1. Explanation of concept, performance assessment and rubric.

1) (a) (i) Concept of choice: Sustainability

Geography studies the Earth’s peoples, places, landscapes and environments (Mighty,

2018). It’s Greek derivative (geographin) translates to “description of the Earth’s surface”

(Mighty, 2018). Geography can further be defined by the relationships between human and

physical processes (Wilbanks, 1994). It relates spatial pattern issues to that of nature and

society. (Wilbanks, 1994).

The discipline of Geography is thus relatively broad as its integrates and draws from other

disciplines. It looks at the “whole picture” (Mighty, 2018), and because of this it is directly

and indirectly involved in the field of sustainability.

Sustainability is one of the major concepts in Geography (others include: place, scale,

region, change, movement, distance, distribution, process and spatial association) (Clifford,

2014). If the three pillars of sustainability are considered (environment, economy and

society) the concepts of space and scale have direct implications in how sustainability is

abstracted, executed and monitored (Mighty, 2018). It was therefore chosen as aspects of

several of these concepts can be incorporated into units of instruction.

(ii) Targeted year group for a proposed instructional unit about the sustainability concept:

Forth form.

The syllabus of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) does include aspects

of sustainability. Namely:
-develop an understanding of the inter-relationships between the natural and the human

environment;

-foster an awareness of the need for the sustainable use of the Earth’s resources;

-understand the impact of the human systems on the environment; and,

-recognize their social and civic responsibility towards the use of resources and the

environment.

These would be clear and pertinent goals for an instructional unit for a forth form student.

However, as previously suggested in 1) (a) (i) above, the concept of sustainability can be

threaded through most topics of the syllabus while interconnecting with the other concepts

and themes.

For a more focussed study of the topic, one unit can focus on the topic of environmental

degradation and measures to ensure sustainable management of resources. During the

delivery of this unit, students should (along with CSEC’s goals) understand the difference

between sustainability and sustainable development. The former is the state of being

sustainable and the latter is a process of social and economic change designed to produce

an environmentally sustainable economy (Maude, 2014). It’s important that students grasp

that the environment is more than an economic resource to be exploited and that there is a

carrying capacity that must be respected. The unit should place importance on the point

that sustainability is more about ensuring our survival, but the quality of life needs to be

considered. The value of other living things will be included in guiding students’ thoughts on

whether or not human sustainability can take precedence.

1) (b) Performance Assessment.

THEME: Sustainability

Class: Form 4, Term II

Time: 2 weeks

Topic: Environmental degradation

Task Description: Form four students will work independently to create a picture collage of

scenes in their community that depict situations of environmental degradation AND that of

attempts to sustainably use resources. Students will be provided with a disposable camera

fitted with a roll of film with twenty-four (24) exposures each. Twelve (12) shots for scenes

of environmental degradation and twelve (12) for attempts of sustainable measures.

Students are expected to explain their collages verbally.

Total marks: 20

1 (b) (i) Purpose of the performance assessment:

The purpose of this assessment is to offer a culminating Unit assessment where students

exhibit achievement of the overall unit goals through a picture collage.

The purpose of a disposable camera ensures that the students apply their knowledge and

critical thinking skills in choosing just twenty-four scenes. A digital camera would offer the

option to take multiple shots without taking the time to analyse and ascertain their choices

for the collage. They are limited to their homes and community so that they are coerced

into scrutinizing personal experiences for internal reflection on their role in stewardship of
 the Earth’s responses. The aim of an explanation of the collage is to ensure the content was

accurately understood, and that the students are capable of expressing this in their own

words, and in different situations outside of school.

1 (b) (ii) Insights students should gain:

Students should discover that causes of unsustainability will involve an exploration of both

anthropogenic and environmental factors. They should also gain the insight that their search

for acceptable measures of sustainability will require balancing social, economic and

environmental considerations. Students should appreciate the difficulty associated with

that, and even notice that this may be easier to notice at the smaller scale (individual,

household, community) level than that of the larger scales (national, regional, international).

This activity should ignite a spark of change in personal choices that will be the catalyst for a

possible cultural shift, one community at a time.

1) (c) Rubric for Performance Assessment described in 1 (b):

Rubric’s instructions: There are two features of the students’ submission (collage and oral

presentation). For each feature indicated in the left-most column, there are different

categories of grades that can be awarded based on the alignment with the criteria supplied.

There is a total of 20 marks that can be achieved.

Performance
Features Excellent Good Adequate Poor
 10-8 7-5 4-3 2-0
Collage: All items are present All items are present All items are Items are missing and
-12 shots of and meet the and meet the present but are the others are
environmenta following criteria: following criteria: generally generally
l degradation -all items are well -all items unsatisfactory. unsatisfactory.
done. satisfactorily done. -collage creatively
-12 shots of and satisfactorily
sustainable -collage creatively -collage creatively presented.
use of and neatly presented. and satisfactorily
resources presented. - pictures taken
- pictures taken with with resource
resource provided. - pictures taken with provided.
resource provided.
-pictures taken in -pictures taken in
student’s community. -pictures taken in student’s
student’s community.
-pictures clearly show community.
degradation and -pictures show
sustainability -pictures clearly degradation and
show degradation sustainability.
and sustainability.

Presentation: All aspects of the -Uses clear language -Only uses clear -Demonstrates poor
following: skills at least 75% of language skills language skills,
Verbal -Uses clear language the time. about 50% of the including slang, poor
explanation of skills including time. grammar, and
collage. appropriate language -Displays excellent inaccurate vocabulary
level, good grammar nonverbal at least -Only uses good most of the time.
and accurate words 75% the time. nonverbal about
at least 90% of the 50% of the time. -Demonstrates poor
time -Shows an nonverbal problems
understanding of -Only shows an such as monotone
-Displays excellent the topic at least understanding of vocals, poor eye
nonverbals such as 75% of the time. the topic about contact, lack of
good eye contact, 50% of the time. gestures, and poor
vocal enthusiasm, -Good organization. posture most of the
appropriate gestures -Occasional time.
and good posture at organization.
least 90% of the time. -Demonstrates a
serious lack of
-Shows an understanding of the
understanding of the topic by having few
topic by having solid facts or poor examples
and logical facts at most of the time.
least 90% of the time.
-Demonstrates poor
-Excellent organizational skills
organization which most of the time.
covers all content at
least 90% of the time.