GEOGRAPHY TEACHING RESOURCES

5.0 Introduction
Learning resources are the materials used by both the teacher and the students in the
classroom or outside the classroom to facilitate the learning process. These learning
resources are either acquired locally through improvisation, specimens, realia or
commercially obtained, through purchasing. The learning resources are paramount in that
they motivate learners, facilitate learning, make learners come into contact with real
things, and all aspects of phenomena. By using of varied learning resources, retention
among students is high (Romiszowski, 1968; Ondigi 2002).

There are several types of resources from which the teacher or the students have to make
a choice and these include: printed materials e.g. students notebooks textbooks, journals,
magazines, charts, atlases, maps, pictures and photographs, audio-visual materials such as
TV’s, radio and cassettes, computers, films, projectors and transparencies, instruments,
realia, guest speakers, field trips, geography room and library, chalkboards, globes,
models, community resources, etc.

5.1 Objectives
By the end of this lesson, the learner should be able to:
(i) Define the term learning resources as used in the
classroom context.
(ii) List different types of the learning resources used in the
teaching and learning of geography in the classroom,
and
[iii] Discuss the importance and shortcomings of each of the
identified resources in (ii) above and further suggest
how these shortcomings can be overcome.

5.2 Task

(i) Identify the learning resources commonly used in the

schools today,
(ii) Classify these resources into different categories as
learnt in this unit,
(iii) Discuss the selection, acquisition, preparation,
management and use of these resources,
(iv) What are the strengths and weaknesses of using each
of these resources listed here, and
(v) What are the shortcoming associated with the use for
these learning resources? Suggest possible solution to
these shortcomings.
5.3 The Learning Resources
As stated earlier, resources are items and persons living or man-made used during the
learning process and these materials are intended for use by the teacher / the students to
improve or extend his teaching or the learning process. Davies (1975) defines a learning
resources as an item or environment that has been structured so that a user may be
expected to learn from it to achieve one or more defined goals. Therefore, a classroom
teaching-learning process is a systems approach, whereby all the elements of the system
must work in harmony to achieve the stated goals of education or objectives of
learning. The learning resources being one of the elements should be in harmony with
others in order to achieve these goals.

According to Ondigi (2002) there is a wide range of learning materials which a teacher or
a student can use or choose from and to be successful in utilizing these resources, there
are some factors to be considered which among these include: the selection, acquisition,
preparation, management and use. The teacher has to consider these factors carefully in
order to get resources with meaningful information (knowledge) which the learners are
expected to achieve in the course of learning. Among the issues to be considered when
selecting the resource to acquire include: the availability of the resources, that is, are the
resources intended for use available at the time of teaching the topic, unit/lesson, the
relevancy of the materials to the content or topic to be taught, that is, the resource should
contribute highly to the understanding of the students; the number of students in the class
will determine the sharing of the resources for ease usage; the cost of the resource based
on demand or supply for the choice of the resource has to be cost effective; the
convenience and storage of using and accessing the resource; by either the teaching staff
or the students, consider the durability, acceptance of appropriateness, and flexibility to
improvise planning and management of the resources (see discussion in Ondigi 2002:
42). Above all these, the teacher should be aware of the entry behaviour of the learners
and the content to be taught before selecting the appropriate media to use in class.
Finally, the decisions made on the materials to buy should be based on the experience and
preparedness of the teacher to sacrifice in some cases (Ondigi 2002, Romiszowki, 1968).
The selection can be compounded by the fact that: there are too many resources from
which to selects; making a decision on the kind of materials to be bought or used might
prove difficult, and how these resources are to be acquired can prove challenging.

