How to tackle the A-level Geography Examination? Hong Kong Geography Day 2001 How to tackle the Geography A-L Exam? Common misconceptions faced by students

How to tackle the A-level Geography Examination?

Hong Kong Geography Day 2001

How to tackle the Geography A-L Exam?

Common misconceptions faced by students

in A-level Geography Curriculum

By Mr. Ip Kim Wai & Mr. Wong Kam Fai


isconception

onfusion

ifficulties課程範圍頗大，

不知從何入手？


Curriculum 課程

Teaching 施教

Examination (Evaluation) 考試

範圍太大

教學深度

過時模型

個案 / 例子

超出範圍

…

…


Who are you ？

S6 ?

S7 ?

Teachers?

S1 – S5 ?

Primary ?


Students’ comments on the A-L exam

電子龍門，射極唔入

範圍太廣，讀極唔完

課題艱深，基本唔明

吹水拉布，舉例作 case

題目 outsyl ，貼極唔中

Paper I 老作， Paper II 死吹


考好 A-L Geog 要靠……

A. 正料好筆記

C. 自信好學養 D. 負責好老師

B. 命正好運氣


必殺技

1.以準確的學科語言 (概念) 回答問題

- 知彼

2. 擴展學習技藝

- 知己


以準確的學科語言 (概念 ) 回答問題

地理人的三大基本問題

地理課程的三個組構概念

學習內容的概念架構

地理現象的空間差異

A-L 考試錦囊



地理人的問題：

1. 世貿中心在哪裏？

2. 為甚麼選世貿中心？

3. 事件帶來甚麼影響？

911 ……



1. 世貿中心在哪裏？

2. 為甚麼選世貿中心？

3. 事件帶來甚麼影響？

地理人的三大基本問題：

Where?描述事物的空間區位 ( 位置 )

Why?解釋它們的空間分布型態

So what?探討其空間轉變過程及影響



S1 ~ 3 議題為本

探究學習

S4 ~ 5 主題研習

人地關係

S6 ~ 7 景觀、系統、人地關係

自然、農業、城市及工業景觀

Where?

Why?

So what?


地理課程的三個組構概念(Organising concepts)

Landscape

System

Man-land relationship

Natural

Agricultural

Urban & industrial

Impact on the environment

Environmental conservation

Survival & development

Sustainable development, globalization, etc.

Process-response

Ecological

Economic


1. Landscape-The term refers to an area comprising a distinct

association of forms, both natural and cultural.

-Landscape elements include physical and biological

features (landforms, vegetation .....) and cultural features

(houses, roads, crops .....). They are woven into a system

by processes resulting from the activities of man and

nature, or form the interplay of the two.


2. System-A system is an interacting set of components where a change

in one component will lead to changes throughout the system.

-Ecosystems are particular types of system. They can be

viewed as a functioning interacting system of living organisms

and their effective environment.

-As such the idea of ecosystem is of value both as a specific

concept in biogeography and as organizing ideas in many

man-environment situations.


3. Man-land system-This expresses the way in which man interacts with the

cultural and physical environment.

-It expresses the way in which man is able to organize the

environment for his use with resultant landscape changes

on one hand, and be restricted by environmental

constraints on the other.


學習內容的概念架構(Concept framework)

e.g. Agroecosystem

Structure Function

Producer

Consumer

Decomposer

Inputs from:

Atmosphere,

Hydrosphere,

Lithosphere

Uptaken by plants

Litter/Biomass

Decomposition

Leaching

Photosynthesis

Respiration

Food chain/web

Subsidized energy

Biotic AbioticNutrient

cycleEnergy

flow


學習內容的概念架構(Concept framework)

Awareness

threshold

Actionthreshold

Intolerance

thresholdPer

cep

tion

of

envi

ron

men

tal s

tres

s

Accept or absorb loss

Change use or location

Modify event

Reduce vulnerability

Distribute loss

Adjustment

Hazard Response


地理現象的空間差異(Spatial differentiation/Regional examples)

e.g. Different hazard response between LDCs & MDCs

Urban land use pattern in western & non-western cities

Farming as an agroecosystem in

Plantation

Shifting cultivation

Rice farming in S. China

Dairy farming in Denmark


With reference to XXX,

describe and explain XXXX.

