PGDT 421: Geography Subject Area Teaching Method I PDF

PGDT 421: Geography subject area teaching method I Unit 1: The Nature of Geography 1.1 Definition and concept of Geography Geography is a broad and diverse field of study. This diversity mainly emanated from its definition. Geographers study diverse fields in different approaches. How...

PGDT 421: Geography subject area teaching method I Unit 1: The Nature of Geography 1.1 Definition and concept of Geography Geography is a broad and diverse field of study. This diversity mainly emanated from its definition. Geographers study diverse fields in different approaches. However, all geographers have similar questions they ask and the common set of concepts they employ in considering their answers. Different geographers define geography in different ways. From simple description of the earth to more varied and complicated concepts. Geography studies different aspects of the earth and its definition changes through time with the development of the subject matter geography. Due to the varied concepts incorporated in geography the definition also varies from geographer to geographer. The definition the box can be used as the working definition for the time being. Geography is the scientific study of the Earth that describes and analyzes the spatial and temporal variations of physical, biological and human phenomena, and their interrelationships and dynamism over the surface of the Earth. Geography is the study of spatial variations, of how-and why-things differ from place to place on the surface of the earth. Geography is a spatial science, which is concerned with spatial behavior of people, with the spatial relationships that are observed between places on the earth’s surface, and with spatial processes that create those behaviors and relationships. The word spatial always carries the idea of the way things are distributed, the way movements occur, and the way processes operate over the whole or a part of the surface of the earth. Spatial interactions occur between places, things and people; but their interactions are dependent on the distance separating them. Spatial interaction is the relationship that exists (phenomena) in relation to space. Each place has relations with other places. Relations could be natural or manmade/ artificial. The geographically informed person knows and understands how physical systems affect human systems. Each place has unique physical environment and human characteristics. Places are dynamic, with changing properties and fluid boundaries that are the product of the interplay of the wide variety of environmental and human factors. Places are so important in shaping people’s lives and in influencing the pace and direction of change. Places provide the settings for people’s daily life. It is in this setting that people learn who and what they are, how they should think and behave. The geographically informed person knows and understands how culture and experience influence people’s perception of places and regions. In concept development, scale has paramount importance for geographers. This means that a place may be large or small. We can also speak both of the nature of the place itself and the generalizations that can be made about it. 1 The physical and human characteristics of places are the keys to understand both the simple and the complex interactions and interconnections between people and the environment they occupy and modify. The elements of places are interrelated with other places. In a spatial sense, everything is related to everything else but that relationships are stronger when things are near to one another. Interaction between places diminishes in intensity and frequency as distance between them increases. But this premise is not always true. The geographically informed person knows and understands the patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth’s surface. Things around us are constantly changing. In the framework of geologic time, change is both continuous and pronounced. The geographically informed person knows and understands the physical processes that shape the features of Earth’s surface. 1.2 The Scope of Geography Scope refers to the extent of interest of focus on a certain subject. It refers to the capacity and limits that can an academic discipline treats. In brief scope is the content (how broad or narrow) of the field of a given discipline. In this regard, geography is said to have a larger scope than any other disciplines as it treats a wide range of phenomena on the planet earth. In general, geo- sphere is considered as geography’s scope. The scope of geography is very diverse and wide unless it is delimited and organized into structured and manageable categories. Geography is a complex concept. Hence, its scope could be understood by explaining its relationship to others, its aims and its place in formal education, and considering what its essential components are. Geography is a dynamic subject which changes with the changing world. Learning this dynamic subject will enable us to setup our mind with the dynamic world. Geographers also attempt to analyze human society in its spatial frame. They examine where things are and what forms or groups may be discerned and why they are there and how their location and their nature and development may be related to the influences exerted by other places. The map is the distinctive tool of the geographer, for it is only with a map that spatial relations and spatial distribution can best be seen and analyzed. 1.3 Relations of Geography with other Disciplines Geography has definite relations with many natural and social sciences such as meteorology, geology, ecology, economics, sociology, climate studies etc. It has relations with meteorology in the same way as meteorology has relations with physics. It has relations with geology in the same way as geology has relations with chemistry. The geographically informed person knows and understands how to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environment on Earth’s surface. 2 The geographers draw some of factual material from other branches of knowledge-the natural sciences on the one hand and the social sciences on the other hand. Without borrowing from the content and methodology of other subjects and disciplines geography could not exist. There is an increasing awareness of the contribution which other subjects can make to the development of geography. Geography acts as a bridging subject between the arts and the sciences. Geography study the phenomena arranged in space and history study the phenomena in time periods. The geographically informed person knows and understands how to apply geography to interpret the past. 1.4 The purpose of Studying Geography The purpose of learning geography is: - to have better understanding of our society and environment and human activities all over the world. - to help you to have knowledge and skills to solve societal problems. - to read maps and interpret information, data and geographical scales from local to global. You can use data from maps, tables, graphs and texts to recognize patterns and solve problems. -integrate concepts from many different areas of science, social science and the humanities and apply critical thinking to understand and to dealing with current issues at local, national and international levels. - to make informed decisions regarding the best use of the nation’s resources. - to identify the location of natural resources, the level of industrialization or energy production and many other geographical factors influencing the kind of economy in the country. - to understand the impact of environmental factors on individual and group behavior, the ways in which humans change their environments in which they live and to determine the long-term environmental impacts of social processes such as population growth and technological development. - The study of geography has become an essential basis for understanding a world that is more complex and faster-changing than ever before. - Geography learning provides real opportunities that contribute to local, national, and global development and for understanding and promoting multicultural and international perspectives on the world. - With a strong grasp of geographic education, people are better equipped to solve issues not only at the local level but also at the global level. The geographically informed person knows and understands how to use maps and other geographic interpretations, tools and technologies to acquire process and report information from a spatial perspective. The geographically informed person knows and understands the physical and human characteristics of places. 3 The geographically informed person knows and understands how to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future. 1.5 Approaches to Geography Study Geographers, like other social scientists, have their own approaches in studying their subject. The most frequently adopted approaches are: A. Regional approach B. Topical or systematic approach. 