However, the acquisition of these teaching resources can be through the established
institutional (school) procedures or can be through for example, improvisation of those
materials one cannot buy due to costs or are not readily because of being out of stock; in
this case, models/realia can be utilized, by collecting and using the locally available
materials such as specimens/samples including rocks, crops-tea, coffee, sugarcane, or
soil samples, making charts, sketch-maps and diagrams for use in class. It is
recommended that teachers be innovative and resilient in utilizing the available local
resources so as to reduce the costs, use resources, easy to adjust to the learners’ level and
teachers’ needs in class, and where possible use personal creativity in developing some
resources.
Ondigi (2002) argues that the decision on the learning resources to acquire and how many
depends on a range of factors as discussed earlier, but these problems can be overcome
by getting information on required and recommended textbooks; as for Kenyan's case, it
will be from the Ministry of Education in conjunction with the publisher including: KIE,
Kenya Literature Bureau, the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation, British Council, books in print
and a book list in Educational products information exchange (EPIEC), catalogues such
as local newspapers, library services and book stores. The preparation, management and
use of the resources is best organized by the departmental head, the respective teachers or
by the librarian based on the need and usage of the resources, that is, required textbooks
are normally issued to the students with copies given to the subject teacher and reference
copies are either put in the department library, geography room or the main school library
for reference by all users. It is important that, no such books should be kept by the
teacher, or by the head of department as this might cause some accessibility problems or
inconveniences to other users of the resource(s).

5.4 Learning Activity

(i) List the type of teaching-learning resources used in
your school and consider what factors were taken into
account when acquiring these resources, and
(ii) Consider the possible shortcomings encountered in the
use of these resources, then offer the best solutions to
overcoming these problems as of today.

5.5 Types of Learning Resources Used in Schools Today

Basically, these learning resources can be divided into three broad categories:- printed
media which includes textbooks, magazines and journals, graphic media which includes
maps, atlases, drawings and diagrams, charts and graphs, and cartoons; such as posters
and blackboards, and information technologies which is basically the use of computers
especially internet in teaching and learning. Three dimension materials such as realia,
models, objects, samples and specimens; community resources and guest speakers; and
audio-visual materials including slides, films strips and documentary films, tapes,
projectors, television and radios, and display material.

According to Asiach and Oketch (1988; 133) resources could be further categorized as:
students individual learning resources which include: the learners’ notebooks, pens and
pencils among others; the teacher’s resources which include all that the teacher need to
sue for the purposes of facilitating the process of teaching and learning, these include the
teachers guide books; manuals and textbooks, chalkboard, reference and finally the
instructional resources which are basically teaching aids: maps and globes, apparatus etc.

Ogonda (1988:50-51) has further identified these categories of the geographical raw
materials as:

(a) First hand geographical raw materials which are basically geographical
features that can be observed in the field as opposed to those that can be
 observed in the classroom. These resources are called first hand information
because students see he real features in their true settings.
(b) Second-hand geographic raw materials are those that can be observed in
photographs and pictures, documentary films and film-strips. These resources
are called second hand because they are in pictorial form; and
(c) Third hand geographical raw materials are those that are already recorded and
can be observed in the form of maps, diagrams, statistical accounts or census
data, models among others. The observation of such information should be
done with a lot of care and interest since some information may be faulty or
out of date.

Whereas these resources are important in enhancing the learning process, Davies
(1975:6) has classified hierarchically all learning resources by learning potency, that is,
how powerful the resources are likely to be in assisting the learner gain useful knowledge
and skills, for these resources are arranged from weak to powerful and has graded them
as:
(i) Latent – these are potentially useful resources but only when used with or
applied to an information carrying resources, for example, a tape recorder
without any recorded tape or a television without electricity (power) or a
documentary film and vice versa.
(ii) Passive – this contain information which is not specifically organized to
facilitate retrieval and use of that information by a particular person, for
example, an ordinary book that does not relate to the discipline, and
(iii) Active – they are organized to facilitate use of either, direct or via a mediator,
by particular people or groups, for example a learning programme or a set of
teaching notes.

