HSSE Online EDITORIAL

This special geography issue of HSSE Online focuses on the research-practice nexus for teaching and learning geography. It celebrates the professional identities of geography teachers as reflective thinkers and education researchers who work towards excellence in their classroom practice through evidence-based interventions. This collection of articles highlights research conducted by both pre-service and in-service geography teachers that have important implications for teaching and learning. Although the research data focuses on geography classrooms and topics, the articles have wider application to a humanities audience as they deal with broader themes of supporting the co-construction of knowledge and critical thinking skills, and using data strategically in both the classroom and the field.

The first four papers stem from research conducted by pre-service teachers on geography education issues. Debi Lim analyses the role of talk in engaging students in critical thinking and learning. She highlights how the quality of dialogue and learning outcomes in the classroom are linked inextricably to power and authority in the classroom, and calls for more student-led dialogue in discussions. Lim En Qi examines the role of fieldwork in developing cognitive thinking in students using an adapted model of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Her research suggests both an improvement in higher-order cognitive skills, as well as deeper thinking within each level, stemming from participating in field-based inquiry. Esther Wong draws on the Mediated Learning Experience framework to analyse the geography curriculum and suggest improvements to support inquiry learning in practice. Given the difficulties geography teachers face in planning for fieldwork in unfamiliar sites, Heidi Tan’s paper illustrates the efficacy of using GIS techniques to determine the suitability of sites for sampling in fieldwork.

The remaining three articles are contributions by practicing teachers who have conducted action research focused on improving the quality of students’ writing. Zainab Hassan and David Toh address the role of formative written feedback as a constructive pedagogical strategy to help improve students’ geographical writing, and as a means for teachers to model a reflective attitude towards learning. A group of teachers from five secondary schools (Jamilah Sukimi, Samantha Lim, Sarifah Tamsir, Tan Say Pin & Wong Yi Jun) developed a writing framework that combines Paul’s Elements of Thinking with Neighbour’s Core Questions to guide students’ writing in level descriptor questions. The aim of the research is to provide both structure in extended writing, and encourage the use of geographical concepts in quality responses. Finally, Ong Ka Min Yuan and Arulushamaheswary D/O Anbalagan developed a framework to help students who struggle with writing answers to data response questions. Using Bloom’s taxonomy, the authors developed a step-by-step guide on how to analyse data in geography.

Tricia Seow
Editor, HSSE Online