Increasing the Effectiveness of 'Audience-centred' Teaching in Geography

Abstract

'Audience-centred' teaching seeks to involve children in writing to, or for, audiences different from the ones they would normally encounter in the geography classroom. The aim of this research was to explore the ways in which such teaching could be made more successful in terms of the quality of writing eventually produced by students. It suggests that the effectiveness of audience-centred teaching may be increased by using a range of 'intermediate' teaching strategies, such as card sorting exercises, structuring and prioritising tasks, before students attempt extended writing. The research methodology adopted is that of action research. The main findings appear to indicate that 'intermediate' tasks both aid the students' writing process and support their understandings of the geography they are studying.