5.6 Brief Discussion of Some of the Learning Resources

As indicated here, a variety of learning resources are used in the teaching and learning of
geography in schools. Some of these resources have strengths and weaknesses that will
be highlighted here and among these include:

5.6.1 The Printed Media

These resources include: textbooks, booklets, maps, atlases, periodicals, newspapers,
magazines, journals and supplementary textbooks among others.
[i] Textbooks
This is the most commonly used teaching and learning resource used in the
schools. There are normally required and recommended textbooks for any
discipline taught in schools. A good textbook should be one authored by a subject
specialist, must assist the teacher in achieving the learning objectives in the
classroom, should be of technical quality, with legible print, be up-to-date, well
bound, should contain visual images such as good photographs and pictures,
statistical data and graphs among other qualities. It is recommended that each
student gets a textbook or at least share a book amongst three students at most.
This will enable the students to gainfully utilize the resource without
inconveniences. Textbooks are categorized into the conventional textbooks which
 give a complete logical account of the subject matter without providing
suggestions for further readings and problems or practical exercises to work on;
textbooks stressing individual and group work by emphasizing on directed
observation, each lesson including appropriate texts, photographs and other
illustrative materials with suggestions for questions and exercises to be worked
out; and finally textbooks combining the two categories above and these are more
of manuals that just guide the students in his study. This type of resource consist
of content that is connected and leading to general conclusions, whereby the
student learns by doing. The third category, is the most recommended resource to
use for it gives the student the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills through
the discovery approach during the learning process (See further discussion in
Ondigi 2002 45-48; and UNESCO sourcebook 1965).

(ii) The Students’ Notebooks

According to UNESCO’s (1965) sourcebook, some teachers favour a single notebook
containing both class notes and exercises done by the student. This is important because
the notebook provides an orderly arrangement of class notes, fieldwork notes and maps
as inserted in the appropriate parts of the topics or lessons covered. More importantly,
this is personal work that is in good order and readily available for revision. The teacher
should assign students a lot of practical exercises such as map-making, drawing sketches
and diagrams to enable students seek for more information as this will make their work
more comprehensive in nature. In all aspects, the notebook is very important to the
student as it contains a lot of information from lecturers, personal studies and practical
works.

(iii) Pictures
These are visual representatives or images painted, drawn or photographed or otherwise
rendered on a flat surface (Ondigi 20002; UNESCO, 1965). When effectively utilized in
class during the teaching and learning of geography, pictures provide an important link
between outdoor and indoor study. If carefully selected and according to the theme of
study, pictures help students to fill-in gaps in their knowledge and in creative
imagination or thinking within the discipline. Since pictures help students to create
mental pictures, they are able to recall information very vividly and accurately.
Therefore, pictures can help students to correct any false images they might have formed
through mishearing or misunderstanding of the verbal descriptions in class.

Pictures in the teaching of geography form the most integral part of the lesson, as
materials for study and can be used for illustrations on items which are unfamiliar to
students about which they need to know and they present valuable supplement to verbal
description of the geographical features. Pictures chosen for use in the classroom must
be useful and apparently rich in geographical content, should be sharp and clear, and
must be used for questioning and discussion exercises. It is generally recommended that
the teacher use coloured pictures because they are normally the best and these pictures
are attractive to the users.
(iv) Photographs
A photograph is usually an image especially a negative print, recorded by a camera and
reproduced on a photosensitive surface. Like, pictures, they are used for teaching various
geographical information especially in photographic work. These photographs help
students to interpret information correctly and vividly. Photographs assist students in
creating a mental picture of what they are seeing and learning. A good photograph must
interest and attract the learner, must be bright and clear of any distortion, should show a
variety of details and stimulate a desire in the student to know more. The photographs,
should somehow appeal to the emotions of the learner, his interest to know more and
appreciation of the knowledge gained. Photographs form an important learning resource.

(v) Chalkboard
The chalkboard remains first and foremost the most important leaning resource of all the
resources utilized in the learning process. It is an essential equipment necessary for
classroom use, where the teacher records observed points during the lecture, difficult
concepts, terminologies, drawing, diagrams and sketch-maps or any cartographic works.
The teacher should use the blackboard neatly and in a very orderly way and clarity.

According to Nacino et al (1982) a teacher should have some good and effective
techniques of using the chalkboard and among these include: not cluttering the board
with unnecessary materials, write neat and legible handwritings, ensure that every
student is able to see the board; underline, circle or draw a frame round main points to
focus attention of learners on important information, avoid unnecessary erasing of
information written on the board or before students can complete writing notes or
making corrections with a finger, by ensuring that you do not cover the information on
the board with your body or by the use of a stick or a ruler when pointing out to some
information on the board.
The chalkboard has to be painted in black, lighting on the board must be good enough for
students to see and be free of reflections. It is recommended that teachers use different
colours when indicating some important features in a diagram, sketch-map or charts, but
traditionally white chalk is used for writing notes, concepts and terminologies.

