For The Love of Geography

Case Study: Bangladesh Flooding

2008-02-03T03:17:00.001-08:00

Flooding in an LEDC - The 1998 Floods in Bangladesh
BANGLADESH FLOODS

Between July-September 1998, Bangladesh suffered one of its worse ever floods. Despite being flooding being common in this country, the floods of 1998 were particularly severe resulting in over 1000 deaths and 30 million people being made homeless and newspapers / media sources were full of headlines like the following; South Asia - Bangladesh Floods Rise again (BBC Article) and Floods threaten 20 million lives in Bangladesh.

So why is Bangladesh so prone to flooding? Well the answer to this requires consideration of both the physical landscape and conditions of the country and the impact of its population.

CAUSES OF FLOODING IN BANGLADESH

Physical (Natural) causes of flooding in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a very low lying country, with 70% of its land area being less than 1m above sea level and 80% of it being floodplain.
Bangladesh receives large amounts of water passing through it with two major rivers (the Ganges and Brahmaputra) converging and forming a huge delta (see picture) formed from silt deposited by the river as it enters the sea. Both rivers have large volumes of water flowing through them to the sea as they have large drainage basins which increasing the flood risk;
Bangladesh has a monsoon climate and the annual torrential rains which result often result in the rivers exceeding their capacity and flooding;
In the spring, melting snow from the Himalayas further increases the flood risks as torrents of melt water enter the rivers at their source.

Human causes of flooding in Bangladesh

Increasing population pressure in the foothills of the Himalayas where the rain contributes to the source of the River Ganges and Brahmaputra has resulted in intense deforestation. It is believed that this reduction in interception has resulted in more water entering the rivers - indeed with 92% of the area drained by the rivers being in countries other than Bangladesh, Bangladesh's proneness to flooding is exacerbated by population and environmental issues in countries other than its own, making it increasingly difficult to target the problems.
Indeed deforestation in the headwaters is also believed to be responsible for the increased soil erosion which has led to large amount of silt being washed into the rivers and subsequently being deposited on the river bed, reducing its channel capacity and increasing the likelihood of flooding.

Increasing population pressure in Bangladesh itself has resulted in the sinking of many new wells resulting in the lowering of the water table and the subsequent subsidence of land making it even more prone to flooding;
Bangladesh is an LEDC and its lack of money and heavy national debt means that little money is available to spend on flood protection methods / defences and many existing defences lack upkeep and are of questionable use.

(click on the digram below for a summary of these)

EFFECTS OF FLOODING IN BANGLADESH

Remember - you must learn place specific detail when writing answers to case study questions if you are to be awarded the full marks.

POSITIVE EFFECTS OF FLOODING

It is important to remember that whilst flooding has serious impacts on human life in Bangladesh it is also instrumental in the wellbeing of Bangladesh's economy and the survival of its people. So what are these positive effects of flooding?

As well as providing water for crops, when flooding occurs, as there is friction between the water and the surface of the land, the water slows down and loses its energy. This loss of energy results in the deposition of rich fertile soil resulting in the providing important nutrients enabling people to grow crops;
This deposition of silt also creates land upon which people can live - for example the Ganges delta has been formed in this way as deposition has occured where the river has entered the Bay of Bengal.
EFFECTS OF THE 1998 FLOODS:

Over two thirds of the land area was covered by water and the capital, Dhaka, was 2m underwater.
30 million people were made homeless in the floods with many losing all their belongings.

1,070 people died - this death toll resulted from a number of things. As well as people being killed by drowning in the flood waters, health problems increased the number of deaths further. Contamination of water by waste and dead bodies / animals, and the lack of a clean water supply resulted in the spread of disease such as cholera and typhoid. Further deaths from snake bites and other injuries which led to death through the lack of access to medical care.
Food supplies were severely affected as flooding destroyed the rice stocks with a total of 668,529ha of crops being destroyed;
The impact on the economy was signifcant with Bangadesh's export industries seeing a 20% decrease in production with over 400 clothing factories forced to close.

Communications became difficult, with shopping impossible in the main port, as well as roads and railways having been swept away making the distribution of aid and the rescue operation very difficult;
The effects can clearly be seen in the following links:
Photographic presentation of the floods of 1998
Flood '98 - Bangladesh Photo Gallery

and all though very detailed this report provides an over view of the Disaster Impacts, Household coping and response. This chapter from the report provides specific detail on the impacts of the flood on agricultural production, employment and wealth.

FLOOD RELIEF / MANAGEMENT IN BANGLADESH

As has already been mentioned Bangladesh's low level of economic development means Bangladesh's flood protection is insufficent and a number of factors as discussed in this post have exacerbated the problems.

Following the 1998 floods a number of short term flood relief measures were put in place to try an minimise loss of life - these included:

international food aid programmes
the distribution of free seed to farmers by the Bangladesh govenrment to try and reduce the impact of food shortages - the government also gave 350,000 tonnes of cereal to feed people;
volunteers / aid workers worked to try and repair flood damage (see OCR A textbook - p.39 for further details)
In the long term a number of flood prevention measure are possible:

the creation of embankments (artificial levees) along the river to increase channel capacity and restrict flood waters - however since 1957, 7,500km of flood embankments have been constructed and yet many were breached in the 1998 floods;
constructing flood protection shelters (large buildings raised above the ground) to shelter both people and animals
emergency flood warning systems and plans made for organising rescue and relief services;
providing emergency medical stores in villages
building flood proof storage sheds for grain and other food supplies
dam construction upstream and major embankments around Dhaka have been suggested however lack of money has meant that these suggestions have not been taken further.

Further Links:

Conclusions and lessons from the 1998 floods
Lessons learning from the 1998 Bangladesh Floods

Map source: US CIA World Factbook (Creative Commons)
Photo source: Ganges delta - screenshot from NASA World Wind (Creative Commons)

Singapore Film Resource - Invisible City

2007-07-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

Watch this movie: http://invisiblecity.sg/

Potentially rich resource in provoking thought in history, social studies, and to a lesser extent, geog and english.

Climate Change Made Hip and Cool

2007-06-26T03:30:00.000-07:00

http://www.liveearth.org/

TIME - FOOD!!

2007-06-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

Great articles perfect for teaching Geography of Food, new syllabus.