1.5.1 Regional approach Region - a particular area or part (of the world, continent, etc) or any of the large official areas into which a country is divided. Regional approach - it deals with all aspects of a given area and compares that area with others In other words, it deals with the complete geography of specific areas. A regional approach focuses on a region, a defined geographic unit or locality, an area that displays unity in terms of selected criteria. Regions may be based on criteria such as physical, cultural, social, political, or urban characteristics. Within the region the study examines a variety of geographic features. Regions are not given in nature. They are devised, and are special summaries designed to bring order to the infinite diversity of the earth’s surface. The geographically informed person knows and understands that people create regions to interpret Earth’s complexity. A formal region is a group of places that have similar conditions. Formal regions are areas of essential uniformity throughout in one or a limited combination of physical or cultural features. There are formal physical regions such as humid subtropical climate zone and the Sahel region of Africa. There are also formal (homogeneous) cultural regions in which standardized characteristics of language, religion, ethnicity, or livelihood existed. The formal region therefore is the largest area over which a valid generalization of attribute uniformity may be made. For example, the coffee growing regions of Ethiopia is a similar farm region. A functional region is a group of places that are linked together by a flow of something. Its parts are interdependent. Throughout its area, the functional region operates as a dynamic organizational unit. For example, the Nile Basin is connected by the flow of water toward the Mediterranean Sea. 1.5.1. Topical or Systematic Approach Topical geography is of spatial patterns at a broad scale. The focus is on the arrangement of a single feature in a fairly large area where it is abundant, clustered, scattered or scarce. Systematic approach - is the study of the spatial organization or location aspect of a specific phenomenon and its interaction with other phenomena. 4  Unit: 3 Trends of Geographic Thought Introduction Throughout its history, geographers have brought successive images concerning the arrangement of things on the face of the earth. The mental images and explanations of one generation were seldom satisfactory to the succeeding generation. These need a continued search for new and more perfect images and explanations that conform to the contemporary scientific analysis. In the initial phase geography was considered as a description of the earth surface and explorations. In the 18th century, it started emerging as a discipline of earth science to deal with man-nature relationships. For examining this man-nature interrelationship, ideographic (divide places into homogeneous regions) and nomothetic (focus on spatial analysis) approaches were adopted by geographers. Recent years have, however, seen a more active discussion on philosophical themes in geography. But between 1800 and 1950 geographers major concern was classifying places into the set of regions on the basis of similar characteristics. During this time emphasis was given to regions and regionalism and all places have unique characteristics and the task of geographers was to divide places into homogeneous regions. This approach is known as ideographic approach- describing unique characteristics of places. From the 1950s onwards spatial analysis became the focus of geography. That is, the shift of ideographic to nomological approach is the shift from pre-theoretical, non-scientific to a more scientific involving hypothesis testing and construction of theory. 3.1 Geographic determinism vs. Possibilism Environmental determinism is one of the important philosophies which persisted up to the Second World War in one way or the other. It is a school of thought which believes in that the history, culture, life style and stage of development of a social group or a nation are exclusively or largely governed by the physical factors of the environment. The essence of the deterministic school of thought is that the history, culture, living style and stage of development of a social group or nation are exclusively or largely governed by the physical factors of environment. The determinists consider man as a passive agent on whom the physical factors are used to determine the attitude and the process of decision making. Environmental determinism, also known as climatic determinism or geographical determinism is the view that the physical environment sets limits on the activities of man on the environment. The fundamental argument of the environmental determinists was that aspects of physical geography, particularly climate, influenced the psychological mind-set of individuals, which in turn defined the behavior and culture of the society that those individuals formed. For example, the tropical climate were considered to be the cause of laziness, relaxed attitudes and 5 promiscuity, while the frequent variability in the weather of the middle latitudes led to be more deterministic and driven work ethics. Environmental determinism had originated in the fifth-century where medical treatise ascribed to Hippocrates. In Roman times it is, for example, found in the work of the Greek geographer Strabo who wrote that climate is the cause of the psychological disposition of different races. Aristotle also had explained that inhabitants of cold climate are courageous but lack political organization and capacity to rule their neighbors likewise the people of Asia lacks courage and so slavery is their natural state of survival. Scholars agreed that the Arab writers were the early adherents of environmental determinism during the medieval period. For example, the Arab writers explained that environment can determine the physical characteristics of a certain community. Their argument in their early theory of evolution was origins of different human skin colors, particularly black skin, which they believed to be the result of the environment. Some Arabs writers argued that blackness and whiteness are in fact caused by the properties of the region, the God-given nature of water and soil, the proximity or remoteness of the sun and the intensity or mildness of its heat. Ibn Khaldun, the Arab sociologist was also an adherent of environmental determinism. He suggested that black skin was due to the hot climate of sub-Saharan Africa and not due to their lineage. Thus, he dispelled the Hamitic theory, where the sons of Ham were cursed by being black, as a myth. The concept environmental determinism was used during the colonial period. For example, Ibn Khaldun suggested that the sedentary city dweller in the Northern hemisphere is dependent on luxuries and becomes morally soft. Due to the intense heat along the equatorial belt, there is meager concentration of populations. He added that people who live close to the equator turn black. The physical environment influences the character and attitudes of people, which get modified under the different cultural traditions. These ideas were translated during the colonial era in order to fit the colonial propaganda and to exploit the available raw materials. Environmental determinism had continued as a dominant philosophy throughout the 19th century. For instance Carl Ritter introduced geographical determinism in the early 19th century. He attempted to establish the causes and the variations in the physical condition of body, physique, and health in the different physical environmental conditions. The philosophy of environmental determinism had reached to its apex in the late 19th century and early 20th century particularly in the United States. During this time, the most leading proponents were Ellen Churchill Semple and Elsworth Huntington. Semple had distinguished the attitudinal characteristics of the people living in different physical settings and stresses. She identified that dwellers in mountains are essentially conservatives. Due to the nature of the topography there is little contact with the outside world that stimulates them to change. Many geographers interpreted the progress of societies with the deterministic approach. Many scholars made it clear that climate influences the physical properties of soil which ultimately determines the cropping patterns, dietary habits of the people. For them, the under development of the tropics is owing to the humid, hot, oppressive weather conditions which makes people lazy and inefficient as well as timid. 