5.6.2 [i] The Graphics

According to Wittich and Schuller (1962:110), graphics are instructional resources that
summaries significant information and ideas through some combination of drawings,
words, symbols and pictures. Graphics are among the most useful and powerful aids that
a teacher can use in the classroom for teaching because they are:- easy to use, easily
made, portable and can be used in all subject areas, and in different levels or age groups
in a classroom setting.

Generally speaking, graphics have a lot of advantages and quite useful in teaching when
integrated with other learning resources such as textbooks and statistical data. Some of
the advantages include: making abstract ideas more realistic, highlighting the most
important information more vividly and more importantly, by creating a mental picture
(s) in the minds of the reader, for example, graphics summarize certain types of
information like statistical data into charts/graphs which motivate the learner is trying to
make sense of the information contained in the resource. There are many types of
graphs used as both teaching and learning resources and these include; charts, diagrams,
maps, posters, cartoon and comedies. The graphics used must be well presented and
labeled to avoid any misinterpretation of information.

According to Patel and Mukwa (1993:34) charts are combination of pictorial, graphic,
numerical and/or visual materials designed to present a clear visual summary of an
important process or sets of relationship under study. It is important that while selecting
a chart for use in teaching and learning, ensure that the chart is: clear and well-defined for
the purpose intended, should concentrate on one main idea or concept to avoid mixing of
issues or ideas, has important information so as to achieve the desired outcome, a
summary treatment of the information contained in the chart, and it is of an adequate size
for the principle features to be seen across the classroom. There are several categories of
charts and among these include:- outline charts, tabular and flow charts, and
organizational charts.

(ii) Diagrams
Diagrams are representations on papers that include drawings and sketches. In essence, a
diagram is a drawing illustrating the main features of an object, process or a given area.
These are widely used by the teachers and students in the teaching and learning of
geography as in other disciplines taught in schools. Most printed materials have
diagrams showing processes such as weathering, erosion, mining, physical processes of
landforms such as folding and faulting in Vulcan city among others. These diagrams or
sketches as commonly referred to are important in creating a mental picture in the
students’ minds.
(iii) Graphs
Graphs are visual representations of numerical data are usually idea for presenting
information quickly and effectively. A graph further reveals important relationships in
data use such as trends and variations as commonly used in the study of climate, mining,
agricultural and forestry production, population census among others. There are several
types of graphs including line and bar graphs, circle or pie chart and pictorial graphs
(Patel and Mukwa 1993: 32-33).

(iv) Maps
These are flat representations of part or the whole of earth’s surface on a piece of paper
drawn to scale. Maps are the major tools for geographical teaching as they form the
geographer’s important working tool-kit. They are of different types, that is, sketch-
maps, topographic maps, atlases, and wall-maps. There is a wide range of wall-maps used
in schools and these show physical relief, political and administrative boundaries, natural
features and human activities, population distribution and human settlement patterns,
rainfall, patterns, natural resources and historical sites among other geographical aspects.

It is advisable that schools should have a collection of wall-maps, chosen in the light of
the syllabus/unit/topics/lesson taught and must be of good quality; simple and easy to
read; be of adequate size and visible by all students in class, with a legible and
conventionally accepted symbols and effective use of internationally accepted colours,
that is, blue for water, green for vegetation and the shading must conform to map-
interpretation guidelines. Good wall-maps must show relationships between geographical
features and the acts of man in the utilization of the environment.

(v) Atlases
An atlas is a vital resource for the learning process and therefore, it is desirable that each
student be a signed a copy of the school atlas suitable for his level of learning. Atlases
form an important part of the geographers learning toolkit as they are used for reference
and as an important source of geographical information. The atlases used in classroom
teachings should be constructed with the regards to the teaching requirements e.g. have
an internationally accepted conventional signs and symbols and colours, and must be
clear of any ambiguity which might cause misinterpretation of information.