The Food Chain That Links Us All

How The World Eats

Taste Test: Same But Different (Globalisation of Food Production)

Food Aid - Hungry for Change

Chilli Peppers - Case Study for Globalisation of Food

TIME - Singapore's New Look

2007-06-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

Here are the links to TIME magazine's article on Singapore's revamp. (6 pages)

Good for teaching tourism, and stuff on cities, urbanisation, globalisation etc.

Even for English reading and comprehension.

http://www.mediamax.com/keeevin/Hosted/Time%20Singapore%201.jpg
http://www.mediamax.com/keeevin/Hosted/Time%20Singapore%202.jpg
http://www.mediamax.com/keeevin/Hosted/Time%20Singapore%203.jpg
http://www.mediamax.com/keeevin/Hosted/Time%20Singapore%204.jpg
http://www.mediamax.com/keeevin/Hosted/Time%20Singapore%205.jpg
http://www.mediamax.com/keeevin/Hosted/Time%20Singapore%206.jpg

Resources Sharing..

2007-06-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

A fully trained teacher now!! :)

And on this blog I shall post my reflections, and resources to share.

:)

2007-02-23T16:57:00.000-08:00

Compassvale Secondary - First Take

I ventured into my first school,
Compassvale Secondary.
No, not as a student, you fool,
But as a teacher, essentially.

A 5 hour marathon staff meeting,
Complete with birthday, yusheng and the school camp briefing.
Met my CT, Principal, VP and others many,
Introduced to plenty, but can't remember any.

Scary all the talk about Action Research and ASPs.
But tickled I can't help but giggle quietly,
When the teacher-in-charge asked for staff
To partake the 'yusheng' and to fellowship.

2007-02-08T19:02:00.000-08:00

3. What are the relationships between social studies education and society?

Well.. 'enuff said. Let me just quote from my last post. The role of SS education as I teach it to my students is:

To have them wide-eyed and see the world beyond conventional truth claims,

To help them grow, mature and go beyond innocent thoughts ingrained.

'To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.'

To see for themselves that the world ain't simply what some paint it to to be,

And with that critical knowledge, know there is much more responsibility.

'It is right it should be so;
Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know,
Thro' the world we safely go.'

And that is the role of SS education, and its relationship with society.

2007-02-08T18:25:00.000-08:00

2. Write an impressionistic sketch of what type of social studies teacher you will be (or hope to be)?

Haha.. A funky SS teacher I wanna be!

A dynamic SS teacher who challenges my students to think,

To ask more questions than give answers without a blink.

To say 'Yes, you've got a good point really',

More than 'No, the truth is actually.'

To bring newspaper articles to class and debunk its totalising myth,

To look together at political cartoons and laugh at its wit.

To engage the class in critically examining state policies,

And then to challenge them to think of better alternatives.

And if they can't for goodness sake think of better alternatives,

Get the students appreciate the particular context a government is working with.

To develop students who can unabashedly say,

'I love Singapore...'

'But there is this and that we can do better and more.'

To have them wide-eyed and see the world beyond conventional truth claims,

To help them grow, mature and go beyond innocent thoughts ingrained.

'To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.'

To see for themselves that the world ain't simply what some paint it to to be,

And with that critical knowledge, know there is much more responsibility.

'It is right it should be so;
Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know,
Thro' the world we safely go.'

Haha.. A funky SS teacher I wanna be.

Not a very good poet I know, but do show mercy.

I'll end off this piece now (Oh thank God! I hear you say for goodness sake)

With final words from Auguries of Innocence, William Blake.

'We are led to believe a lie
When we see not thro' the eye,
Which was born in a night to perish in a night,
When the soul slept in beams of light.

God appears, and God is light,
To those poor souls who dwell in night;
But does a human form display
To those who dwell in realms of day.'

2007-02-08T18:12:00.000-08:00

1. What do you see as the main value and purpose of social studies education in Singapore?

Social Studies in Singapore is often viewed as a vehicle for National Education, for indoctrination of the national agenda, for state propaganda, to build National Identity.

Nothing wrong with that - try putting yourself in the shoes of the state. Civil / civics education is a vital way to ensure the longetivity of your state and rule.

Beyond the skepticism and cynicism that pervades a Singapore citizentry tired of NE indoctrination, a more enlightened way of viewing SS education is that of equipping thought skills essential for a global citizen to survive and makes sense of the world. Singapore is unique in its position in the world, the crossroads between civilisations (America-China, Chinese-Malay-Indian, Asia-Europe, Muslim-Buddhist-Taoist-Christian, Socialist-Democratic), and how can Singaporeans make sense of their identity in such a fluid society, how can Singaporeans make sense of the multiple truth claims emanating from all branches of society?

SS education helps Singaporeans make sense of who they are, where they are, and what the society claim them to be. Whether the message from the state in civics education, whether the message from the global press, whether the message from other countries, from races, ethnics and people different from us, SS helps in equipping the Singaporean citizentry the thought skills needed to negotiate their identity in a world of multiple truth claims. And they can then assess for themselves, in what ways are the truth claims about Singapore's national identity relevant, and what does it mean for us to be a Singaporean, born bred and with a red passport with Majulah Singapura printed on it.

That's the role of SS education. The thinking skills to help one make sense of who they are, where they are, and what the society claim them to be.

2006-11-23T23:13:00.000-08:00

Here it is, Eu Khim's and my webquest:

http://geographyoffood.sphosting.com

I hope your web browser has a pop-up blocker. For this free web hosting site actually comes with a price. Lots and lots of annoying advertisements popping up here there everywhere.

I showed my girlfriend the webquest. She commented, 'I wish my geography teachers did something like that for us. Maybe I would have then liked the subject.'

I guess there is something to be learnt here. This is partly what student-centred learning is all about. Understanding what excites students, what motivates students, and creating engaging lessons that would promote self and peer learning. Too many of my friends hate Geography. Many of them raise their eyebrows when I comment to them that I major in Geography, and am looking forward to being a geography teacher. To them, Geography is just about rocks, rivers and industries. And copying down in lectures the 20 factors that affect the above mentioned.