6 Starting the 1920s environmental determinism came under repeated attacks as its claims were found to be severely faulted at best, and often dangerously wrong. Many geographers in different countries of the world have drawn attention to the one-sided approach adopted by the environmentalists. This was mainly in their interpretations of historical reality and their exaggeration of nature’s active role to the fact that they only acknowledge as capable of passive attempts at adaption. The environmentalists were criticized for their fanatic approach. Spate, for example stress that environment taken by itself is a meaningless phrase, without man environment does not exist. Geographical environment is only one of the factors of territorial differentiation and it acts through society; cultural tradition has a certain autonomous influence. The proponents of environmental determinism undermined the two way interactions between man and nature. That man can also modify his environment. After World War II, the philosophy of environmental determinism was severely criticized for two reasons. Firstly, similar physical environment does not produce the same response. Secondly, although environment influences man, man also influences the environment and the cause-effect relations are too simple to explain. Hartshorne purely rejected on the grounds that it separates nature and man and thus is disruptive of fundamental unity of the field, i.e. contradicts the concept of geography as an integrated science. Geographers reacted to this by first developing the softer notion of "environmental possibilism," and later by abandoning the search for theory and causal explanation for many decades. After the First Word War, Lucian Febvre explained the stage of development of different societies and their history. This approach of interpretation of history was termed as possibilism. The essence of this approach is that nature does not drive man along a particular road, but it offers a number of opportunities from among which man is free to select. For the possibilists the work of man, not the earth and its influence, are the starting points, the most important is the freedom of man to choose. Following this paradigm shift, Vidal de Lablache had developed the school of possibilism. The central idea of this school of thought was life styles were responsible to the development of geographical environments. According to him, life styles are the products and reflections of civilization, represented the integrated result of physical, historical and social influences surrounding man’s relation to a particular place, known as environment. Vidal tried to explain the difference in development between groups of people living in similar environments, and stressed that these differences are not due to the influence of physical environment but owing to variations in attitudes, values and habits. Variations in attitudes and values create numerous possibilities for the human communities which became the basic philosophy of the school of possibilim. Possibilism - is a school of thought which believes that human society cannot fully tame nature and is not always victorious. The possibilists emphasize that it is impossible to explain the difference in human society and the history of that society with reference to the influence of environment alone. And they hold that man himself brings his influence to bear on that environment and changes it, according to his preferences. According to possibilists, nature is never more than an adviser. This school of thought propagates that there are no necessities but everywhere possibilities. In spite of the fact that man has numerous possibilities in a given physical setting, he cannot go against the directions laid by the physical environment, if so nature can take the revenge. 7 Possibilism is criticized by contemporary thinkers. For example, Griffith Taylor stressed that society as a whole should make the choices, and since only an advisory role is assigned to geographer, his function is not that interpreting Nature’s plan. 3.2 Regional/Areal Studies paradigm In the 17th century Varenius recognized the two main divisions of geography: general or universal and special or particular. This branching of the subject is known as general geography verses particular (special) geography. General geography was concerned with the formulation of general laws, principles and generic concepts. Gradually, all studies of systemic nature acquired the status of systematic geography, while the special or particular studies were described as regional geography. Regional geography deals with the whole world as a unit. It was, however, restricted to the physical geography which could be understood through natural laws. On the contrary, special geography was primarily intended as a description of individual countries and world regions. It was difficult to establish laws in special geography because of unpredictable nature of human beings. But it helped in the formulation of hypothesis and structured ideas. Alexander Von Humboldt defined that geography deals with the interrelationship of phenomena that exist together in an area. Humboldt embodied the logical process of transition from the particular studies of the single aspect to the general aspects underlying them and revealing the nature’s essence. Carl Ritter stressed the need for the study of natural phenomena as a whole, as in parts, in order to comprehend the system. Areal phenomena are interrelated as to give rise to the uniqueness of the areas as individual unit. In brief, according to Ritter, geography was concerned with objects on the earth as they exist together in area. Both Humboldt and Ritter believed in inductive method and emphasized the importance of empirical method of research. Humboldt was strongly engaged in the development of systematic physical geography, while Ritter was a regional geographer giving attention to man as an important component of the physical surroundings. According to Richthofen, regional geography must be descriptive to highlight the noticeable features of the region. General geography, he conceived deals with the spatial distribution of individual phenomenon in the world. According to Alfred Hettner, geography is an ideographic (regional) rather than nomothetic (general) science. In his opinion, the distinctive subject of geography was the knowledge of the earth areas as they differ from each other. Although people had been studying specific regions for decades, regional geography as a branch in geography has its roots in Europe; specifically with the French geographer Paul Vidal de la Blanche. In the late 19th century, de la Blanche developed his ideas of natural environment and local region. In the 1920s and 1930s, geography became a regional science concerned with why certain places are similar and/or different and what enables people to separate one region from another. This practice commonly referred to as areal differentiation. For example, the equatorial rain forest region is different from the Sahara region. In the U.S., Carl Sauer and his Berkeley School of geographic thought led to the development of regional geography, especially on the west coast. During this time, regional geography was also led by Richard Hartshorne and other famous geographers such as Alfred Hettner and Fred Schaefer. Hartshorne defined geography as 8 a science "to provide accurate, orderly, and rational description and interpretation of the variable character of the earth surface." For a considerable period of time during and after WWII, regional geography was a popular field of study in the geographic discipline. However, it was later criticized for its specifically regional knowledge and it was claimed to have been too descriptive and not quantitative enough to formulate theories. For example, if we want to study the coffee growing regions of Ethiopia we cannot develop theories that could be tested or use quantitative techniques. After the half of the 20th century geographers began to question whether the regional approach could ever be academically satisfying or not. The new generation of geographers had begun to increasingly train to systematic studies. There are three reasons in the dissatisfaction of scholars in the regional approach. Firstly, much of the regional study in geography was immature and lacks scientific study especially that carried out at the macro level. Secondly, think about a particular region that you know many of the works in the regional study appeared to be a collection of unrelated facts, paying little attention to the relationship between physical environment and the inhabitants. Thirdly, as you can remember from your experience, regions had been classified based on certain criteria and treated with its own personality, so that regional geography completely neglected theory and generalization. Therefore, it lacks scientific and logical reasoning in the classification of regions. A team work was organized with experts drawn from social sciences for the US intelligence services during the Second World War. The demand of the team work revealed shocking weaknesses of geographers in the systematic aspects of their discipline so that when they were called upon to provide intelligence material for the army, their contribution was thin in content. Ackerman emphasized that geographers need to be much more firmly grounded in their topical specializations, since this alone could save geographical work from superficiality, and contribute to making its content rich. Ackerman contributed a lot for shifting the emphasis away from regional synthesis to systematic aspects of geography. In the development