(vi) Globes
In essence globes are necessary tools with which the teacher can convey the concepts of
the earth’s shape to the students. Globes also form part of the introductory materials
necessary for the students to use in learning to interpret information more vividly and
accurately. This resource should be used frequently to let students understand the
exaggerations and distortions found in maps, for example, the globe is important for
teaching the student to understand the difference between longitudes and latitudes and
how these are used to explain the differences in times of the days or nights in different
parts of the word. Globes are made of different materials: wood, plaster, plastic or
rubber. They help the students have a 3-dimenstional view of the earth as a whole end,
therefore, forming a good conception of the earths shape and structure.
There are three types of globes, that is
 Political globes designed primarily to show the location and boundaries of
countries, cities, trade routes and other important geographical features,
 Physical-political globes which show some political features with major
emphasis on land elevations and ocean depths by means of attitude tints. This
type of globe also shows the relationship between physical and political
features, and
 Slated outline globes – these enable students and instructors to write on them
with chalk indicating features such as locations, air masses, sea and land. This
type of globes have an advantage sine they permit the teacher to be focused on
one thing at a time and are also suitable for directing the student activities.
Globes have a smooth surface and are molded to show the relief features, depths of the
seas and oceans. They should be kept safely for they are every expensive and delicate to
handle

5.6.3 Audio-Visuals and Broadcasted Resources

These are basically resources such as educational radio and pre-recorded programs,
recorded tapes, projectors, documentary films, and television programs. These are
materials pre-recorded and can be played, by tape records, or VCR broadcast in radios or
viewed on TV for purposes of learning. The most commonly used of these resources is
the radio and perhaps to a very limited extent televisions, videos and films for urban.
Schools where there is electric power. Audiovisual materials are very useful in the
teaching and learning of geography since they display real facts and are more specific
than real words in printed media.

5.6.4 Community Resources and Guest speakers

More scientific techniques call for the use of heuristic approach in teaching as this gives
students a chance to utilize the resources within the local environment, that is, the
community. These are common places experiences within a community or outsides the
school which will enable a learner to get first hand experience of his/her environment.
According to Wittich and Schuller (1973:233), utilizing community resources is the most
effective way to help students to become informed about their social and natural
environment as it provides for them a learning experience which is real or life-like and
one available to all learners for firsthand scrutiny, questioning and cognition.

There are commonly four types of community resources utilized in the teaching of
geography and these include:- visiting by resource persons, places, activities or events
and things. Guest speakers or resource persons consist of two groups that is, the
professional group with specialized knowledge by virtual of training and the other
professional group that has gained experience over time due to association with a
particular environment. The teacher should choose persons who are informed and
knowledgeable in particular areas. A person chosen to give such a speech must be:
 Knowledgeable in the topic.
 A reputable speaker and highly respected in that area or discipline.
 Must be an authority, and
 Ready to accommodate the students’ Individual differences in the classroom.

Fieldtrips are essential in letting students visit places to see, experience and form opinion
so as to offer some solutions to existing environmental problems. Therefore, places are
varied locations within a community which can be used for gaining useful concepts and
ideas about the community, and these include: forests, agricultural plantations (tea,
coffee, sugar cane), factories, landforms, irrigation schemes/projects, game reserves and
parks. A simple project will involve engaging students in collecting specimen, samples,
souvenirs data and have them, record the data, analyze it and write a report using the
fieldtrip report writing techniques. This will form part of the learning process. Students
can also be engaged in photographic video recording or taking pictures as part of
cartographic learning.

Events will include going to agricultural shows which are relevant to geographical
teaching. The teacher should guide the students and prepare them as for fieldtrips when
the students are going to attend such function. After the show, the students could be
asked to do a class-project either individuals or group projects.

Things in the community that students can learn from include artifacts which they can
collect as specimens, samples, collect rocks, plants, do paper-clippings as part of
geographical learning.
5.6.5 Three dimensional materials
These fall under the first hand and second hand geographical materials used in learning,
and these include: specimen, objects, and realia which give students a real experience in
their own environment. These materials can be viewed either in their natural settings or
as samples brought to class. According to Wittich and Schuller (1973) these materials
can be seen and handled, smelt and tested and in this way they provide a more complete
perpetual experience.