Geography is actually a very unique subject, it covers almost every realm of the world we live in. It may perhaps be the subject that is the most relevant to all, for it deals with current issues of the world. What shapes this world we live in, why is the environment so and so, what should we be concerned about this earth and society, what can we do to contribute as a Singapore, world and earth citizen. As my JC tutor use to say, Geography is the Mother of all subjects.

And because of Geography's nature of being such a dynamic and relevant subject, it lends itself to webquests very very well. There are too many issues we have to face up to in this messy world we live in. To keep up to date, there can be no better resource than the cauldron of information in the World Wide Web. And students love exploring the web! We have the curriculum stating to us what we need to teach, we have textbooks aiding us in this endeavor, but we need to take advantage of the web to make the curriculum constantly relevant and engaging for our students. We teach not only to fulfill syllabus requirements, but as Dr Chang repeatedly emphasize, there is some Big Idea behind every lesson we teach. Teaching Geography is also about moulding attitudes, developing opinions and encouraging moral development. Webquests is one method towards achieving such a goal. Hopefully, as students plough through the webquests each one of us in class has prepared, they would learn not only content knowledge, but also develop a critical eye towards issues and web sites they encounter.

Signing off, Keeevin the eternal idealist. :) Enjoy our webquest.. with wine or not, up to you.

2006-11-22T23:47:00.000-08:00

Assessment

We just finished our Geography module today! And of course, it is logical for us to end with a look at 'assessment'. I think Eu Khim makes a good point in his blog about how it might be more helpful to look at assessment prior to microteaching, so that we can structure assessment requirements into our lessons and to put in more consideration for assessment within our pedagogies. However, I feel that there's value in leaving it to the end too. For one, assessment considerations are necessarily very pragmatic in nature, and introducing it before microteaching may kill a bit of our idealism in creative teaching. Secondly, it is a good way to end off the module. Food for thought: did we allow assessment requirements to guide our teaching and curriculum, or are we allowing the curriculum and 'Big Ideas' to run the show? Basically my fave debate between idealism in teaching and pragmatic education requirements once again. But that aside, let me do my bit of assessing on assessments here, based on the last couple of sessions:

1) Assessment is so subjective! Gee, even before we were introduced to levels marking, we had a hard time agreeing as a class how marks should be awarded. I foresee many catfights in time to come in our staffrooms, and the absolute need for moderation. That being said, a lot of the ambiguity can be resolved with a careful setting of questions and marking scheme. Honestly, some of the questions and schemes we looked at during class were not quite up to standard. Its easy to critique of course, but there really is value in putting more effort to setting clear questions and devising a clear marking scheme. The 'big idea', the motivation behind questions set must be clear, and issues of validity and reliability will more easily (and hopefully, naturally) be put in place. I am not a big fan of the A01 + A02, A01 + A03 structure as it is too deterministic, but the motivation behind it is clear. We are seeking to assess and hopefully help students develop their knowledge, thinking and judgmental skills, and really, when setting questions, it should not merely be an exercise to meet with deadlines appointed by the HOD. Hee.. MOE will do well to employ more teachers and spread out thinner the responsibility of exam paper setting in every school. That brings me to my next point..

2) Assessment is so taxing! Wah lau, just kill me will you, the marking schemes are so tediously long and detailed! And yet it is necessary (see point 1 above). I cannot imagine having to set papers, devise marking schemes, and mark tons of papers in the future! This is one MINOR annoyance I forgot to consider when I signed my teaching contract!

Levels marking may make our time easier though. Merits of this form of assessment for a students' learning aside, practically speaking, it may be easier for teachers to assess and mark papers in the future. Marking scheme may be less pedantic too in nature. But perhaps this is just me bring hopeful (crossing my fingers haha).

But seriously, I like levels marking. It really puts assessment and education into the right perspective. We are testing students not so much of memorization skills, but also of attitudes. Levels marking will do much to advance thinking skills in students, and hopefully allow them to form opinions and judgments of their own of pertinent issues in this world we live in. Of course, Singaporeans being exam smart, we will soon have students spouting clichés like 'I agree with you to a large extent' in time to come. Let's hope it won't come down to that. Or worse.. we might have develop a breed of smart-alecky students who are so bold like our terror guests in class just a few weeks ago. Heh. You know my view on that. See my post a couple of weeks ago.

3) Finally, my last point: Assessment is so important! And not just for paper qualifications' sake.. We often forget that assessment takes two forms: Summative VS Formative marking. An ability to look at a question, and answer what it requires, to form an informed opinion – these takes time. And really, regular assessment modes of various kinds, not just final year exams, will allow us teachers to gauge how well our students are doing. Just look at the sample scripts over the last couple of sessions. It was easy to identify the areas which the students needed more guidance on. Just a simple paper test, some verbal questions, or some creative exercise can reveal to us teachers what our students have understood, and what needs to be built on.

Much better than staring at blank faces in class after we babbled on too much. Which is what I have done here, rambled on too much. Sorry, a UK syndrome. But I am not the worse, aye? Haha.

2006-11-05T07:11:00.000-08:00

Microteaching

Let's compare the 2 microteaching sessions we had this week. Please note that I am not trying to insinuate about any session being superior to the other, but I thought there is just a pertinent point to make.

Throughout our microteaching sessions, we had a perennial debate and discussion about the tension between idealism vs pragmatism, knowledge development vs assessment requirement. We saw these contrasts playing themselves out in the 2 microteaching sessions of this week. The first by Mr Tee and Mr Phoon was driven more by a realistic understanding of what Sec 4 students would need and seek for in their chosen topic, whilst the second by Ms Aw and Mr Sim was guided more by an idealistic Big Idea of educating the students of the importance of Social Justice and concern for humanity.

Which approach ought we take? As beginning teachers, idealistic keeev believes that we have the energy in us to come up with more thought-through activities, and the fact that our minds and attitudes are less steeped in the miry concerns of assessment and pragmatism helps. We read Geography in University not simply as a 3 year content training course to equip us to download and drill students of the future, rather our education ought to have tuned us to be more aware and concerned for humanity, for societies, for earth and the environment. And that is the role we ought to take, to develop in young minds a fervour and concern for issues of this world, to appreciate the beauty of the environment, to be aware of their roles as citizens of this world we live in. Geography is such a unique subject in that it is so intricately woven into every part of our living - teaching Geography really shouldn’t be guided simply by results alone.

