Geography National 4
SCQF Framework
SCQF Level: 4
SCQF Credit Points: 24
Skills Framework
Delivering Centre
Vale of Leven Academy
Purpose and Aims
This Course opens up for learners the physical environment around them and the ways in which people interact with this environment.
- The purpose of this Course is to develop the learner’s knowledge and understanding of our changing world and its human and physical processes. Opportunities for practical activities, including fieldwork, will be encouraged, so that learners can interact with their environment.
- In the 21st century, with growing awareness of the impact of human activity upon the environment and scarce resources, the study of Geography fosters positive life-long attitudes of environmental stewardship, sustainability and global citizenship. This qualification will furnish learners with the knowledge and skills to enable them to contribute effectively to their local communities and wider society.
- The contexts for study are local, national, international, and global. Geography draws upon the social and natural sciences: interdisciplinary learning is therefore fundamental to geographical study and encourages links with other disciplines.
The main aims of Geography are to enable learners to develop:
♦ a range of geographical skills and techniques
♦ straightforward understanding of the ways in which people and the environment interact in response to physical and human processes at local, national, international and global scales
♦ straightforward understanding of spatial relationships and of the changing world in a balanced, critical and sympathetic way
♦ a geographical perspective on environmental and social issues
♦ an interest in, and concern for, the environment leading to sustainable development
Recommended Entry
Entry to this Course is at the discretion of the centre. However, learners would normally be expected to have attained the skills, knowledge and understanding required by the following or equivalent qualifications and/or experience:
♦ National 3 Geography Course or relevant component Units
♦ National 3 Environmental Science Course or relevant component Units
In terms of prior learning and experience, relevant experiences and outcomes may also provide an appropriate basis for doing this Course.
Progression
This Course or its Units may provide progression to:
♦ National 5 Geography Course or its Units
♦ National 5 Environmental Science Course or its Units
♦ further study, employment and/or training
Career Options
Further Information
Course Content
This Course has four mandatory Units, including the Added Value Unit. Within each Unit there is a considerable degree of flexibility in contexts which can be studied to allow personalisation and choice.
Units are statements of standards for assessment and not programmes of learning and teaching. They can be delivered in a number of ways.
The principles above will be applied in the Units below:
Geography: Physical Environments (National 4)
In this Unit, learners will develop geographical skills and techniques in the context of physical environments. Learners will develop a straightforward knowledge and understanding of the processes and interactions at work within physical environments. Key topics include: location of landscape type; formation of key landscape features; land use management and sustainability; and weather. Learners will study a selection of landscape types from contexts within Scotland and/or the UK. Landscape types will be chosen from: glaciated upland; upland limestone; coastal landscapes; and rivers and valleys. Personalisation and choice is possible through the landscape types and areas chosen for study.
Geography: Human Environments (National 4)
In this Unit, learners will develop geographical skills and techniques in the context of human environments. Learners will develop a straightforward knowledge and understanding of the processes and interactions at work within human environments. Learners will study and compare developed and developing countries drawn from a global context. Key topics include: contrasts in development; world population distribution and change; and issues in changing urban and rural landscapes. Personalisation and choice is possible through contexts chosen as case studies.
Geography: Global Issues (National 4)
In this Unit, learners will develop skills in the use of numerical and graphical information in the context of global issues. Learners will develop a straightforward knowledge and understanding of significant global geographical issues. Key topics include climate change; the impact of human activity on the natural environment; environmental hazards; trade and globalisation; tourism and health. Learners will study major global issues and the strategies adopted to manage these. Personalisation and choice is possible through the issues selected for study.
Added Value Unit: Geography Assignment (National 4)
In this Unit, learners will choose an issue for personal study drawn from geographical contexts. They will research their chosen issue and present their findings. Through this activity they will have opportunities to experience challenge and application as they further develop and apply the skills, knowledge and understanding acquired in the other three Units of the Course.
Course Assessment Structure
Unit assessment
All Units are internally assessed against the requirements shown in the Unit Specification.
They can be assessed on an individual Unit basis or by using other approaches which combine the assessment for more than one Unit.
They will be assessed on a pass/fail basis within centres. SQA will provide rigorous external quality assurance, including external verification, to ensure assessment judgments are consistent and meet national standards.
The assessment of the Units in this Course will be as follows:
Geography: Physical Environments (National 4)
The learner will be required to give evidence of:
♦ ability to use a limited range of mapping skills in geographical contexts
♦ straightforward descriptions and brief explanations demonstrating knowledge and understanding, which is mainly factual, of physical environments and weather drawn from Scottish and/or UK-wide contexts
Geography: Human Environments (National 4)
The learner will be required to provide evidence of:
♦ ability to use a limited range of research skills, applied to developed and developing countries
♦ straightforward descriptions and brief explanations demonstrating knowledge and understanding, which is mainly factual, of human environments in developed and developing countries
Geography: Global Issues (National 4)
The learner will be required to provide evidence of:
♦ ability to use a limited range of numerical and graphical information in the context of global issues
♦ straightforward descriptions and brief explanations demonstrating knowledge and understanding, which is mainly factual, of global issues
If Units are taken as part of a Course, then the evidence for ‘mapping skills’ or ‘research skills’ may be presented in the context of either the Physical Environments Unit or the Human Environments Unit.
Added Value Unit
Courses from National 4 to Advanced Higher include assessment of added value. At National 4, added value will be assessed in an Added Value Unit. The Added Value Unit will address the key purposes and aims of the Course, as defined in the Course Rationale. It will do this by addressing one or more of breadth, challenge or application.
In the National 4 Geography Course, the Added Value Unit will focus on:
♦ challenge
♦ application
The learner will extend and apply the skills, knowledge and understanding they have acquired during the Course. This will be assessed by an assignment in which learners will research and present findings on a geographical topic or issue. The assignment will be sufficiently open and flexible to allow for personalisation and choice