plants and animals)

Optional unit 8 Culture and Identity – (Examines the classification of population by physical and cultural indicators and relationship between culture and identity)

Optional unit 9 The atmosphere ~ ocean environment - (Examines the dynamic relationship between the oceans and atmosphere in influencing global climate patterns)

Assessment

Assessment will take the form of a two and a half hour terminal written examination and a report on the geographical investigation.

The will be a separate written examination for higher and ordinary level students.

The written exam will have an assessment rating of 80% and will consist of questions requiring short answers and multi-part questions requiring more developed answers. Longer essay-style discursive answers will be required only in the assessment of the optional units at higher level.

The report on the geographical investigation will have an assessment rating of 20% and will be assessed outside of the terminal written examination. It will be presented in a pro-forma booklet and include sections on introduction, planning, collection of data, preparation of report, conclusion and evaluation.