A good way to think about curriculum making is teaching with purpose.

The curriculum is usually written by governments or other official bodies. It usually takes the form of inert words on a page. Curriculum making is done by teachers. It brings the curriculum alive. The main aim of curriculum making is to create engaging lessons which provide access to powerful geographical knowledge for all students.

In what way are teachers curriculum makers?

Teachers become ‘curriculum makers’ when they merge their curriculum and pedagogical knowledge.

Read the diagram from the outside edge towards the middle. It shows there is some thinking to do before we get to the central curriculum and pedagogic questions (what to teach and how to teach geography).

We begin with our shared context (the world in which we live). We have an understanding of how teaching geography helps young people make sense of the world (in this day and age). We then start curriculum making …

The first question is always who. Who are the children we teach? Teachers need to get to know their students: What are their interests and concerns? What pressures are they under? What do these children need to learn and develop in order to face their futures with confidence?

We then ask the key question why. Why should we teach them geography? Why should we encourage our students to take geography seriously? How does geographical knowledge contribute to their human capability? How does it help students to think?

We are the enabled us to ask what exactly we should teach. We should believe in what we teach. We can the justify that it is worthwhile, relevant, and useful.

Knowing what to teach helps us to think critically about how we teach. We select teaching techniques that are fit for purpose.