of systematic perspective Ackerman saw a remedy for the geographers’ extreme isolation from other subjects physical and social. Around the 1950s, there was a strong and widespread feeling in the United States that geography needed to break out from its professional isolation. In regional approach geography was isolated from other sciences and could not adopt philosophy and methodology of scientific study. Geography could not able to adopt a systematic perspective owing to the restriction imposed by the uniqueness of places and regions. According to Schaffer geographers should focus attention on the formulation of laws governing spatial distribution of phenomena on the earth’s surface since it is spatial arrangement of phenomena, and not the phenomena themselves that are the spatial concern of geography as a science. Geographical laws are related to pattern, as contrasted to the process of laws of the other disciplines in the social sciences. By the end of the 1950s geography had come increasingly to be viewed as a science requiring the use of the scientific method so that, like other natural sciences. Thus, it had developed laws and theories relevant to the field of geographic study. This brought about a distinct shift in emphasis 9 from regional to systematic studies, i.e. a shift from areal to spatial studies; from absolute to relative location; and areal integrations to spatial interaction and movement. 3.3 Spatial Organization Paradigm In the early 1950s, there was a growing knowledge that the existing paradigm for geographical research was not adequate in explaining how physical, economic, social, and political processes are spatially organized, ecologically related, or how outcomes generated by them are evidenced for a given time and place. A more abstract, theoretical approach to geographical research had emerged evolving the analytical method of inquiry. The analytical method of inquiry led to the development of generalizations that are logically valid about the spatial aspects of a small set of closely defined events embodied in a wide range of natural and cultural settings. Generalizations may take the form of tested hypotheses, models, and/or theories and the research scientific fit and its validity. Adoption of the analytical approach had helped geography to become a more law-giving science, and the concept of idiographic field of study had become less acceptable starting from the 1980s. The shift in the focus of geographical studies during the mid-1950s and the early 1960s inevitably involved a major change –a revolution in the nature of geographical work. It was clear that the new concept of geography as the science of spatial analysis of phenomena on the earth’s surface with a pronounced commitment to theory building needed a new set of methodologies for explanation. The important instruments for bringing about the required change in perspectives in geographical work from regional (idiographic) to systematic (nomothetic) were the change of geography from description to quantification. That is the increased use of advanced mathematical and statistical techniques to test hypothesis and to build theories. Hence, the mid- 1950s changeover in the philosophy and methodology of geography has been generally referred to as quantitative revolution. Traditionally geography was considered as the description of the earth’s surface but through time its definition and nature had changed. Now it is concerned in providing accurate, orderly, and rational descriptions and interpretations of the variable character of the earth’s surface. Geography can be regarded as a science concerned with the rational development, and testing of theories that explain and predict the spatial distribution and location of various characteristics on the surface of the earth. The quantitative revolution is a radical change in geography. Thus the most obvious change brought by the quantitative revolution is the change of the methods and techniques in geography. After this revolution, the quantitative techniques and general system theory have been used extensively in geography. These methods and techniques enable the geographer to do more accurately and more quickly what he has always been trying to do. The new electronic devices have made possible complex mathematical computations simpler than had never been attempted before. It was after the quantitative revolution that geographers had concentrated more in practical activities such as field studies, generating primary data, utilizing secondary data, and applying the sampling techniques. The quantitative techniques took place in the 1960s enabled the geographers to develop more refined theories and models in other branches of the discipline. The quantitative techniques and their applications in theory making are many. All the techniques are firmly used on empirical observations and are readily verifiable. With the help of quantitative techniques a multitude of 10 observations can be reduced to a manageable number of factors. In social sciences in general and in geography in particular, statistical techniques allow the formulation of structured ideas and theories which can be tested under assumed conditions. The theories and models developed on the basis of empirical data do not take into consideration the normative questions like beliefs, emotions, attitudes, desires, hopes, and fears and therefore, cannot be taken as the tools explaining geographical realities. 3.4 Behavioral Geography Behavioral geography is an approach to human geography that examines human behavior using a disaggregate approach. Behavioral geographers focus on the cognitive processes underlying spatial reasoning, decision making, and behavior. In addition, behavioral geography is an ideology/approach in human geography that makes use of the methods and assumptions of behaviorism. It is used to determine the cognitive processes involved in an individual's perception of, and/or response and reaction to their environment. The behavioral geographers recognize that man shapes as well as responds to his environment and that man and environment are dynamically interrelated to each other. Man is viewed a motivated social being, whose decisions and actions are mediated by his cognition of the spatial environment. The prominent features of behavioral geography are the following. 1. The behavioral geographers argued that the environmental cognition up on which people act may well differ markedly from the true nature of the real world. Space can be said to have a dual character: as an objective environment the world of actuality which may be gauged by some direct means (senses); and as a behavioral environment- the world of the mind which can be studied only by indirect means. 2. Secondly, behavioral geographers give more focus on individual rather than to groups and society. They assert that research must recognize the fact that individual shapes and responds to his physical and social environment as he perceived. In fact, it is necessary to recognize that the actions of each and every person have an impact upon the environment. In brief individual rather than group of people or social group is more important in the man-environment interactions. 3. The third important feature of behavioral geography is its multidisciplinary outlook. A behavioral geographer takes the help of ideas, paradigms and theories produced by psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists and planners. The lack of theories of its own is coming in the way of rapid development of behavioral geography. According to Kirk model in space and time, the same information would have different meanings for people of different socio-economic backgrounds living in a geographical setting. Each individual of a society reacts directly to information about the resource and environment. Behavioral geographers do not recognize man as a rational person or economic man who always tries to optimize his profit. Man always does not consider the profit aspect, while performing an economic function. Most of the time the decisions are made based on the behavior how man perceived rather than the objective environment. The behavioral approach in geography is a logical one and helps to establish scientific relationship between man and physical environment based on subjectivity than objectivity. One of the main limitations of behavioral geography is that most of the data are generated from animals using laboratory experiments and the findings are applied directly to human behavior which has different conditions in many cases. For example, we cannot use human beings in 11 laboratory to study their behavior. Another limitation of this school of thought is that it lacks in synthesis of empirical findings, poor communication and conflicting terminology. 