Museum are other places where a collection of original objects and specimen are
preserved for both scholarly, research and for educational displays can give students a
chance to learn about their environment.

Models are also three-dimensional resources commonly used in the class to assist
students to conceptualize ideas for better understanding. Models may represent real
things that are infinitely large, e.g. the earth or the solar system or real things that are
very small liked the atom. In essence, a model is a simplified representation of reality
which is intended to show certain qualities of the real world (Ogonda 1988:123). There
are models showing the stags in the evolution of relief, geographical features such as
mountains, plateaux, hills, coastal and lowland features, gulfs, bays and ports.

5.6.6 Instruments

These form part of the most important learning resources ever used in some schools.
These resources include, apparatus measuring temperatures, atmospheric pressure,
precipitation among others, magnetic compasses, elementary mapping kits, drawing
materials and instruments such as seissemographic equipments, models of the earth’s
orbit for teaching the eclipse materials that will enable the student gain insights and skills
in class.

5.6.7 The geography room or laboratory/library

This is an important learning resource. A geography room is a necessary tool required by

a geography as those required by any scientists in a laboratory [see discussion in Ondigi
2002, UNESCO 1965).

5.6.8 Information technology

The use of information technology in the teaching of geography is the most sought for
and most expensive resource if we are to catch-up with the rest of the world.
Unfortunately, this new form of resource is not most common in schools in Kenya
because of several factors attributed to lack of capital resources to purchase the
computers and programs that go with the lessons, the manpower to maintain and run
these computers and above all lack of electric power in most schools across the
community.
However, these new technology is venturing into the field of geography and quite
significantly tertiary institutions have greatly invested in this new learning resource, some
secondary schools are following suit and perhaps primary schools need to explore the
resource. In professional schools especially in major towns and cities in Kenya, the use
of computers is a plague or a fire that has caught the forest of new entrants into
technology.

Perhaps, more importantly is to underscore the fact that in modern teacher training in the
field of geography, there is an emphasis that geography should be given a scientific look
by using scientific approaches of acquiring knowledge and skills.

5.6.9 Learning Activity

(i) Take time, say a period of one month and visit about ten
schools in a given area or community and do an observation
of the types of learning resources that are used in those
schools. It is advisable you categorize the resources as
disused herein,
(ii) Look at each case of these resources, how selection,
acquisition, management and use of these resources is done
across the ten schools, then list down the strengths and
weaknesses observed in the use of these learning resources,
(iii) At your best, offer solutions and possible problems that are
likely to emerge from your solutions as discussed,
(iv) Based on your assessment, what is the way forward on how
these schools are utilizing the resources if we are to catch-up
with the rest of the world and
(v) Are the students from these schools observed in (i) above
likely to compete favourably with students in Europe, Asia or
the Americas, and if not, what is the way forward?
 LESSON VI
THE GEOGRAPHY SYLLABUS FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS

6.0 Introduction
By definition a syllabus is an outline or a brief statement of the main parts of a course of
study, as would be covered by the teacher. The syllabus contains the following:
(a) National goals or objectives of education and
(b) The specific objectives of a particular subject which the teacher is expected to
teach.

6.1 Objectives

By the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to:

(i) Define the syllabus as used in our educational setting.
(ii) List the major components of the syllabus.
(iii) Discuss the structure of the syllabus and its major
components.
(iv) Discuss how the syllabus is prepared and
(v) Finally discuss the purposes for which it is used in
achieving the national educational goals.

6.2 Task
Get a copy of the geography syllabus 2002 edition and study the
orientation and structure of the document. List and discuss the
aims and structure of this document.

6.3 The aims of the syllabus

Gopsill (1973) argues that the teacher must be perfectly clear in his mind as to the aims
he has in view when teaching geography. When the aims are clearly held, then a syllabus
can be used in organizing the teaching in a particular discipline, in this case geography.
The syllabus thus aims at assisting the teacher to put his work and philosophy about the
discipline into practice. The syllabus also guarantees the teacher a systematic progression
of topics or units in order of difficulty as provided. Thus the teacher must observe this
systematic arrangement of units and topics during the teaching in class.

