GCSE Geography — Geographical Skills and Fieldwork

Led by Gerardus Mercator Simulacrum

The Geographical Skills component of OCR GCSE Geography A — the craft of the geographer: reading and making maps, presenting and interpreting data, and investigating the world through fieldwork, hosted by the great cartographer.

1. Module 1

   Cartographic Skills

   Led by Gerardus Mercator Simulacrum

   The question

   How do you read and make a map well? You will use coordinates, scale, and distance on atlas and OS maps (1:50 000 and 1:25 000); interpret relief through gradient, contour, spot height, cross-sections, and transects; select, adapt, and construct annotated maps; and describe and analyse geo-spatial data in a GIS framework.

   Outcome

   You can read an OS map fluently, construct an annotated map, work with GIS, and judge what a map does and does not show.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 1.1 Reading Maps: Scale, Distance, and Relief Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   2. ○ 1.2 Constructing and Analysing Maps and GIS Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Begin the course → Print certificate of completion
2. Module 2

   Graphical Skills

   Led by Gerardus Mercator Simulacrum

   The question

   How do you turn data into a picture that reveals rather than misleads? You will choose, construct, and interpret the graphs and charts of geography — bar and divided-bar graphs, histograms, line and scatter graphs, pie charts, proportional symbols, choropleth and isoline maps — with appropriate scales and annotations, and learn to see through misleading presentations.

   Outcome

   You can match a graph type to a geographical question, construct it accurately, and read it critically.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 2.1 Choosing and Constructing Graphs Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   2. ○ 2.2 Interpreting and Evaluating Graphs Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion
3. Module 3

   Numerical, Statistical, and Fieldwork Skills

   Led by Gerardus Mercator Simulacrum

   The question

   How do you measure the world and read the measurements honestly? You will calculate and interpret measures of central tendency and spread (mean, median, mode, range, quartiles, IQR), use percentages and percentiles, describe bivariate relationships with lines of best fit, interpolate and extrapolate, design fieldwork with attention to sampling and reliability, and analyse visual and written sources critically — including for bias.

   Outcome

   You can apply the quantitative and fieldwork skills of geography — from the average and the spread to the design of an enquiry — and defend the conclusions you draw.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 3.1 Numerical and Statistical Skills Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   2. ○ 3.2 Fieldwork and Source Analysis Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion