Geography teaching : sharing the expertise

Geography will be a compulsory school subject in Australian schools in the near future. The national curriculum in Geography is scheduled for release in September 2011. Many teachers in Australia will soon be teaching Geography as a subject for the first time. Supporting teachers to develop expertise in teaching Geography will require professional learning opportunities associated with specific discipline knowledge and pedagogical practices such as Geographical inquiry and fieldwork. This paper identifies ways of sharing expertise in Geography teaching that include use of the Australian GEOGstandards resources to inform professional learning, Geography professional association activities, and professional substantive conversations about the teaching of Geography.