The High Arctic

Teachers' Manual and Students' Resource

GCSE Geography 21 module on Extreme Landscapes

Available from the Geographical Association

Teachers Manual - only £46.99
Students' Resource - only £6.99

The High Arctic is a GCSE Geography module on Extreme Landscapes, that was piloted in 2004 as part of the new Geography 21 curriculum, and is now available to buy from the Geographical Association. The High Arctic includes a teaching pack with a 40-minute DVD film, a 140 page teachers manual, and for each student a colour booklet and interactive CD-ROM.

Background

The Geographical Association identified the outdated content of the current geography curriculum as one of the reasons for the decline in interest by GCSE students and is engaged in reworking the curriculum to enable students to grasp geographical concepts in a way that links more closely and overtly to real contexts and offers young people an opportunity to develop a global vision of the modern world. The new Geography GCSE aims to develop a different teaching method - more narrative based, more about WHY people have developed the theories they have, looking at the interpretations, deeper meaning.

The High Arctic resource is seen as an exemplar for this. It aims to be inspirational and to reinvigorate students' interest in geography as a subject that makes real connections with the world around them and deals with the macro-issues that effect the world today. It has been created to provide GCSE Geography students with materials and routes to investigate the issues around global warming and climate change with a focus on the High Arctic environment of Svalbard/Spitsbergen. It's key objective is to encourage an awareness of the interdependent ecology of the key areas of environment, human behaviour and wildlife for the future of the region and the planet.

In partnership, Cape Farewell and the Geographical Association share the objective to teach students to become confident critical citizens with the ability to articulate their own opinion about the climate change debate.

Strategy For Development

On the first Cape Farewell voyage in 2003 Cape Farewell, the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (formerly the Southampton Oceanography Centre) and Big Heart Media (production company), with this support of NESTA, joined forces to develop this exemplar geography module and accompanying resource pack for UK schools. A course outline was developed with the Geographical Association prior to the expedition in order to plan the trip and activities to gather the required material.

Sailing to the heart of the climate change debate in the High Arctic, the crew conducted scientific experiments measuring depth, salinity and conductivity of the ocean, observed wildlife and patterns, ice, currents and the landscape. The artists engaged in the science, contributed to discussions, and helped with experimentation. The film crew captured all that was observed and discussed, conducted interviews with the teachers as well as scientists stationed in Svalbard, and produced the 40 min film included in the resource.
Buy online at geographyshop.org.uk ›

Buy now from the Geography Shop  

The High Arctic Teachers' manual and The High Arctic Students' resource available to buy online from the Geographical Association. Use the links below to buy and for more information on prices and ordering.
The High Arctic Teachers' manual, £46.99 ›
The High Arctic Students' resource, £6.99 ›