How we as students would like to learn geography

How we as students would like to learn geography

Adidev Jhunjhunwala and Varun Kamoji
Class 8, Mallya Aditi International School, Bengaluru

We are presenting a study on Geography and how we, as students, prefer to learn the subject. To gain an idea of what our peers think about how they would like to learn, we have conducted a survey for our fellow classmates, most of whom have been studying geography since the first grade. We conducted the survey on our class of 30 students. By finishing this project, we are trying to infer a way in which Geography can be made more appealing to students.

We studied different people’s opinions as to how they would prefer studying the subject of Geography in school. From the survey data, we developed generalisations on how the students would prefer to learn the subject. Fourteen multiple choice questions were used for this purpose. We also asked geography teachers in our school how they feel students best inculcate geography

Some of our findings from the 30 students we surveyed; most of them feel geography to be very test oriented. Throughout the survey, most of our classmates have generally selected answers that are inclined towards studying for a test, rather than understanding the subject for its applications. Every single one of our subjects prefer having a textbook rather than just notes taken in class to study from. A majority of our subjects preferred to understand the topic rather than just memorise it.

We also found that many students would like to participate in hands-on activities and projects. However, their desire to achieve high grades spurs them to prioritise tests and assessments over applied exercises. We recommend that schools make their teachings more understanding-oriented rather than memorisation-oriented.