3.5 Humanistic geography Humanistic Geography is an approach to human geography distinguished by the central and active role it gives to human awareness and human agency, human consciousness and human creativity. Humanistic geography was concerned mainly with description and literal reconstruction with a view to revealing the self-evident meaning of the environment to the decision makers. The emphasis was on understanding the world as seen through the eyes of the individual whose behavior was under investigation. Humanistic geography may be defined as an approach to human geography which is distinguished by the central and active role it unities to human awareness, human agency, and human creativity. Thus humanistic geography is an attempt toward understanding meaning, value, and human significance of life events, as well as an expansive view of what the human person is and can do. Both behavioral geography and humanistic geography were parts of human geography. But humanistic geography fundamentally disagreed with the use of quantitative methods in assessing human behavior and thoughts in favor of qualitative analysis. Humanistic geography treats man as an individual constantly interacting with his environment and that process transforming both himself and his milieu. The interaction between an individual and his environment is viewed as a particular case and not as an example of some scientifically defined model of behavior. As contrasted to this, the behavioral geographers have attempted to build models and theories that can predict the probable impact of a given stimulus. The phenomenal approach seeks to clarify the social conceptions which form an essential condition of social existence. According to the phenomenologists there is no objective world independent of man’s existence and all knowledge proceeds from the world of experience and cannot be independent of that world. According to the existentialist, for every landscape or for every existential geographer, there is someone who can be held accountable. Human geography becomes the history of man’ encounter with him in an anthropocentric world order. There are two main characteristics of humanistic geography. First, it is anthropocentric. It focuses on how, through human existence space is transformed into place; and how the abstract notion of spatiality is transformed into dimensions of meaning, and distance becomes the language alternatively of human relations and alienation. For example, how the existence of man developed town A/ place A and town B/ place B and what is the distance between these two towns is the central concept anthropocentric. The second distinguishing characteristic of humanist geography is its holism, that is, the tendency to see phenomena in their total context. Behavioral geography sees geography as one of the social sciences. It works with the philosophical and methodological tradition of neopositivism and seeks to enhance the social, economic and political explanation of the geographical patterns by adding a consideration of the psychological factors that reflect differences in human perception and experience. Humanistic geography has advanced from the constraints imposed by scientific methods and aligns itself more with the humanities-those areas of study that explore the subjectivity of human responses 12 to people, places and events. Thus, like the historian or the novelist, the humanistic geographer seeks to provide people oriented insights into the experiences, character and purpose of human occupation of the earth. From such a perspective humanistic geography is viewed as the study of the earth as the dwelling place of man, emphasizing the experiential aspects of such dwelling. 3.6 Radical geography In the 1960s there were different movements focused on the problems arising from widespread despoliation of the physical environment resulting from the unrestricted growth ethic and profit maximization policy of the past decades. These forced the reassessment of the objectives of research in science and humanities. The condition of man and the future of his species became the primary focus of attention in natural as well as the social sciences. According to Kasperson, in the post-behavioral revolution geography, the goals of geography are changing. The new geographers see the objectives of geography as the same as that for medicine-to postpone death and reduce suffering. There was perceptible change in the themes of research from the earlier emphasis on location to poverty and race relations. Geography was experiencing radical revolution/social relevance revolution. During the quantitative revolution phase in the 1960s, human geography research was largely focused on method rather than on the subject matter. The research techniques could not solve the problem at hand of the current social problems. The rise of heightened concern of human condition, and of radical thinking in geography, in the late 1960s and early 1970s was a natural reaction on the part of professional geographers to the intellectual, social and political climate of the time. The radical or social relevant movement had taken different forms, liberals and radicals. The liberal stream supported the policy of incremental change within the system; whereas the radicals group held onto the view that only revolutionary socialism could create a just society out of the modern capitalist state. For example, the socialist revolutions in Africa in the 1970s were considered as panacea for social problems of many countries. The social relevance movement in geography was manifested into different sets of approaches: among the academically oriented geographers, there was a concerted (intensive) effort among at changing the focus of our discipline from the earlier involvement in the study of what were described as eclectic irrelevancies, to the study of urgent problems of the day. Among action oriented geographers, the dominant focus was on the search for more suitable models of organizational change. The new geography as spatial science in the 1950s and 1960s (rooted in location theory and quantitative techniques of analysis) had remained focused on non-vital societal issues (such as distribution of central places) or had devoted itself to the promotion of industrial and commercial interests of the capitalist class (such as location of industries). Much of the initial work on social relevance in geography was designed to describe the existing inequalities in levels of well-being through maps, with the help of the various multivariate statistical procedures introduced in geographical literature on the subject. 13 From the 1972 onwards the emphasis of radical geography changed from an attempt to engage the discipline in socially relevant research to an attempt to construct a radical philosophical and theoretical base for a socially and politically engaged discipline. This base was increasingly found in Marxist theory. The development of radical geography has already been underlined in the foregoing discussion. The basic point of radical geography is that the theories and methodologies of conventional geography were proving to be utterly inadequate for the pursuit of geography as a socially relevance discipline engaged in the betterment of the human condition. In the 1980s, the radical movement in geography had become more mature and, therefore, sober in approach. The major factors for the development of radical geography were: Marxist thought had been put to considerable critical evaluation so that there was hardly anything like fundamental Marxism. The 1979-1983 economic recession and closer knowledge about the ground realities in socialist countries of the world had made revolutionary politics a less attractive proposition. The relaxed academic style of the generalist human geographer was replaced by the narrower professionalism of the 1980s. By the end of the 1980s the critical style of thought had become part of the general methodology of research in geography, which had become increasingly analytical and problem-solving in a societal context. 14  Unit 4: Geography as a School Subject Introduction In the post-war period geography had focused on spatial patterns rather than explore the social processes that help to shape them. In this period world studies started with a much broader sense of development. School geography has become increasingly concerned with the study of global issues and global dimensions. From the mid-1960s onwards geography in schools divided into physical and human field of study. Physical geography which was focused on the physical environment was taught in terms of physical processes. But physical geography did not allow pupils to set knowledge within the context of human society and problems. School geography teaches about the major changes of materials such as economic shift, environmental transformations, and cultural development and offers students’ frameworks for understanding and evaluating these phenomena. Geography as a school subject provides a way of helping young peoples in schools to learn about, and reflect on dynamism of the world. This engagement in the lively world means that geography is constantly changing as society changes. This unit focuses on the basic concepts that are being taught in schools. Emphasis has been given on the role of geography in preparing pupils for their capability in the future. To this end, this unit comprises the aims of geographic education, principles of geography education, the values of geographic education, the way students learn geography and secondary schools geographic education in Ethiopia. The methods of delivery include introductory lecture, group discussion, presentation and assignment. 