6.4 The Construction of the Syllabus

Long (1966) argues that it is important for the teacher and the student to understand and
consider why the syllabus is constructed and the purpose of having or using a syllabus
during the teaching and learning of geography. It is therefore important to bear in mind:
(i) Why geography is being taught in schools,
(ii) The preparation of the syllabus is based on the psychological development of
the students.
 (iii) The construction of the syllabus, include all aspects of geography, i.e.
physical human, historical, political and economic geography among other
aspects.
(iv) Teaching time available must be borne in mind and it is normally
recommended that geography be allocated at least 26 hours a term; and
(v) The syllabus must match the quality and interest of the students who are to use
it.

6.5 Statement of Objectives

The Kenya syllabus for geography in secondary schools 2002nd edition indicates that: At
the end of the course of 4 year study, the learner should be able to:
(i) Understand and use the immediate environment for the individual, national
and international development,
(ii) Identify relevant aspects of development from other aspects of the world,
(iii) Identify, understand and have respect for the difficult ways of life influencing
development at local, national and international levels,
(iv) Know the basic principles and methods of geography in order to help him
solve the problems of national development, and
(v) Demonstrate the acquisition of appropriate attitudes and values which will
make him a useful member of the society.

6.6 Activity
(i) Take the geography syllabus 2002 edition and study it
through, then make a summary of the specific objectives as
outlined in the document.
(ii) What observations do you make from these specific objective
on how the syllabus is prepared and the purpose as it intended
for.
(iii) Discuss the limitations of the syllabus as presented to you
(iv) What suggestions can you make for its improvement?

6.7 Preparation of the Syllabus

There are some preliminary considerations taken into account in the drafting of the
school syllabus and these include:
(a) Meeting the needs of the society, i.e. socio-economic and political,
(b) Identifying the means of the society (resources)
(c) Availability of personnel,
(d) Availability of resources,
(e) Nature of the learners,
(f) Educational theories of learning according to Bloom’s taxonomy of learning –
psychomotor, cognitive, affective, and social domains, and
(g) National goals of education, and
(h) the relationship to other disciplines among other things.
The syllabus is prepared by a team of experts as commissioned by the government and
these experts includes:
(i) Ministry of education representatives,
(ii) Representatives from the Kenya national examination council,
(iii) KIE staff (curriculum developers) and
(iv) Authorities in education representing specific fields of study, e.g. geography
experts.

The syllabus only details the areas to be studied, but it doesn’t instruct the teacher what
kind of discussion question he should engage students in when transmitting the
knowledge. It is prepared in a manner that it gives the teacher a chance to be more
creative in his approach the discipline.

6.8 The Uses of the School Syllabus

There are general uses of the school syllabus and all these are based on an individual
discipline, but among these uses are:
(i) It helps the teacher to have a broad view of his subject leaving it up to him to
decide what topics to cover each term, or throughout the year.
(ii) It helps the teacher to work out his teaching strategies for a week, a term or a
whole year,
[iii] It guides the students in their efforts to systematically gain
knowledge, especially when preparing for their examination, and
[iv] The syllabus also serves to keep the educational standards
uniform throughout the country.

6.9 Features of the Geography Syllabus

The geography secondary school syllabus has been prepared in a manner that:-
(a) It is environmental friendly/consciousness,
(b) Gives local emphasis –dealing with problems and how to overcome them,
(c) Puts emphasis on developing countries and development issues;
(d) Puts emphasis on field study, i.e. using examples from within, say school,
immediate neighborhoods, before going abroad.
(e) Puts emphasis on map reading and photographic interpretation, and
(f) Puts emphasis on mathematical/statistical geography.

