Application of the “Powerful Knowledge” Concept in School Geography: Topics for the Creation of the Curriculum and Learning Tasks

Abstract

This article describes the use of the “powerful knowledge” concept in geography education in primary schools. First, the concept of powerful knowledge is briefly introduced in the context of building geographical thinking. Next, we describe four key geographical concepts: place, space, environment, and interconnection. The main part of the article describes the possibilities of applying these four key concepts to teaching. We further specify individual concepts using generalizations (big ideas). For each of the key concepts, there are also tips for learning tasks that can be used to develop these concepts. Building geographical thinking, that is, thinking in spatial contexts, is important for modern geography education (Brooks, Butt, and Fargher 2019). A clear and well-thought-out structuring of educational content is important for building geographical thinking, which can be problematic in competence-oriented curricula, where subject content is often “suppressed into the background” and key competencies (for learning, communication, problem solving, etc.) are prioritized. However, these key, cross-disciplinary competences must be placed in the field context. In other words, they must be filled with specific content so that they can be grasped by the students. This problem could be overcome by using the concept of powerful knowledge. The concept of powerful knowledge was defined more than a decade ago (Young 2008; Young and Muller 2010). According to Young (2010), we should not view the world (which is the subject of geography teaching) merely as a place of experience, but rather it should become an object of thought. The meaning of the concept of powerful knowledge lies in the fact that it is context-independent and therefore transferable to situations that are outside the student’s personal experience. This knowledge makes it possible to think and understand beyond the framework of one’s own experiences. The school acquires a vital role here, as the student cannot learn this powerful knowledge on their own, only on the basis of personal experience. According to Young (2014, 74), “knowledge is powerful when it can predict (formulate hypotheses), explain, consider alternatives, and if it helps people think in new ways.” If we compare the concept of powerful knowledge with Bloom’s taxonomy of learning objectives (Krathwohl 2002, 215), we get to the operational levels of understanding and then applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. If we were to use an example, teaching geography is not only about listing the names of specific cities or just finding them on a map. The intention is to lead students to understand that every city is a unique place, with specific characteristics that shape it, and from which its location also depends. This ultimately has a number of practical consequences for human life. It is decision-making and active shaping of geographical space.