4.1 The Aims of Geographic Education The international charter on geographical education identifies the aims of geographical education in terms of the knowledge, skills and attitudes and values students will develop through its study and practice. These aims are detailed below: The knowledge and understanding students develop through geographical education enable them to acquire a framework of knowledge about locations and places that will help them to set local, national and international events within a geographical context. That will also support their development of geographical understanding and understand some of the important characteristics of the Earth's major physical systems such as landforms, weather and climate, etc. and the interactions among those systems. The other aims of learning geography help to understand the significance of location and the distribution of human activities and physical processes. It also includes how places are linked through the movements of people, materials and information, as well as the interface between physical, economic, social and political processes. To add more, geographical education enables students to understand man-environment relationships to earn a living. Learning geography is also helpful to develop a sense of place: a feeling for the 'personality' of a place and what it might be like to live there. And acquire knowledge and understanding about the physical and human processes that bring about changes in place, space and environments, and a critical appreciation of the consequences of those changes. 15 The aims of learning geography can also be extend to develop awareness and appreciation of the ethnic, cultural, economic and political diversity of human society. Besides, it helps to acquire the knowledge and develop the skills and understanding necessary to identify and investigate important cultural, social and political issues relating to place, space and environment. Learning geography also help students to acquire techniques and develop skills and competencies necessary for geographical enquiry. The skills acquired helps for the making and interpretation of maps, the use of information technology and the conduct of field work; and develop intellectual and social skills, including the ability to observe, analyze and communicate. The other aims include thinking processes that are required in solving geographical problems and making spatial decisions; using verbal, quantitative, and symbolic data forms and practical physical skills associated with conducting studies in the field. Geography offers the main educational medium through which people learn to understand and communicate spatial information in map and graphic forms. What attitudes and values developed through geographical education? Students develop an interest in a curiosity about the natural and human features on the earth’s surface. They can also appreciate the landscape in which they live. And develop empathy for the different living conditions of people around the world a readiness to use geographical knowledge and skills adequately. The attitudes and values influence the way people use geographical knowledge. They can influence how we seek solutions to local, regional and international problems that focus on society and environment. Also they influence how the effect of people’s behavior and that of their societies enables them to make decisions about using their environments. Geography curriculum contributes to the school curriculum by stimulating curiosity about the natural and human world, and introducing pupils to people, places and environments at a range of scales. It provides a link between the sciences and the arts and humanities, and contributes to environmental education and education for sustainable development. Furthermore, geography develops understanding of physical and human landscapes. It also introduces pupils to different societies and cultures, enhancing awareness of global interdependence and promotes exploration of issues about the environment, development and society. It provides opportunities for pupils to reflect critically on their place in the world and their rights and responsibilities in relation to other people and the environment. Pupils learn the significance of people's values and attitudes in influencing changes to places and environments and, through engaging with a range of geographical issues, have opportunities to develop their own values. Pupils undertake geographical enquiry, in which they address geographical questions, both inside and outside the classroom. They learn to analyze evidence, make decisions and critically evaluate information, ideas and viewpoints. They find out how to apply skills specific to geography, including those of fieldwork and map work 4.2 Principles of Geography Education By now it is time to consider the principles of geography education which should be applied at all levels of teaching and learning process. It is true that learning have to proceed from simple to complex or from the known to the unknown. In teaching geography pupils are required to observe particular examples in order to discover the general principle that is common to all. This 16 approach is known as inductive reasoning. One of the first principles in the teaching of geography, as also in the teaching of all other subjects, is that it should be based upon the knowledge and experience which have already been acquired by the learner. It is from the home or out-of-door geography that this necessary experience is acquired by the learner; for it is only by a careful study of the near that the remote and unseen events can be understood. Starting to teach from the students’ experience or prior knowledge will help students to arouse a spirit of inquiry concerning the subject, which should lead to further investigation and study. The study of geography should not be mere memorization of facts. But, it should also focus on the study of relations. At every step the pupil should be brought face to face with the notion of cause and effect relationships. For example, the student takes a pleasure in tracing the origin of cities and towns and in accounting for their situation. The principles of teaching and learning (PTL) articulate six principles that describe how students learn best and help to strength pedagogical practices. Geography teachers are well placed to develop principles as they link closely to the inquiry based approach of geography methodology. The principles of teaching and learning provide a basis for teachers to review their practices, improve their teaching and find focus for their professional learning. The principles focus on the teacher’s role in creating and maintaining a learning environment conducive in meeting students’ need. Principle of teaching and learning are relevant across all key learning areas and all stages of learning. The six principles used in the teaching and learning process include the following. Principle 1: The learning environment is supportive and productive. Positive relationships can be enhanced by the geography teacher through knowing and valuing each student. Acknowledgement of individual needs and potential contributions can be attained through the inquiry-based approach where the range of student perspectives can be incorporated because individual responses are valued and respected. Principle 2: The learning environment promotes independence, interdependence and self motivation. Geography teachers encourage and support students to take responsibility for their learning by using strategies that build skills for productive collaboration. Team-building skills and decision-making processes are part of the structured learning experiences. Principle 3: Students’ needs, backgrounds, perspectives and interests are reflected in the learning program. Geography teaching provides a unique opportunity to capture an understanding of students’ lives, perspectives and interests. Students’ prior knowledge, skills and experiences can support their understanding of learning. Flexible and responsive teaching strategies that support different ways of thinking and learning can be met through the inquiry- based approach and the use of technology. Principle 4: Students are challenged and supported to develop deep levels of thinking and application. Geography teaching encourages exploring, question and engaging in significant ideas and practices, and focusing on geographic issues. Teachers use strategies that challenge and support students to achieve high expectations. The more complex questions of the inquiry- based approach involve interpretation, analysis and application, and ethical and philosophical questions which guide students toward deeper understandings. 