And because the world is so diverse, the subject so multi-faceted, who are we as teachers to decide for students which subjects are important, and which ones are not? I'm pretty much a post-structuralist, and I believe each and every topic, every voice deserves an equal chance to be heard, and every mind an equal chance to discern what is true to them. And as an educator, I believe firmly in the importance of instilling a love for a subject – that is the key to achieving results. A teacher's passion and enthusiasm is contagious, and we ought to put in effort where we can and the students can and will discern.

Interestingly, we had our guests at Aw-Si's lesson reflecting that they felt the lesson non-content dense enough. They need a 20pt rehearsal for essay writing purposes, to score, to be secure. Would they have preferred a Tee-Phoon style lesson then? I guess that might be so, and that might what they have been used to. A clear structure with a clear listing of factors, and clear case studies to support the list of factors they can rehash. Helpful? Perhaps. But how many times have we heard from our friends, peers and students, 'Oh I hate GEOGRAPHY!' And why is that so? Too many listing of factors I believe! Too many view Geography as a bland subject with little purpose whatsoever, nothing more than a listing of dry factors with no correlation to their everyday life at all. Tourism, Industry, Weathering, River Processes… everything can be broken down into systematic points, every topic we can memorise a standard 3 case studies for assessment purposes. Is that the kind of Geography students we want to produce, is that they type of Geography teacher we want to be?

Time is short in Singapore schools, and for pragmatic purposes, we ought to be aware of the balance that is needed to answer to students’ exam requirements. But at the same time, let’s encourage one another to not be entirely subsumed by the system, and churn out standard 20pt lectures that so kills the subject. Perhaps we should try to think creatively for helpful ways to introduce each topic, but at the same time seek always to draw students back to important points to take home when they end each unit. To that extent, thanks guys for the many microteaching sessions we had so far, not least Aw-Sim and Tea-Phoon. To comment on what some of us has written.. I do think that the micro-teaching sessions has been helpful, it does get me thinking how real classroom environments will be like. Granted, its not the most natural of environments, with us fairies, monkeys and clowns running all over the place, but it does get one thinking and reflecting. And the passion's infectious - thanks for spreading the love for the subject and in teaching friends.

2006-11-02T21:51:00.001-08:00

Don't we love our 3 guests? :)

After 2 weeks of deadlines nightmare in NIE, I finally have a breather to post some reflections.

Many in class were outraged, appalled, shocked etc. by the response of our 3 guests in microteaching yesterday. I must admit I wasn't very surprised with their reaction, in fact, I must say I congratulate them on their sheer confidence in expressing their opinions to a bunch of people who were a good 10 years older than them. Think about it. The government has been encouraging critical and creative thinkers since 1997. This is the product you can expect of such an education, thinking students who are opinionated, who do not fear to voice their views. Their opinions are not entirely baseless nor misinformed, clearly, they display good competence in geographical knowledge and also in certain aspects of pedagogy and philosophy (Bloom's Taxonomy anyone?). Before we draw out our swords and the guns and crucify them for their sheer audacity, we ought to recognize that there is certainly a democratization of the classroom these days – students' opinions matter, especially since they are much better informed and educated these days, with the advent of the internet and all.

I recall my days in JC, when many of my classmates were similar to the boys, if not 'worse'. They were frank, they were honest, they were often blunt in their opinions and criticisms. But they meant NO HARM. It was the CULTURE that was bred in the class, one which they were accustomed to, one where they have learnt much from. Our tutors (my tutors in JC were British expats) encouraged each of us to voice our opinions, and there was the understanding that everyone of us deserve to have a voice, and in airing our views, we learn most as we engage in critical debate and thought. It was a classroom environment that was vibrant, energetic and always engaging. Talk about student centred learning.. we learnt most in the countless debates on current affairs we had in geography class. Our teacher was really a facilitator, and he allowed each of us to develop our own independent thought and stance. Come to think of it, he had a pretty cushy job, coming into school after 8am, leaving by 12..

The point I want to make is that in the Asian society we live in, we need to be aware of the increasing 'westernization' of the classroom (to use hackneyed terms we are used to in our Chinese essay writing in secondary school..). Singapore is at its roots pretty Confucian in nature, where teachers are (were) figures of authority who were viewed with absolute respect, and those with authority were revered and almost religiously worshipped. Yet as the society developed, we cry out for more independence, to be freed from nanny-style governance and teaching, to be allowed space to express, to criticize, to be independent in our opinions. And the result? You get more and more students who dare to challenge the authority of the teacher, where hierarchies are blurred, where every individual counts - young, old, Chinese, Malay, ACS, Jurong West whatever. In that light, we ought to applaud the 3 guests we had yesterday. They dared to challenge, they dared to think, they dared to differ. They were not entirely obnoxious - this may very well be the classroom culture they were brought up in, this may very well be what they have been encouraged to do amongst peers in school, and they may very well be desiring to help create a better future in schools by offering their honest opinions to us future teachers. I'm glad to read in Alvin's blog that he wasn't offended, but rather he was happy. Its hard to swallow honest criticism, but it wasn’t meant in any negative sense. The boy simply shared his pragmatic concerns from his contextual point of view.

I must admit that at first, I felt a knee-jerk reaction to be defensive of Leah and Alvin, and I felt some of the boys' critiques were not exactly valid. I felt indignant and annoyed at their audacity. But that passed off pretty quickly, as I tried to put myself in their shoes. Dr Chang was right.. they might want to show off. Who wouldn't, when they have a bit of brains, and this was their little chance to impress. And he did substantiate his points. In addition, the environment was a little hostile from their perspective. Here I am, an invited guest, and I was told to give my honest opinion. But why are all these big sisters and brothers gunning me down for an honest opinion I want to make? Why are they drowning me out when I have something to say, that I have not finished saying? Do they honestly want constructive critique from me, or are they just happy to be defensive?

2 lessons learnt I guess. One, its human nature to react against criticism, but its true maturity if we can look beyond hurt egos and see things from the other's perspective – is it a justified criticism? Is there anything I can take note of? Second, education isn't just about intellectual growth. Clearly, these boys needs education on values, on respect, on EQ, on pride. They've done well in thinking for themselves, in developing an opinion of their own. They'd do better if they can now learn lessons on how to think for others, on service to others rather than trying to impress.

