Developing High School Students’ Practical Skills In Geography Through The Activities Section Of The Textbook

The "Geography Curriculum Standards for Senior High Schools"(2017 edition revised in 2020)proposed geographic core competencies.As one of the core competencies of the geography discipline,geographic practice has received widespread attention from geography teachers.The new version of the textbook also attaches great importance to the cultivation of geographic practice,and the content related to geographic practice has been strengthened.The 2019 edition of the Hunan Education Press "Geography" textbook sets up geographic practice activities in the activity section.By fully tapping into the practical activities in the activity section,it is of great significance for implementing the ideas of the geography curriculum standards,transforming teaching methods,and enhancing students’ geographic practice abilities.This article clarifies the feasibility of using textbook activity sections to cultivate students’ geographic practice skills through literature review.Using content analysis,the activity section of the compulsory first volume of the 2019 edition of the Hunan Education Press "Geography" textbook is deeply analyzed to identify activities that are conducive to cultivating students’ geographic practice skills.The two themes in the activity section of Chapter 2 of the compulsory first volume of the 2019 edition of the Hunan Education Press "Geography" textbook,"Simulation Experiment of Fluvial Erosion and Deposition Landform" and "Data Collection on the Four Major Plateau Landform Types and Characteristics in China",are used as teaching themes.The classroom observation method is used for teaching evaluation during the implementation of teaching,attempting to use the textbook activity section to cultivate students’ geographic practice skills.To summarize,the main research content and conclusions of this article are as follows:Firstly,by analyzing the 2019 edition of the Hunan Education Press "Geography" textbook for the first compulsory volume,this study identified the textbook activity columns that are suitable for cultivating students’ geographic practice skills,and classified the activity columns that are beneficial for cultivating students’ geographic practice skills.Different types of activity columns can cultivate different geographic practice abilities of students.The analysis of the content with high relevance to the cultivation of students’ geographic practice skills in the textbook activity column determines the feasibility of using the textbook activity column to cultivate students’ geographic practice skills.Secondly,this study found that the teaching design and practice of using textbook activity columns to cultivate students’ geographic practice skills should follow certain principles and strategies.The principles to be followed during teaching include subjectivity,pertinence,interest,participation,and context.In the whole process of teaching practice,it is essential to follow the important teaching steps of selecting columns,clarifying goals,making plans,implementing plans,sharing results,and evaluating and reflecting.Thirdly,based on the case implementation,this study reflected on the teaching design,evaluation design,teaching implementation,and teaching evaluation from the four aspects of teacher interviews.In the teaching design,teachers need to highlight finegrained teaching,pay attention to the details in the case,and scientifically and accurately design the case.In the evaluation design,the evaluation indicators should be complete and quantifiable.In the teaching implementation,it is necessary to conduct grouping reasonably,focus on problem exploration during teaching,guide students to communicate deeply,and stimulate students’ learning interest.In the teaching evaluation,multiple teachers should participate to ensure the fairness and objectivity of the teaching evaluation.Fourthly,the design,implementation,and evaluation of using textbook activity columns to cultivate students’ geographic practical abilities are more difficult than classroom teaching,which tests the teacher’s teaching level and students’ existing knowledge level.Teachers need to analyze the difficulty of the geographic activities,their own abilities,and students’ learning situations to ensure that teaching can truly and effectively cultivate students’ geographic practical abilities.