Assess (Discuss/Evaluate/Examine) how XXXXX.

Tackling A-L Geography questions

Regional example/Case study

Directive

terms

Theme


“XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.”

Describe and explain XXXX. DiscussXXXXX.

Illustrate with XXXXXX.

Tackling A-L Geography questions

Directive

terms

Theme

A generalization (may be incorrect or subject to condition)

Regional example/Case study


Points to note in examinations

Answer plan

Directive terms

Generalization Vs Specification

[General concept/Theory] [Example/Illustration]

Things to avoid / to do


AL exam - Paper II

Examples of skills required in essay questions

96-#5

Monoculture is a risky farming system in both ecological and economic terms. However, there are still many examples of monoculture today.

Explain why monoculture is a common practice today and describe the ecological and economic risks it faces. How far can crop diversification minimize these risks? Use suitable examples to illustrate your answer. (25 marks)

A generalization (may be incorrect or subject to condition)

Theme

Directive

terms Regional example/Case study


AL exam - Paper II

Directive terms and marks allocationDescribe: give the examiner a visual impression of ……Explain: to make known in detail – facts are most importantAccount for: state the reasons for ……Discuss: write about the various opinions and ideas about the subject ……Examine: divide into parts and analyze each part or investigate each partAssess: estimate the value of ……Evaluate: how value is it? – it requires a value judgementEvaluate the validity of a statement: this is a warning to the student that thestatement may, or may not, be accurate or complete(Adapted from ‘Developing and implementing a geography curriculum in Hong Kong’, HKED,

1979)

Marks allocationExplanation 6Description 6Evaluation 8Examples 5


AL exam - Paper II

Organization of concepts and themes - 1Explanation

In some harsh environments, only one or a few types of crops can be grown,e.g. wheat in marginal lands, cotton in saline sandy soil.

Farming systems practising monoculture will enjoy some economies ofspecialization, e.g. mass purchase of farming inputs, extensive use of farmmachines. To gain such cost saving, some farmers would like to bear theeconomic and ecological risks.

Farmers can reduce the risks of soil erosion by vigorous soil conservationmeasures, e.g. the Australian wheat farmers may practise green manuring,crop rotation and fallowing to maintain the nitrate content of the soil.

Farmers can maintain the stability of a simplified agroecosystem by heavyinput of energy subsidies, e.g. use of irrigation and drainage in the control ofmoisture content, the use of pesticide in the control of pest hazards.

Some governments can adopt guaranteed price policy to give the farmers amore stable income, i.e. surplus buying in times of overproduction.


AL exam - Paper II

Organization of concepts and themes - 2

Description

Ecological risks:

A simplified ecosystem will suffer from great loss of biomass in times ofclimatic abnormalities or pest hazards.

There is potential danger of soil depletion, e.g. shortage of nitrate formonoculture of wheat.

Economic risks:

Price fluctuation – overproduction will lead to a drop of farmers’ income.

Shortage of farm labour during sowing and harvesting seasons. Surpluslabour during slack session.


AL exam - Paper II

Organization of concepts and themes - 3Evaluation

Advantages of crop diversification:

There are more species in the agroecosystem. The loss in times of naturalhazards can be minimized.

Crop rotation can be practised. There may be times for soil replenishment,e.g. growth of legume after the growth of wheat may help to recover thenitrate content of the soil.

The stubble of the crops be used as fodder crops, whereas the manure of theanimals can be useful natural fertilizers. There is a closed nutrient cyclingwithin the agroecosystem.

The impact of overproduction of one particular crop is reduced as thefarmers have other sources of income.

Farm labour may work more efficiently. As the amount of land given to oneparticular crop becomes smaller, labour shortage during sowing andharvesting seasons is unlikely to occur. Labour can be used to handle thelivestock or other crops in the slack season of one particular crop.


AL exam - Paper II

Organization of concepts and themes - 4

Problems to implement:

Practising crop diversification would mean a loss of some economies ofspecialisation. There may be some additional costs in the purchase ofdifferent farm machines or various framing inputs.

For crop diversification to take place, the natural environment must besuitable for the growth of a combination of crops or livestock.