To develop critical thinkers who are at the same time non-proud and non-selfcentred. Whose role is that?

Us. Uh uh. We are not just Geography teachers. We are educators, facilitators, mentors. Let's just make sure we have 1) the content to be able to confidently engage with these students, and 2) ALSO, the maturity too to help mould these students into well-balanced adults with the right values.

2006-10-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

Rivers Micro-Teaching Reflections

I had fun today. :)

I really enjoyed your session, Ron and Alvin, well done really!! It was an example on how 'Teach Less Learn More' can potentially be done. The pictures you showed at the beginning were a good way to stimulate my thinking about rivers, of water, and humans' interaction / relationship with it. Considering that this was 'Plan B', with the little hiccup of the video, it was really fantastic! :)

Classroom management wise, both of you have the presence (both physically and of mind) to command the respect of the class. Voice was loud, eye contact with class was good, moving around to check on the students during group activity was a good move. What more can I say? :)

A few suggestions on the pedagogy and lesson:

1) There was no doubt that the pictures were meant to stimulate our thinking about the inter-relationships between humans and rivers. However (and this perhaps because I was not concentrating?), I found myself jumping into the powerpoint slideshow of the pictures without exactly knowing what I’m supposed to look out for. Perhaps you can write on the whiteboard 1 or 2 really clear, but yet stimulating, questions for us to be pondering as we sit back and enjoy the slides with the jazz in the background? Think that would help sharpening the focus of the exercise a little and get the students thinking.

2) The post-activity after the slides can be refined too to achieve even better results. I found myself unable to draw a concept map with my group, for I found it a strange exercise to follow the 5-4-3-2-1. We already had 5 clearly segmented headings in the 5-4-3-2-1, and to do a concept map immediately after, I found the whole of my brain, both left and right sides of it, prompting me to draw a concept map with the same exact 5 headings. Which is a little redundant isn't it? I knew that wasn’t what teachers Tan and Tan wanted. :) And when I wrecked my head trying to be a little creative with the task, I found it hard to integrate all that we wrote down in the 5-4-3-2-1, for as pointed out in class, they were not immediately classifiable and in tune with your main theme of human relationship with water. Perhaps a guided post-activity, with groups allocated the tasks of drawing concept maps of a more specific theme (e.g. Water use in arid Africa, Human modifications of rivers, Floods – good or bad?, Why is water vital? etc) may be more helpful. Or otherwise, you can get groups to draw out concept maps based on these themes BEFORE the video/picture slideshows, then show them the stimuli, AND THEN, get them to now refine and add on to the concept maps with what they just saw. Just my two cents worth..

3) Your lesson was great in getting a larger wider feel and sense of the issue of water use, rivers and humans. However, in term of specifics that may need to be taught, e.g. dams, why are floodplains fertile, developed vs. developing countries use of water etc.. there is little time to address. The 'Parking Lot' idea from Dr Chang sounds great. :)

Disclaimer: This reflection (as most of my blog entries are) was typed on my laptop on the bus. Pardon if its a little bit rambling and incoherent at times. Auntie was looking over my shoulder.. :) Its all my genuine truest thoughts though. :)

2006-10-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

Post-Microteaching Reflections

Its over. Micro-teaching is over. I survived..

It wasn't that bad, thank you class for giving me a relatively ok time. You all have been really kind and I'’m utterly thankful haha.

Just a couple of thoughts:

1) Content content. Whoever would have thought that pressure release is not really the 3rd physical weathering form to teach, but rather, is a precursor to other weathering processes? My teachers never taught me that! The danger of easy classifications in our typical geography textbooks, another reason why we should be non-reliant on conventional textbooks and really be using our brains more in deciding what and how to teach out students. Also, I must admit that I tried to 'smoke' the class by saying that the topic 'Rock types' is after the weathering lessons, in a feeble attempt to avoid awkward questions that will expose me inadequate knowledge of the rock types of even the landforms I showed on my slides. Better brush up on content knowledge, Mr Pang!

2) Relatedly, Dr Chang's exhortation to us to be thinking more deeply the way we wanna 'lead' the lesson makes tons of sense. If 'Rocks' really were to be a follow up to this lesson (which I think doesn't make sense – it should come BEFORE), the way my lesson is designed ought to reflect and point/hint to my students that fact. I tried to emphasize on 'Climate' as a controlling factor – but obviously failed badly cos I neglected to follow the factsheet I passed around class for students to fill in. There was some big idea, some structure I wanted to follow, to get the students DESCRIBING, and then EXPLAINING, and then INFERRING the climate associated with each weathering process and form. But obviously, without the factsheet to guide me, I made a lil mess out of it.

3) I'm glad a few of you reflected that you like the final activity, the one with the reshuffled pictures. It seems quite a simple task, and may be too 'scaffolded' for certain students of higher levels in certain schools, but I see value in helping students visualize and grasp the time-sequenced series of stages that is involved in processes like weathering. I had a torrid time finding the diagrams to make up the green, yellow and blue sets, and had to resort to using Paint to crop and alter other diagrams I have. It was terrible cutting out all the small lil multiple diagrams, and putting on double sided tape is a torture – I ended up sleeping at 4am for this silly exercise. Isaac suggested an alternative in simply labeling with numbers these pictures on a sheet and asking students to reshuffle the numbers in the right sequence. Possible.. not so hands on, but much less tiring for overworked teachers as well.

4) All in all, it was a good experience conducting an actual lesson. Makes me realize the importance of time discipline, and how things are really out of your control at times, depending on the questions that may be thrown up. Can’t wait for more actual experience!!

2006-10-10T05:56:00.000-07:00

Hossan's Song for History and Geography teaching?

Haha.. Many of you would have seen this. But just to continue the theme of today's lesson on using films, videos etc for teaching... This is a possible teaching resource to activate schema when teaching Singapore's history, current political climate, or social studies in general. Enjoy...

2006-10-10T00:36:00.000-07:00

Microteaching

2 microteaching sessions has passed so far, and the next one will be me and Eu Khim. Let me just pen down some thoughts before I'm slaughtered and slain.

