Guide

How to succeed in your Junior Cycle Geography CBA 2

By Marian Gill - 14 minute read

An experienced teacher in geography, Marian breaks down this CBA and gives her advice on how to succeed in your Junior Cycle Geography CBA 2.

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Introduction

There are two Classroom-Based Assessments (CBAs) in Junior Cycle Geography and they are assessed at common level. The new Junior Cycle Geography course allows students the opportunity to showcase their work from 2nd and 3rd years through these specific tasks which are given to students by your class teacher. After you complete both CBAs, you will be given two 'descriptors' (more about that later). These descriptors will be added to your Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement alongside the grade you get in your exam at the end of 3rd year.

For some students, you may have already completed CBAs in other subjects but for others, the idea of doing a CBA may seem scary but fear not! This guide will help you through your geography CBA step-by-step to ensure you get the highest descriptor possible.

Remember

The wording of the descriptors might seem a little confusing so be sure to ask your teacher to explain them to you if you are unsure. 'Exceptional' is the highest descriptor you can get so aim to be exceptional.

Descriptors

There are four levels of achievement (descriptors) for each CBA. Your teachers use the Features of Quality set out in 'the assessment guidelines' to assess your work as best fitting one of the following descriptors:

Exceptional

This describes a piece of work that reflects the Features of Quality for the CBA to a very high standard. While not necessarily perfect, the strengths of the work far outweigh its flaws, which are minor. Suggestions for improvement are easily addressable by the student.

Above expectations

This describes a piece of work that reflects all of the Features of Quality for the CBA very well. The student shows a clear understanding of how to complete each area of activity of the investigation and the work is praised for its rigour. Feedback from the teacher might point to the necessity to address some aspect of the work in need of further attention or polishing but on the whole, the work is of a high standard.

In line with expectations

This describes a piece of work that reflects most of the Features of Quality for the CBA well. It shows a good understanding of the task at hand and is free from significant errors. Feedback might point to areas needing further attention or correction but the work is generally competent and accurate.

Yet to meet expectations

This describes a piece of work that falls someway short of the demands of the CBA and its associated Features of Quality. The student has made a good attempt but the task has not been grasped clearly or is marred by significant lapses. Feedback will draw attention to fundamental errors that need to be addressed.

Top tip

Ask your teacher if they can show you some samples of previous CBAs or any online samples. Ask yourself, “What can I do to achieve this descriptor?”

Common questions

The following are some questions to consider before you start:

  • What is this CBA about?

    This CBA builds on the knowledge and experience you gained in CBA 1 so you will see some similarities between the two. For example, you already know about the key geographical skills, the different formats and the three elements in the marking scheme. For this CBA, you will have the opportunity to undertake a practical and active investigation into a geographical aspect of your local area. This is a great chance to do some fieldwork which is a key element of Junior Cycle Geography. It is also a chance to get away from the classroom and put your practical skills to the test. Doing practical fieldwork is not compulsory for CBA 2 so you may do desk research as you did in CBA 1 but this will very much depend on your topic. Ask your teacher for help if you are not sure how to conduct your research.

  • When do I do this CBA?

    Your teacher will give you the guidelines on when your class will complete this CBA but it is usually over a three-week period during class time in the first term of 3rd year (between September and December).

  • How do I do this CBA?

    You may complete it as an individual piece of work, in pairs or in small groups. If you are doing it as part of a group be sure to highlight in your report what exactly you did to ensure you get the descriptor you deserve. Your teacher may advise you to work in groups if the topic involves quite a lot of research so listen to what your teacher advises. You will need to do a 'structured inquiry process' which may sound scary but in simple terms, this means you need to pick a topic, ask questions about it, gather data, evaluate and interpret your findings and then present a report with this information (more about this later).

  • How am I graded on this CBA?

    You will have to consider the three elements that you learn about in Junior Cycle Geography. These elements are what your teacher will be looking for in the Features of Quality for this CBA in order to give you the highest descriptor possible. See below for an outline of the elements.

Elements

Processes, patterns, systems and scale

  • How does your chosen topic relate to learning about a geographical process, pattern or system?
  • Prepare a detailed response demonstrating the geographical significance of your chosen topic.
  • Is this topic geographically significant on just a local scale or does it impact on a national or global scale?