17 Principle 5: Assessment practices are an integral part of the teaching and learning process. Monitoring of student learning and assessment is ongoing and forms part of the planning for and teaching of a unit of work. Geographers have to clearly set the assessment criteria and encourage reflection and self-assessment. Principle 6: Learning connects strongly with communities and practice beyond the classroom. Geography provides the opportunity for student learning that connects with their current lives as well as their local, national and international communities and to use links to the future. Through fieldwork students are able to develop skills both within the geography classroom as well as interacting with the local & broader community, developing a deeper understanding of place. 4.3 Values and purposes of Geography Education To Value seems to be synonymous with finding meaningfulness and significance and it is a thinking process. Description and explanation bring the pupils’ intellectual values into play and the teaching provided must guide and direct the development of these values in so far as geography can contribute to it. The following are the mental values brought onto play in the study of geography. A. Powers of observation Pupils must be trained in the habit of observing the geographical environment in which they live, both in regard to its physical features and also in regard to human activities and the external manifestations of those activities. For distant places which cannot be viewed physically, learning will be carried with the help of teaching aids such as photographs, drawings, slides, maps globes and diagrams. B. Memory and imagination Geography education is not memorization of place names. But geography cannot be studied properly without knowing the name of places, countries and geographical features. The names should now be used to fix points as landmarks and guides on maps and pictures. In this way the child’s visual memory is developed by making him learn geographical terms in their precise context in sketches. C. Judgment and reasoning The pupil’s powers of discrimination grow along with his increasing concentration on observing facts and mentally recording (giving values) to them. The students engaged in judging and giving values activities which require higher order thinking. To achieve this, it is best to advance by stages: Firstly, the pupil is trained to analyze, compare and classify so as to awaken in him a sense of relationships and connections and lead him to formulate questions. Secondly, he is aided on to identify and recognize correlations, and where possible causes are there. Thirdly, his teaching is so planned that, in his search for the why questions, he does not overlook the existences of various orders of causes. Finally, the teaching he is given will accustom the pupil to think-as well as to observe-geographically. 18  D. Inculcation a geographical outlook Geography gives the concept of physical space for the pupil. The pupil could get vision which will enable him to take an overall view, by grasping the relationships by which individual phenomena are linked together within the whole. Now let us see differences amongst values as means and ends in geography education. We can classify on the basis of instrumental and terminal values. Instrumental values are those we adopt in order to reach the goal (the terminus). For example, we can think of scientific methods towards the end of developing knowledge and understanding of a certain kind of generalization or prediction. Before you enter into the class you have to have lesson plans. Your plan should have values at the process and at the end. We classify a category specifying values presupposed in engaging in a particular study or activity. You might be challenged by such a category to sort out prior values that are values informing and explaining our engagement. For example, that we believe it is important to describe and explain land use patterns. We can then analyze the engagement in terms of how it is carried through, towards what end. Figure4.1 Example of classification of values, ends and means. Viewpoint-the Ends- the overriding aim or focus Means-ways to explanation and understanding presupposed values Scientific Space, spatial patterns spatial Analysis, prediction, modeling/ generalization, relationships, spatial processes seeking laws, hypothesis testing, problem solving Behavioral Patterns, relationships, people- Analyzing perceptions and decision-making environment interactions. generalizing people-environment behavior, developing models, hypothesis testing. Humanistic Place, people and places, sense of place, Personal understanding, individual meaning, sprit of place reflecting, interpretation, making meaning, analysis of personal reactions. Social welfare, Society, organizations, structures, Critical analysis, critical theory, social theories and liberal, radical pressure groups, place and society, analysis, social and political analysis, interpretation and social- power. critical reflection. historical Postmodern Understanding the multiple realities of Critical analysis, interpretation, reflection, places, spatial practices, landscape as reassembling, un-patterning and re-patterning and text, places in transition, places and presentations of space. developing identities. Source: Slater 1996. 4.4 How do students learn geography? Generally from the 1960s learning and teaching in schools world-wide has displayed the following four trends: Nature of geography and its geographical potential, Geography as a medium for education, Learning focus, and focus on pedagogy and knowledge management. Learning geography could be either in the classrooms or in the field. Learning and teaching in the classrooms Enquiry help students to make sense of the world they live in and to make sense of what they hear, see, and read about the world in their everyday lives. Geographical enquiry should be focused on real issues, on place and spaces encounter in the real world outside the classroom. From figure 4.1 let us see the route for enquiry and key questions in the implementation of the learning process. 19  Figure 4.2 the route for enquiry and enquiry questions Route summary Questions Observation and perception What do I observe? What are my perceptions? What? How do others view it? Definition and description What is it all about? What is the background to What? And Where? this issue and the wider context? Analysis and explanation How did it happen? What gave rise to this How? And Why? situation? What processes are involved? Prediction and evaluation What are the alternative view points and What might? What will? With what impact? situations? What might happen and with what impacts? How can we assess these? Decision- making What decision is likely to be made? With what What decision? With what impact? consequences? Personal evaluation and judgment Which alternative and which decision would I What do I think? Why? choose? Why? How would I justify my views? Personal response How should I respond? Should I take action? What next? What shall I do? Source: Naish et al (1987) cited in Kent (2006). Figure 4.3 illustrates how students learn under a geographical framework. Figure 4.3 A geography framework Stage of teaching Closed Framed Negotiated and learning Questions Questions not explicit or Questions explicit, activities Pupils decide what they questions remain the planned to make pupils ask want to investigate under teacher’s questions questions guidance from teacher Data Data collected by Variety of data selected by Pupils are helped to find teacher, presented as teacher, presented as their own data from sources authoritative, not to be evidence to be interpreted in and out of school challenged Interpretation Teacher decides what is Methods of interpretations Pupils chose methods of to be done with data, are open to discussion and analysis and interpretation pupils follow instructions choice in consultation with teacher Conclusion Key ideas presented, Pupils reach conclusions Pupils reach own generalizations are from data, different conclusions and evaluate predicted, not open to interpretations are expected them debate Summary The teacher controls the The teacher inducts pupils Pupils are enabled by the knowledge by making all into ways in which teacher to investigate decisions about data, geographical knowledge is questions of concern and activities, and constructed, so that they are interest to themselves conclusions. Pupils are enabled to use these ways to not expected to challenge construct knowledge what is presented themselves. Pupils are made aware of choices and are encountered to be critical Source: Roberts ( 1996). The negotiated style encourages pupils to be less dependent on the teacher as a source of date and to become confident in using the wide range of resources available in libraries and from 20 many other sources outside school. Knowing where to find information, being confident to do so, and being aware of what to judge its validity, are important in the modern teaching learning methods of geography. All approaches are equally important. But the nature of the sub topic, level of students, the experience of the teacher, availability of teaching