1) There's no use being too entirely hung up about content knowledge, but being unprepared to tackle and handle impromptu questions and situations that may arise. This really shows how teaching is a skill, a very deep skill that needs honing over the years with experience. It is a multivariate skill that demands competence not just in content knowledge, but also in lesson delivery, questioning dexterity, quick feet, sharp eyes and a thinking head. Yes, we as students were particularly difficult at times, playacting as really hyperactive kids ('I'm a fairy?!?!'), but seriously, there are a thousand and one scenarios in the classroom that we cannot expect and prepare for enough. How do we engage a class of 40, of varying concentration and abilities, yet at the same time achieve practical objectives? No wonder lesson planning is so hard. Wanna talk about lesson objectives and learning outcomes? You can plan the most elaborate of lessons with the deepest of considerations and the most comprehensive of content coverage, but you'll never know what will happen. Over the last 2 microteaching sessions, we've seen how students got distracted by pineapples and Hawaiian babes rather than climate, and how students got so disturbed by hot/cold wet/dry deserts… Teaching really asks for a connection with the students and an understanding and ability to cater to their varying and unpredictable needs. Not easy. So to the 2 teams who’s passed through the micro-teaching ordeal - well done!

2) A paucity in content knowledge is a big nono too, as the students lose respect and attention for the teacher really easily in such circumstances. Imagine if a student asks you about Rossby waves during climate class? Can you handle that? I didn't know exactly know how to answer the hot/cold dry/wet desert question too during Edwin's lesson. In such circumstances, I feel it is dangerous to 'smoke'. Students aren't dumb. At the same time, sweeping their queries under the carpet will result in similar consequences. So what I'd do? Well, if I really cannot address the questions there and then, I'd tell them I'd get back to you. And pretty darn certainly make sure I do.. :)

Well, so here I am, sitting pretty in the library, trying to work on my content knowledge of my micro-teaching topic on Thursday, whilst at the same time cracking my head to think of helpful lesson delivery methods. Trying to envisage how the lesson would be, and imagining the questions that may come up. Running through in my head the type of questions I may pose, and how to follow up with more probing questions should I meet with blank faces. It is always good to be prepared, psychologically, mentally, and with the right arsenal of resources, content knowledge and questions to pose. A good exercise to go through before every lesson we will teach, especially when we first start out.

But right now, I need to prepare especially hard. 'Especially' for I'm paired in micro-teaching with the notorious Mr Eu Khim. Its gonna be fun. Real fun.

2006-10-09T10:14:00.000-07:00

Reflections on fieldtrip to Bukit Timah Hill

I must say the unconventional appeal to the 5 senses in our fieldtrip to Bukit Timah Hill was quite refreshing. I have to admit I was a little apprehensive at first when Dr Chang handed out the cards and gave us instructions to ponder about our individual instructions privately. In my head I was thinking, 'This offers limited benefits to a student in the field. The scope of what he/she can learn is sooo soooo constrained by the task outlined in his/her card!'

But I was pleasantly surprised at the end of it, when we came together as a group to ponder and share the results of our pseudo-independent field research. It was a master stroke to just get each student to simply present their field findings, WITHOUT revealing the questions that was presented to them in the cards. I found myself really engaged during the group session, for I was really curious to know what tasks my classmates got allocated during the fieldtrip. As a consequence, I paid extra attention to each of their sharing of research findings. Learnt much in the process, a pedagogical masterstroke!

Some thoughts though:

1) More elaborate detailed tasks needed. My card basically required me to answer the questions: Why is the forest so dark? Why is the forest so humid? These were interesting, revealing questions, but how long can I be engaged with them? I can see, observe and feel the conditions described in the card within 1 minute, the rest of the fieldtrip is basically me pondering the questions in my head. Note that we really only just walked a little while (10 minutes?) around the forest before we convened to discuss our thoughts. In a real life scenario, we'd probably be bringing the students around much longer to take in the sights. If presented with only simple tasks, they’d be bored and disengaged in no time. So, yeaps, good challenging engaging tasks which can really trigger and sustain their interest will be really important. If not, there is the potential for the fieldtrip exercise to turn out just flat.

2) I think the idea of combining / fusing of the traditional and unconventional method of field exercise is a really good one (as always, isn't it). So, for example, the above mentioned problem of students being disengaged with boredom can be resolved pretty easily by giving them the con-current activity of worksheets to be filled in. Also, as mentioned during the field trip, the traditional worksheet method is fundamental too to get students to grasp basic concepts.

3) Any thoughts on what other ideas we can have, other than appealing to the 5 senses? Role play? E.g. pass out cards to each and every individual student, have them role-play a particular stake-holder of the area we have the fieldtrip at (e.g. conservationists, local dwellers, government development officials etc.). That would include some environmental management and human aspect to the field study. Oh man, I’m too much a human geographer.. can't really think of creative things.. esp if its natural vegetation we are talking about. Plantssss!!! AHHH!!!

That being said – have any of you watched David Attenborough’s The Private Life of Plants before? It's the most brilliant documentary ever. In it, (Sir) David Attenborough employed the (then) advanced technology of using time-sequenced videos to show how plants grow, germinate etc. Something so boring, static and non-interactive like shrubs and flowers gets a new breath of life!! Wow. I love David Attenborough and his BBC documentaries… I have the tapes if you wanna borrow. Yes tapes. Not even VCDs. VHS tapes.. haha.

David Attenborough's a good teacher. He's like an educator, communicating to an audience important knowledge that he wants to impart about the natural environment in his documentaries. And he does it pretty darn well, adopting new technologies and creative ideas/concepts/methods that will appeal and most importantly, relate to the audience. Are we able to do as such as teachers in the classroom? And in the field?

2006-10-03T07:43:00.000-07:00

Orchard Turn - where can all the domestic workers now turn to?

Okay.. I'm really tired, shall post substantially on today's fieldtrip and last week's micro-teaching tommorow.

Right now, just want to ramble a little. Was at Orchard MRT on Sunday, and my goodness, was it empty and quiet at the busstop and around the station. Unlike most sundays. Why?

Orchard Turn construction, displacing and depriving the domestic workers of their favourite Sunday picnic spot!!

I wonder where they will now turn to... await with bated breath...

Geography's everywhere. :)

Post-fieldtrip Reflections

2006-09-28T04:52:00.000-07:00

Defining / Negotiating Space in Raffles Place

Warning: Super Long Post.

