Evaluation, assessment and geographical education
The assessment must form the basis of the guidance of the individual pupil with a view to further planning of the teaching.” (Danish Ministry of Education, 1996a, p.
12). This should indicate an already existing use of assessment in Danish schools, but the reality is that assessment and evaluation are treated in various and often random ways by the teachers.
Geographers dealing with school geography from an outstanding point of view agree this is a great problem for geography as a subject as well for the students in developing their geographical competencies. The problem seems to be connected to the content in the education of teachers where this theme is not properly dealt with.
It’s difficult to get a clear picture of Danish school geography as it is practiced. It is also complicated to get an overview on the way teachers are handling evaluation and assessment in this subject. That’s the reason I decided to conduct a survey focusing on this theme (Moller, 2004). Results from this will be given below.
GeoGlimt: a survey on evaluation and assessment in Danish school geography
‘GeoView’ is the translation of the title of the survey ‘GeoGlimt’ into English, meaning a modest glimpse on geography. It turned out that only sixteen teachers returned the questionnaires so it has been unrealistic to make statistically satisfying conclusions about the situation for school geography in Denmark in general. There-fore only qualitative statements from the participating teachers are summed up in order to illustrate some of the circumstances geography is dealing with.
The intention of this survey was to get an overview of different aspects in rela-tion to evaluarela-tion and assessment used in geography educarela-tion in primary and lower secondary schools in Denmark. The outcome was to be able to return recommenda-tions to the teachers. The aspects selected to be focused on were (1) how evaluation and assessment is practiced in school geography, (2) the methods used for evaluation and assessment, (3) the view on evaluation and assessment, and (4) an identification of problems, difficulties and possibilities related to the work with evaluation and assessment.
Before looking at the results of the answers given in relation to the first focus it’s necessary to understand the teaching concept used in this survey. Teaching is understood as a four step process in relation to any lesson or project: (a) working out aims based on the curriculum as well as the students qualifications, (b) planning the way the teaching has to be carried out in order to reach the aims (selection of books and other educational materials, organisation of the way the students have to work, agreements with colleagues about cooperation, information to parents, etc.), (c) the education (the students’ work), (d) evaluation of the three former steps. The students’ work is thus described as part of a learning process or simply learning, and the purpose is to acquire knowledge, skills and competences.
Although teachers generally should work out education aims not all of them do it and not many of them do it before each lesson or project, and the national curriculum is only used now and then.
The teachers surveyed seem to evaluate the education formative in some extent, and when it takes place it is often carried out unsystematically. When summative
evaluation is done it normally involves assessment of the fulfilment of education aims. The reason for assessing students’ fulfilment of learning aims is explained in two ways: primarily, the intention is to give the teacher information about his or her teaching in order to be able to develop it over time, secondly, it is to get an overview of the students’ learning process and their achievement of knowledge.
In the Danish geography curriculum a series of education standards are described.
The GeoGlimt survey asked the teachers how much they integrated these standards into their teaching, with about half of the teachers answering that they never did.
The other respondents reported that they used the standards now and then in their teaching.
The methods used for evaluation and assessments are almost unsystematic and based on informal conversations with the students. Tests are very seldom used whether it is for the evaluation of teaching or assessment of learning. A large majority of the teachers believed that an obligated summative assessment at the end of the geography study will raise the quality of the education in general and the students’
commitment to and interest in geography.
It is remarkable that in spite of the fact that evaluation and assessment are not systematically carried out there appears to be a common understanding amongst teachers that evaluation and assessment are necessary, important, and useful for the development of quality of geography education in school.
The implementation of evaluations and assessments in the Danish teaching culture seem to be difficult because of the teachers’ uncertainty about doing evaluation and assessment. These problems are primarily caused by the fact they have never been trained to evaluate and assess and therefore do not know technically what to do. The teachers themselves say they need help and support if evaluation and assessment is to become an integrated part of their professional work.
Geography: the substance of evaluation and assessment
School geography seems to have a low status in many countries all over Europe these years, and this is also the case in Denmark. That is a problem for the subject itself and for geographers and others. In particular, those who find geography of great value as a contribution to children’s’ and young people’s development as democratic, responsible, caring, and well informed citizens in the local, national, and global world are troubled by this.