6.10 The Structure of the Geography Syllabus

The 4 year secondary school geography syllabus is structured into:
(a) Lower form I and II which emphasizes on local geography.
(b) Upper forms III and IV which emphasizes the geography of other lands through
sample studies.
(c) Physical and human geography as syllabus is organized
(d) Fieldwork is emphasized throughout the syllabus and
(e) Map reading and photographic interpretation is given weight in the studying of
geography.
6.11 Assignment

In a thorough examination of the school geography syllabus:

[i] discuss the necessary shortcomings, and
[ii] offer suggestions for improving it to meet both students ,
societies and national goals.
 LESSON VIII
PREPARATION OF SCHEMES OF WORK

7.0 Introduction
A schemes of work [SOW] is defined as a clear and orderly statement of the work which
the teacher plans to cover over a period of time which maybe a term or a year. It is
necessary for the teacher to prepare a schemes of work as this orderly outline assists both
the teacher to be organized in presenting his lessons in class and for the students to have
an orderly form of acquiring knowledge and skills in the course of study.

7.1 Objectives

By the end of this lesson, the learner should be able to:

[i] Define the schemes of work,
[ii] Outline the components of a comprehensive schemes of
work.
[iii] Prepare a detailed schemes of work to be used in the
teaching and learning process, and
[iv] Discuss the practical considerations undertaken when
preparing the schemes of work.

7.2 Task

With the help of a syllabus:

[i] prepare a detailed schemes of work for any one of the classes
and include all the necessary details, that is, a SOW for either FI,
II, III or IV, and
[ii] In about 3 paragraphs explain why topics/units are arranged in
the order they are arranged in the syllabus.

7.3 Designing a Schemes of Work

A workable schemes of work should be based on the psychological growth of the student,
that is, the entry behavior and should be designed to provide continuity during the
learning process. Therefore indispensable psychological teaching demands that a teacher
should proceed from:
(a) Known to the unknown,
(b) The particular to the complex,
(c) The simple to the complex, and
(d) The concrete to the abstract.

When preparing the SOW, the teacher should bear in mind:

[i] the continuity of the work to be covered, because true teaching is nothing but arousing
and directing the learning activities of the student, so that the student must constantly
learn by his own activities.
[ii] Should present a piecemeal development of topics/units, region by region as
brought together at the end of the lesson to emphasize the synthesis of the whole.
[iii] Construction must exhibit the ability of the teacher who is best placed to know
the needs of his students, their backgrounds and the environment, as well as the
particular scope of his school's needs at a given period.
[iv] Units taught must meet the needs of the student and
[v] Finally the national goals of education.

7.4 Activity

a. Look at the organization of the topics in the school syllabus

and draw a schematic presentation of the relationship
between and among the topics covered.
b. What lesson of you learn from these relationships and how
do they related?

7.5 Some Practical Consideration

The organization of the schemes of work must be conditioned by the following
considerations:
(a) Time allocated to the subject, that is, the number of hours per week which can be
allocated to a particular subject, and for all subjects taught in the school
curriculum. It is suggested that there should be a minimum of three teaching
periods per week,
(b) The possibility of organizing fieldwork periods, the field being the district in
which the school is located or the country side or neighbouring area of
geographical importance.
(c) The possibility of organizing special periods for practical work over and above
the lesson. Periods, especially where only two teaching periods are available,
(d) The possibility of dove-tailing the geography syllabus with those of other
subjects taught, for instance, lessons on measurement, latitude, longitude and
time can be taught by the mathematics teacher, lesson on rocks by the natural
science teacher, lesson on growth of societies by the history teacher etc.
(e) The ability of students in a class, and
(f) The availability of resources including textbooks.

7.6 Caution
Before the teacher starts to prepare his/her schemes of work, one must:-
(i) Study the syllabus carefully,
(ii) Be clear in his/her mind the area which he is expected to cover/teach in class
so as to decide the scope,
(iii) If the topic/unit is too wide, then the teacher has to determine the best
strategy/methods to use in order to cover the syllabus,
 (iv) Re-arrange topics/units in such a way that students are able to make
connections (continuity), that is, the teacher should avoid unnecessary
repetition use of audio-video/aids materials are important and should be
built in fairly early in the SOW, and
(v) The SOW should help the teacher to have a logical organization of topics
that are contained in the syllabus thus, this leads to logical presentation
of the lesson.

7.7 Question

Is it necessary for the geography teacher to prepare the

schemes of work? Give reasons for your response.