We had our little recce trip for our joint fieldtrip exercise on Tuesday. Man, so malu. Its no joke working the Mickey Mouse anemometer and slinging the psychrometer like a caveman in the middle of our very public and happening CBD. Too many times passerbys stared at us working the surface thermistor as if we are terrorists planning to bomb the MRT with one of the heaviest traffic in morning peak hours. At times I felt like the terrorist-guy featured in the video clip currently running on MRT platforms (which incidentally is such a good teaching resource, as it localizes the threat of global terrorism in local Singapore so well. If I'm a teacher I'd get my students to just stand there and watch the clip. Better than whatever ICT crap I can produce). I felt almost guilty and ashamed, though I'm not doing anything wrong. AHEM. Its cool man. Educators at work. Must psycho ourselves to be more thickskinned...

Of course until my friend's wife came from behind me, tapped me on the shoulder and gave me an incredulous look as I was holding on to the Mickey Mouse anemometer. Heh... Good Morning? ;p And of course my girlfriend didn't help by sms-ing me to KEEP AWAY from her work office, as far as possible. :)

Ok, let's get serious. :)

So what did we do exactly? Simply put, we used our instruments to measure 4 weather variables (Wind Speed, Humidity, Air Temperature, Ground Temperature) across 6 points 50m apart along a transect. Air temp was 29 degrees celcius almost everywhere, except on grass (28.5), and beside Coffee Club (28 - aircon? Shade?). Ground temp was 27 degrees on grass and at Coffee Club, 29 elsewhere (grass lower latent heat, and Coffee Club is just a cool place to be lah... haha, its shaded and beside airconditioning my dear). Humidity was a constant 79% everywhere, except on grass (82% due to transpiration? moisture?) and again beside Coffee Club (85% - 9.50am, later in the day?). Wind speed was an exhilirating 0-2m/s everywhere.

So what sort of conclusions can we draw? With the limited, unexciting and non-varied measurements we have, we can say that our hypothesis about Urban Heat Island basically sizzled out of steam. Any theorized effect of Urban Canyon wind accentuation is gone with the wind due to a lack of conclusive evidence. Rewards of the day? The free Today newspaper I got at the MRT entrance, and the yummy O'briens sandwiches my teammates got for lunch?

Well, not all's lost. Lots of worthy pegagogical considerations, outcomes and strategies can still be developed from our little recce trip.

Firstly, many lessons can still be drawn from failed hypotheses. Why didn't we observe any significant temperature variations in the square? Its a good question to provoke critical thinking. Basically, as I was guessing and grumbling before the trip - its the wrong time to conduct an experiment. The sun has only just risen, what do you expect? You'll get heating variations later in the day, a good time to measure will be mid-afternoon. Also, as Dr Chang pointed out, a measurement at 6am in the morning might give you some indication of a heat sink effect.

Pedagogical Note: Conduct a field trip that requires measurements at different temporal periods of the day? Of course, with that note comes the Logistical Choke: Different times of the day?! Spare me the headache... :)

Secondly, other lessons in Urban Microclimate can be garnered. i) Fine, we gathered no heat sink effect in our not-very-early morning measurements, but as Dr Chang challenged us, ever wondered why the square is so warm at 10am?? Look up guys - check out the huge glass and reflective marble/psuedo metal material of the surrouding buildings. They were freakin reflecting heat from the rising sun onto the square, grilling us like a cheeky boy with a magnifying glass on a bunch of stupid ants.

ii) I don't know about you guys, but I do feel distinct wind gusts along the small alleys (e.g. Malacca Street) around the square. No strong winds in the center as its far too wide - but how abt the small corridors here and there? Prob worth checking out.

Pedagogical Note: Nothing beats the field in geographical learning. I remember learning about urban reflection as a factor leading to higher temperatures in urban micro-climate, this was a good reminder in felt form. Poor Alvin with the tissue.. :)

Thirdly, this is after all a first recce trip, in terms of methods, there's much we can learn and improve on should we conduct something similar in the future. We can be more stringent and specific in our measurement requirements (e.g. to take 3 readings of each instrument and take the average for greater accuracy), and also, we can be more structured in actually specifying particular points for measurements (e.g. identifying landmarks, first measuring out by tape accurate 50m intervals).

Pedagogical Note: Don't be lazy. You need to do your groundwork and consider carefully how lesson objectives can best be achieved. And of course... with that will come the Logistical Choke. heh heh :)

Fourthly, if we were actual students doing the field exercise, I would consider this a pretty imbalanced learning experience for my class. From my own experience in my own team, we were far too dependent on the expertise of the instruments expert. Basic content knowledge of weather variables and urban micro-climate was also grasped differentially across members of the group.

Pedagogical Note: Adequate scaffolding and careful consideration of effective cooperative learning is required when embarking on lessons that seeks to instill higher level meta-cognitive learning. Basic content understanding and skills should be introduced to students before going into the field, to encourage optimal learning when the students go 'hands-on'. If not, it is too easy for some students to be lost, and by then, it is too late for the shepherd teacher to gather the sheep who simpy wanders and graze on the grass.

All in all? A good eye-opening trip. In the very public space of Raffles Place.
Field exercises in Geography learning, there is definitely place.
Group structuring wise in this cooperative exercise,
Space needs to be defined (not negotiated) a tad more concise.

2006-09-25T05:16:00.000-07:00

Fieldtrip Jigsaw - I am the King, but who runs the Thing?

Some thoughts on last week's jigsaw planning for our fieldtrip tommorow.

Dr Chang divided us into 4 expert groups (Content, Pedagogy, Logistics and Instruments). Each expert group met to discuss their domain, and then convened with the home group after to organize separate (presumably, theoretically, ideally?) fieldtrip packages.

Being in the content group (not entirely by choice, but as a service to my group members who shunned content like my girlfriend to durains), we had to brainstorm the subject topic(s) we wanted to teach, the concepts to learn, the lessons to be learnt. Man, we felt important in our expert group - as if we were kings! But with great power comes great responsibility, and the pressure was on. For it felt as if we are not clear of the content, there would be no lesson objective, and with no lesson objective, there would be no lesson plan, with no lesson plan there will be no lesson ....