In addition to this, it is difficult for teachers and others to decide the essence in geography, when low status leads to low levels of knowledge about school geography.
Knowing what geography is and is not, and what is of importance, is necessary if you’re teaching this subject. This fundamental understanding of geography will be an initial requirement needed to deal with evaluation and assessment of the subject.
Today the aim of geography education is described this way:
“It shall be the aim of the teaching in the subject of Geography that the pupils acquire knowledge about and an understanding of the natural and cultural prereq-uisites for the conditions of life in Denmark and in other countries as well as of the societies’ exploitation of the natural basis and resources.
The teaching shall build on the pupils’ own observations, experiences and inves-tigations and on geographical sources so that they develop and interest to improve their knowledge about the surrounding world on their own.
The teaching shall further the pupils’ understanding of foreign cultures and give them the opportunity to develop commitment, independent attitudes and responsi-bility in relation to problems regarding the exploitation of the natural basis, resources and the culture-created surroundings and the consequences for the environment and for the conditions of life.” (Danish Ministry of Education, 1996b, p. 43)
Geography education takes place at th to th level in primary and lower secondary education for pupils thirteen to fifteen years old, and in a few years time it will also be at 9th level (fifteen to sixteen old pupils). At 1st to 6th level (up to thirteen years old) geography is taught to pupils together with biology, physics and chemistry, integrated in the subject science. The consequences of the introduction of standards in Danish schools is still too early to describe, but there is an increasing awareness are present among teachers and geographers in general of the problems created by changing teaching from a focus on the essence of the subject to a dependence of the standards.
Focusing on the purpose or the intention of teaching geography, it is important to define the geographical competences and then place this concept in dialogue with the concept not well known in Denmark: geographical literacy.
The conclusion reached is that the competence concept is much wider than the literacy concept. Where geographical literacy demands geographical knowledge, skills, and use of geographically working methods, geographical competence in addi-tion includes the capability of critical reflecaddi-tion on the elements that geographical literacy demands, together with the ability to act in daily life as an independent and democratic citizen. Of course this influences the geography education in the two cultures of educational thinking, and is directly illustrated in the difference in evaluation and assessment traditions.
Supporting students in developing geographical competences, teachers have to involve their active participation in their own learning process. It’s not sufficient just to help them in identifying their learning results in geography education such as how good they are in solving standardised multiple choice tests or delivering factual knowledge. Teachers have to create frames or conditions for the students working in geography, so they will be able to handle public matters of current interest and relevance to the students by using geographical knowledge and methods. Students need to experience that geography education is not only a matter of reaching stand-ards. They have to learn by experience how they can use geographical knowledge to make decisions based on critical assessments so they’re capable of analyzing and understanding how people lives their lives in interacting with each other and the local and global environment.
The development of the use of assessment and evaluating geography education takes place by working with the process. Assessment and evaluation relevant to supporting teachers is necessary in their efforts to qualifying to teach geography, and also in helping the students in developing their own geographical competences.
Standardized evaluations and assessment systems only gratifies external interests,
such as for example politicians and parents, but it is no guarantee to create a better education.
Recommendations: evaluation and assessment in Danish school geography Evaluation and assessment in geography education should be looked at as an inte-grated part of the evaluation and assessment culture in any school. Teacher educa-tion and in-service training should support teachers by concentrating their focus on some divided areas of interest for the success and quality of geography education, namely:
(1) the school management (management style, etc.) (2) the school geography (conditions, resources, etc.)
(3) the geography teachers (education, competences, in-service training, etc.) (4) the geography teaching (aims, teaching methods, etc.)
(5) the evaluation and assessment work (research methods’ and design, etc.) (6) evaluation of the geographical teaching (purpose, relevance, information, etc.) (7) assessment of the students’ benefit from the geography education (self-evaluation, and
etc.).
References
1. DANISH MINISTRY OF EDUCATION 1996a. Act on the Folkeskole. Consolidation Act № 55 of 17 January 1995. København: Danish Ministry of Education.
2. DANISH MINISTRY OF EDUCATION 1996b. Aims and Central Knowledge and Profi-ciency Areas. København: Danish Ministry of Education.
3. MOLLER F. 2004. Evaluering & Geografiundervisning. Kobenhavn: Danmarks Pada-gogiske Universitet.