Geographical skills

  • Prepare a detailed report using the key geographical questions of who, what, where, when, why and how.
  • Consider the interactions and interconnections between people, places, environments and spatial patterns involved in this event.
  • Gather data from a wide variety of sources in your research.
  • Try to engage in fieldwork as part of your research.
  • Analyse your data to draw conclusions and evaluations.

Sustainability

  • Think about any sustainability and environmental issues in relation to your chosen geographical topic.

Carrying out your CBA 2

Follow this process to help you dive straight into your CBA 2. I have provided some ideas to get you thinking about your topic.

Choosing your topic

As was the case with CBA 1, you may have a local geographical site of interest that may seem like an obvious choice. You may choose from a topic in physical geography, human geography or both. You can also consider your local area as being your local town, village, county or province.

Some ideas

  • A study into local traffic patterns.

  • Changing land use in a local area.

  • Investigate the rock types/geology in your area.

  • A local environmental issue, e.g. pollution, inadequate water supply, planning issues, etc.

  • A study into features created by river/coastal/glacial erosion or deposition.

  • The impact of migration in your local area.

  • A study into primary/secondary/tertiary activities in your area.

  • A study of local weather patterns and how they affect the local environment.

  • A study of the local soil in your area and how it impacts economic activities.

  • A study of the shift in population/demographics in your area.

Top tip

Ask your parents/grandparents/family members if there has been a particularly interesting geographical feature, local environmental issue or a big change in the population of the area in their lifetime in your local area that you may not know about. Again, reflection is very important (particularly for the Assessment Task after CBA 2) so having a good choice for your topic is key.

Choosing your aims

Once you have your topic chosen, you need to think about your aims. In other words, ask yourself what answers you want to gain from your research.

Example 1

If you are studying local traffic patterns and traffic management, your aim might be:

  • An investigation into local traffic patterns in (your town) and how traffic management strategies aim to alleviate some of the traffic.

Example 2

If you are studying river features, an aim might be:

  • An investigation into whether features of erosion or deposition are more prominent in River (name your local river).
Remember

Your aims help to keep you focused throughout the project so keep thinking, “I need to try to answer the questions”.

Researching your topic

Researching may involve:

  • reading books or newspaper articles;
  • watching video clips/interviews/documentaries;
  • writing a letter to an organisation;
  • listening to radio programmes or podcasts;
  • looking up information online;
  • conducting your own research through an interview with someone involved in a significant event.

When researching, you must keep in mind the key geographical questions of who, what, where, when, how and why?

Some ideas

  • Where will I be gathering my data?

  • Where will I get all the equipment/information needed to gather my data?

  • Where has been affected by the topic I am investigating?

  • When is the best time for me to gather my data?

  • When did this topic become of geographical importance?

  • Why did I choose this topic to investigate?

  • Why is it geographically important?

  • Why do people/plants/animals respond the way they do to this topic?

  • How have people/places/plants and animals been affected by this?

  • How is sustainability a factor in this investigation?

Collecting your data

Depending on your topic, there are two main methods to collect data: field research (out of the classroom) and desk research (similar to what you did in CBA 1). In your report, you will need to show evidence of different types of data collection (see below for some examples).

Desk research

Remember to take note of all of the sources of information as you go along and reference them in your research. In the 'gathering of data' section of your report you will need to explain how you conducted your research so keep notes as you go along.

Field research

There are many different ways to collect field research and it may depend on the topic you choose. Here are some examples:

Field study

This could be a visit to a local river, beach, town, business or organisation during which you take notes and gather information.

Experiments

This could be looking at soil samples, measuring weather, testing water purity, etc.

Questionnaires

You could conduct questionnaires/surveys with people in your local area who may be affected by the topic you are researching.

Interviews

You could interview people in your local area who may be affected by the topic you are researching.

This could be a visit to a local river, beach, town, business or organisation during which you take notes and gather information.

Top tip

You will be marked on whether you gathered data from a wide variety of sources so if you are aiming to be 'exceptional' then this is an area you need to focus on.

Analysing your data

When you have all your data gathered, you will need to analyse it, present your findings and draw conclusions/evaluations from it. You will need to relate back to your initial aims/questions and ask yourself:

  • Did my data support my aims? Why/why not?
  • Did my data help to answer my questions? Why/why not?

These findings will help you to create conclusions/evaluations where you should reflect on these questions:

  • If the data helped to answer your questions, were you surprised with the findings?
  • Were your findings in line with what you initially expected?
  • If the data did not help to answer your questions, then why not? What could you have done differently?