Wait.. doesn't that sound like psuedo-pedagogy we were worrying about? Surely there's some overlap with the other expert group? Yes, indeed.

Personally, I had an utterly exciting, yet confusing and frustrating session doing the jigsaw. It was cool thinking and brainstorming with my expert group the technicalities of Urban Heat Island and what we can seek to teach in the field on this topic, but it felt really disjunct when we got grouped back into each individual home group.

Firstly, I think the roles of content and pedagogy were not made utterly clear as we embarked on the jigsaw. In the first place, how helpful is it to divorce the two? When together in the home group, I found my pedagogy counterpart not exactly having any clear idea on what lesson objectives to be achieved, for he/she is awaiting imput from me, the supposed content King. I found myself sharing what our expert group has come up with, and in the end, driving discussion on pedagogical design as well. I was aware I may have been over-domineeering in group discussion, so I deliberately stepped back in my contributions - but pedagogical counterparts didn't have much to say, being ill-equipped on content (I wonder what the pedagogy team discussed in the first discussion?).

Secondly, technically, if there was ONE pedagogy expert group, then theoretically, shouldn't there be ONE pedagogical method adopted through all four groups? But it turned out that all 4 groups may be adopting different methods. Cool.. but was that the original aim? Anyways, I don't really know my group's pedagogical method yet, the last discussion we had it seems that we are all just sitting on it...

Thirdly, the logistics counterpart was basically handicapped to do anything, for he/she can only decide on logistics when we know what to do (duh). Ok, so diff ppl adopts different responsibilities in a jigsaw, fine. But then again, how divorced can the logistics guy be? Is a clear distinction of roles that helpful once again?

Fourthly, the instruments experts. They were damn cool lah, esp with the heat spy. Couldn't help but go have some fun with the stuff too. But thinking back - is it good to divorce the instrument guy in fieldwork planning? I know I have the content, but I know I'll be totally clueless when I'm actually in the field tommorow. Kindda like an armchair geographer sitting on the throne, dictating content like a king, but in actual fact hopeless in the field.

So all in all - its too utterly confusing and frustrating for my liking. I'm a control freak I'll freely admit. I need to have a bird's eyes view of what is going on in any given project, and to know that things will go fine. I hate last minute contingencies and I like to plan ahead. And with things like the organising of a field trip, I do believe the teacher has to take greater charge, and be more well equipped and comprehensive in his understanding of the big picture that's going on. On the field itself, there's all the random stuff that's gonna come up - uncertainties in pedagogical design, content to be taught, basic logistical details and instrumental use should be the last thing on our minds. But divided and chopped up in a jigsaw, I feel as if i'm lost and without my arms and legs going into the field. I get so engrossed in my own expert area (content) and think of myself as crucial, but I hardly know what's going on in the other areas. And who drives the fieldwork? The King? Or should the dictatorial one just trust his lackeys? Or was he ever King?

Who drives the thing???? *shrug*

Mental Note: Fieldwork pre-design is so important and must be thought and carried through with much care, or students would feel lost, or even shortchanged, just as I was...

2006-09-16T00:14:00.000-07:00

Singapore Dreaming

Watch this movie friends.. Its well worth the money. I think the best film on Singapore ever. Excellent social commentary.

A possible teaching resource? Hmmm... :)

2006-09-13T06:51:00.000-07:00

Reflections... finally.

Ok, I better start getting into the habit of posting something, if not, we are gonna end the course without me posting any reflections whatsoever.

This is going to be really general, and hopefully it'll get my engine going in recording more targeted reflections after each session.

Its been pretty thought provoking, going through various pedagogical methods and skills over the few sessions of Geography we had so far. Its refreshing to be thinking about pedagogy, of lessons objectives, effective lesson delivery, of thinking from the students' perspective and producing helpful lessons that is most beneficial to the student. What makes an effective Geography teacher? One who is sensitive to what a student need to know and learn about this world, that's my take on it.

I've always loved Geography, I've always loved to know more about this world we live in. I was fascinated with physical geography in JC, landforms, rivers, rocks and all. In University, I was struck by the amount of injustice, problems but also diversity there was in this society we live in - there was just so much you wanna know. Being serious about Christ over the last few years helped too, for I began to develop a greater love for the people whom He has created, and this world He's graciously given us. To teach is something I always wanted to do since Sec 3; to be a role model and mould young lives into being more sensitive of the needs and diversity of this world is something I grew increasingly keen on since a few years back.

Like all young teachers, a certain (probably huge) amount of idealism exist when you first embark upon the journey. So much content that you've learnt over the years - you just want to download them all to the students. So much idealism you have about how you can mould young lives into being socially responsible earth/world citizens - you begin to think as a teacher you can change the world.

But pedagogical lessons over the last few weeks have pulled me (slightly) back to Earth. Teaching isn't all a bed of roses. There are multiple issues to deal with, a class of differential abilities and interests; parents with varying expectations; school admin with contrasting agendas... the list goes on. Check the idealism dude!

But its so cool too going through the geography lessons, and being exposed to this larger 'Big Idea' concept. Education in Singapore isn't all pragmatic and about achieving exam targets for the sake of parents, students and school - you can achieve that in tandem with a larger and more enlightened mode of teaching philosophy. Teach students the importance of deeper understanding, of crucial essentials that link and underline all the little 'content' we teach. Use pedagogical tools creatively to maintain interest, to inspire independent learning and critical questionings. It can be done. :)

So I refuse to throw away all idealism altogether. I need that to survive my bond haha. But I must say, from what we've been going through in lessons, there is hope. Geography lessons can be fun, interactive and inspiring. I've grown to love the subject and the world we live in. Hopefully, we can develop that in our students too. :) Let's never lose sight on the reason why we embarked upon this teaching journey. Every single lesson, let's not lose sight of the objective, of thinking for the benefit of student. Its easy to be lost in the details to be taught, its easy to be caught in the mesh of admin and politics, its easy to get lazy with all the work piling - but let's keep at working on the whole objective of teaching.

Jia you all. :)

2006-07-24T05:38:00.000-07:00

New Blog!!

I'm 'chopping' this address early, as I know I need to start a new blog for my NIE course in teaching Geography.

Check out my other blog too, 'For the Love of God' at keeevin.blogspot.com!!!