aids, etc. are important factors influencing learning through enquiry method in geography. Nowadays learning and teaching geography in the classrooms, teachers have a wonderful armory of teaching strategies and resources from which to choose, including a bewildering variety of textbooks. Learning and teaching in the field Geography without fieldwork is like natural science without experiments. The ‘field’ is the geographic laboratory where young people experience at first hand landscapes, places, people and issues, and where they can learn and practice geographical skills in a real environment. Above all, fieldwork is enjoyable for the students because it is an area where practice and theory merge together. Due to various reasons, field trips in geography teaching are not included in curriculum and syllabuses. Figure 4.4 Geographical fieldwork strategies and purposes Strategy Purpose Characteristic activities The Developing skills in geographical recording Students guided through a landscape by teacher traditional and interpretation; with local knowledge, often following a route on a field Showing relationships between physical large scale map. Sites grid-referenced and excursion and human landscape features; described with aid of landscape sketch maps to Developing l concept of landscape, evolving explore the underlying geology, topographical over time features, the mantle of soil and vegetation and the Develop an appreciation of landscape and landscape history in terms of human activity. nurturing a sense of place Students listen, record and answer questions concerning possible interpretations of the landscape. Field Applying geographical theory or The conventional deductive approach involves research generalized models to real world situations initial consideration of geographical theory, based on Generating and applying hypotheses based leading to the formulation of hypotheses which hypothesis on theory to be tested through collections of are then tested against field situation through the testing appropriate field data collection of quantitative data and tested against Developing skills in analyzing data using expected patterns and relationships. Encourage statistical methods in order to test field students to develop their own hypotheses based on situations against geographical theory initial field observations, thereby incorporating an inductive element. Geographi Encouraging students to identify, construct A geographical question, issue or problem is cal and ask geographical questions identified ideally from students own experience in enquiry Enabling students to identify and gather the field. Students are then supported in the relevant information to answer geographical gathering of appropriate data (quantitative or questions and offer explanations and qualitative) to answer their key question. Findings interpretations of their findings are evaluated and the implications applied to the Enabling students to apply their findings to wider world and personal decisions where the wider world and personal decisions appropriate. Discovery Allowing students to discover their own Teacher assumes the role of animateur, allowing fieldwork interests in a landscape the group to follow its own route through the Allowing students to develop their own landscape. When students ask questions these are 21  focus of study and methods of investigation countered with further questions to encourage Encourages self-confidence and self- deeper thinking. A discussing and recording motivation by putting students in control of session then identifies themselves for further their learning investigations in small groups. This further work has arisen from students’ perceptions and preferences rather than those of teachers. Sensory Encouraging new sensitivities to Structured activities designed to stimulate the fieldwork environments through using all the senses senses in order promote awareness of Nurturing caring attitudes to nature and environments. Sensory walks, use of blindfolds, empathy with other people through sound maps, poetry and artwork are characteristic emotional engagement activities. Can be used as an introductory activity Acknowledge that sensory experience is as prior to more conventional investigative work or valid as intellectual activity in to develop a sense of place-aesthetic appreciation understanding our surroundings or critical appraisal of environmental change. Source: Kent, (1996). Modern technologies are important ways of getting students involved in learning geography. Remote sensing, GIS, video, digital photography and video conferencing are examples of useful technologies for educating students in geography. 4.5 Secondary Schools Geographic Education in Ethiopia In the previous section we have discussed how do students learn geography? In this section we are going to learn the nature of secondary schools geographic education in Ethiopia. The sub-unit has direct or indirect relationships with so far we discussed. 4.5.1 Contents, Objectives and Activities in Secondary School Syllabus and Textbooks Contents The contents generally incorporate physical geography, human geography and the skill parts of the subject of geography. They have also vertical and horizontal relationship. Some teachers claim that there is mismatch between the contents of geography textbooks and the time allocation. Too many contents are given in the textbooks that cannot be covered by the allocated periods. Educational Objectives There are various methods of doing activities. In the geography textbooks (grades9-12), there are different activities that should be attempted by the students. 4.5.2 Skills for geography teacher Teaching skills can be defined as discrete and coherent activities by teachers which foster pupils learning. Effective teaching is primarily concerned with setting up a learning activity for each pupil which is successful in bringing about the type of learning the teacher intends. We know that teachers operate in various and mostly complex settings. An important feature of geography is that more emphasis is placed on learning a wide range of transferable skills. Apart from content knowledge, pedagogic and communication skills a geography teacher should have literacy, numeracy, ICT and decision-making skills. Some of the pedagogical skills that are required for geography teachers are: A. Planning and preparation 22 In a closed end of the spectrum, the questions/contents etc. are already fixed in the syllabus of Ethiopian secondary schools in teaching geography. The assumption is that the learners are very motivated or can internalize the contents on which the study is based. Therefore, it better to plan teaching learning so that the contents which underpin the subject knowledge are made clear. A fourteen-year-old student learning map reading once commented ‘school is boring, I hate being told things I don’t want to know’ (Robrtus, 1996). It is perhaps the teacher’s sensitivity to pupils’ needs that is the most important of all the skills involved in effective teaching. This sensitivity is reflected in the ability of the teacher to plan lessons and adapt and modify their delivery by taking account of how the lesson will be experienced by different pupils and foster their learning. B. Lesson presentation Lesson presentation comprises the learning experiences you set up to achieve the intended learning outcomes for the pupils. There is a variety teaching methods with a range of activities that can be employed for effective method of teaching. Teachers are actively encouraged and expected to make use of a variety of teaching methods in their lessons. As you know geography encompasses different branches of study that enables it to employ different methods of teaching. C. Lesson Management The key task facing you as a teacher is to elicit and sustain pupils’ involvement in the learning experience throughout a lesson which will lead to the learning outcomes you intend. This leads to the idea lesson management which is concerned with those skills involved in managing and organizing the learning activities such that you maximize pupil’s productive involvement in the lesson. Another important skill in geography classroom is managing the classroom climate. The type of classroom climate generally considered to facilitate pupil learning is the one which is purposeful, task-oriented, relaxed, warm and supportive and has a sense of order. D. Assessment of pupils’ progress The regular assessment of pupils’ progress is part and parcel of teaching and learning process in the classroom. Such assessment may range from simply looking over pupils’ shoulders while they are writing during a period of normal class work, to the use of formally administered examinations. All teachers spend a great deal of time reflecting about and evaluating how well they are performing their work. Reflection and evaluation are inherent in the job. It is impossible to meet the various demands of teaching without planning; organizing and evaluating the activities you carry out. What differs between teachers, however, is how skillfully and systematically they carry out this. 23