Presenting your final report

Once you have all your research completed and your format picked, it is time to put together your response. This is where you produce and present your final report (how you do this may depend on the topic you researched).

You will present your research to your class, either individually or as part of a group. It's a good idea to practice presenting your response to the class. This can be very nerve-wracking for some people so here are some tips to help:

  • Write information in your own words

    Make sure you know your response to your chosen geographical aspect well. Don’t just copy and paste information from the internet and read it out. You will be far more confident if you have written the information in your own words.

  • Get some feedback

    Present your information to a family member at home or a close friend. Ask them if they understand what you are talking about and ask for their constructive feedback.

  • Take your time

    Remember that everyone else will have to do their CBA too and may be nervous about it (even if they don’t show it).

Evaluation and reflection

Two very important skills for every student to learn are evaluating and reflecting on your work. This allows you to learn from what you have done and think about what you are happy with, what you may not be so happy with and what you might have done differently.

The evaluation and reflection on CBA 2 is even more important than CBA 1 as you will be completing your in-class Assessment Task based on this (more on this later). This is a sample reflection sheet for CBA 2:

CBA 2: My Geography

Title/aspects chosen:
What did I enjoy most about completing this CBA? Give details.  
What were the main challenges I faced? How could I overcome these in future investigations?  

What new geographical skills did I develop when completing this CBA? How could I use these in the future?

  
Who or what organisation might be interested in my research/data collected? Why?  
Student name: Date:

Structured inquiry process

As mentioned earlier, you need to do a structured inquiry process and produce a report on it. A guideline on how you structure your report is as follows:

Step 1

Introduction

Give your investigation a title and outline what the study will involve. 

Step 2

Aims

Outline the aims/key questions you want to be answered by doing this study. Ask yourself the following:

  • What are you investigating?
  • Where are you doing this investigation?
  • Why are you doing this particular investigation?

Step 3

Data collection

This may involve:

  • a field study;
  • an interview;
  • a questionnaire;
  • experiments;
  • researching websites, books or organisations involved.

Step 4

Analysis

This involves examining the data collected or research completed.

Step 5

Findings

This section is where you present your findings. How you present this report is entirely up to you and depends on your chosen topic. For example, if you choose to study local traffic patterns and traffic management, using bar charts or other visual diagrams on a PowerPoint presentation would be an ideal format for this. Ask your teacher for their advice on what format might be best for your topic.

Step 6

Conclusion

In this section, you draw a conclusion(s) on your findings. Ask yourself the following:

  • What has been learned as a result of my research?
  • Are there more questions that may need to be answered after this?

Step 7

Evaluation

Ask yourself the following:

  • What was the overall outcome of my research?
  • Would I have done anything differently if I did it again?
  • What challenges did I encounter and how would I overcome these if the research was done in the future?
  • Are there any organisations that might be interested in my research?

Step 8

Reflection

Ask yourself the following:

  • What was my personal experience of doing this research?
  • What geographical skills did I learn?
  • Would I recommend this type of research for future students to do?

The Assessment Task

Following CBA 2, you will undertake a written Assessment Task (AT) in your geography class. This is submitted by your teacher to the State Examinations Commission (SEC) for marking as part of the state-certified examination for geography.

The Assessment Task will be allocated 10% of the marks available for this examination and it is directly related to your CBA 2. The task will assess you on different areas of your learning, including:

  • Your ability to reflect on the development of your geographical thinking through completing the research in CBA 2.

  • Your ability to evaluate new knowledge or understanding that has emerged through your experience of the Classroom-Based Assessment.

  • Your ability to reflect on the skills you have developed and your capacity to apply them to unfamiliar situations in the future.

  • Your ability to reflect on how your appreciation of geography has been influenced through the experience of the Classroom-Based Assessment.

  • Your reflections on how your experience of completing CBA 2 has influenced your attitudes and values.

Put very simply, you will need to be able to reflect on how and what you have learned. Reflection is such an important aspect of not only geography but life in general and the Assessment Task gives you an opportunity to develop these reflection skills.

The mark awarded for your Assessment Task will be put together by the State Examinations Commission with the mark awarded for your written examination in June to determine the overall descriptor for your state-certified examination in geography.

Useful links

Best of luck! You've got this.

By Marian Gill

Marian is an experienced teacher of Geography.

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