Appropriate examples_____________MAXIMUM 25


AL exam - Paper II

Points to remember

‘Candidates were good at describing the ecological and economic risks ofmonoculture, but were less capable of explaining why it is a common practice.

While the advantages of crop diversification were adequately addressed, veryfew candidates were able to point out its limitations.

Many wrong examples were give, e.g. market gardening as a monoculture inHong Kong and shifting cultivation as a diversified farming system.’

(Adapted from Comments on AL-Geography 1996)


Question

Directive terms

Concepts & themes

Example

AL exam - Paper II

Answer plan


AL exam - Paper I

General format of structured questions

Part Requirement Details

1 Knowledge Graphic / statistical

skills

Read from graph, simple calculation, definition etc. Graph drawing, transfer data from one form to another Infer conclusion from graphs /tables / data

2 Explanation Explain concepts and patterns related to Part 1

3 Application and

evaluation Apply concepts and patterns in the real world Assess such patterns


AL exam - Paper ISkills required Example

Knowledge and skills inextracting information fromthe graph

87-Q9 (a) What does an Energy Ratio (Er) of 10 mean? (2 marks)

The use of statisticaltechniques e.g. mean,median, Spearman's RankCorrelation Coefficient etc.

88-Q6(b) State, giving reasons, whether 'average precipitation' or

'medium precipitation' is the best summary measure of Julyrainfall in this year. (4 marks)

96-Q6(a) (i) Draw a scatter diagram to show the relationship between

population density and the average farm labour input ofthe districts. (3 marks)

Transform data from oneform to anothere.g. data in table to linegraph

99-Q6

(a) (i) Draw a bar chart to show the deviations of the localrainfall from the long-run mean annual rainfall of area Ain this period. (3 marks)

(ii) Draw two lines to mark the tolerant range of the crop.(1 mark)

Infer conclusion from data,graph etc.

98-Q7

(a) (i) Draw a statistical chart to show the trend of the amountof cultivated land and the proportion of secondary andtertiary industries in Guangdong. (4 marks)

(ii) Describe and explain the relationship between theamount of cultivated land and the proportion ofsecondary and tertiary industries. (7 marks)


Paper I Paper IIScope Narrower Wider

Focus

In-depth meaning and theapplication of individual themeand concept

Organization framework ofthemes, seeking for relationshipbetween topics in the syllabus,concepts have to be illustratedwith examples

Skills needed

Simple calculation, graphic andstatistical techniques, able toanswer questions in precise andclear writing

Essay writing skills, able toorganized and discuss conceptsand themes systematically, knowhow to elaborate with examples

Know how to read and interpretcommon graphs, grasp somestatistical skills

Concept / mind map for revision,some useful figures, place names,sketches and diagrams

Examinationtechniques Understand the meaning of some common directive terms used in setting

questions

AL exam

- General guidelines


擴展學習技藝

1. Do and learn

2. Magic seven

3.學習集中時間

4. BEM

5. Context Vs Content

6.學習 VAK

7. Mnemonics


How much can we learn?

10% of what we read

20% of what we hear

30% of what we see

50% of what we both see and hear

60% of what we write

70% of what we discuss with others

80% of what we experience

90% of what we teach


Magic Seven

Points that can be remembered at one time:

More-able students 7 + 2

Average 7

Below average 5


學習集中時間

= ( 年歲 ) + 2 分鐘

18 歲的青少年：

= 18 + 2 = 20 分鐘


BEM

Beginning & Ending Memory


Context Vs Content

Farming

System

Ecological

Economic

Model

Von Thunen

Sinclair

Impact

Rural land use

Rural population

Farm production

Hazard

Flood

Drought

Concept map / Mind map


Producers

Energy

Nutrients

Consumers

Decomposers

AbioticAtmosphere• sunlight• water

Lithosphere• land• soil• nutrients

Biotic

Losses

Farming as an ecological system


學習 VAK

isual 視覺型

uditory 聽覺型

inaesthetic 感覺型


Mnemonics

字母記憶法歌訣記憶法記圖法聯想法


小貼士

上課留心勿大意

重組資料問問題

Documents

How to tackle the A-level Geography Examination? Hong Kong Geography Day 2001 How to tackle the Geography A-L Exam? Common misconceptions faced by students