Using the ‘New Age Atlantis’ Case Study for Global Education Components of Geography Lessons Across Lower Secondary Schools in Czechia *

Abstract

A case study entitled ‘New Age Atlantis or Mysterious Seventh Continent’ was developed as an exemplar model to show how the teaching methods and themes of Global Education (GE) can be used in geography lessons. The main intent of this article is to share an example of good practice about the use of this case study in geography lessons in Czechia. The aim of the study was twofold: to develop an understanding about how plastics contribute to ocean pollution, as a serious and current ecological topic in Global Education; as well as to show how the characteristics and movement of ocean water are related to the topic of ocean pollution. The main research goal was to study how pupils were able to put their skills and knowledge in practice by fulfilling the objective of the teaching activity – to understand global ocean pollution. The teaching activity is based on methods which develop principles of critical thinking, learning by living, brainstorming, discussion, and group teaching. The teaching activity also allows for cross-curricular links to occur between school geography and other subjects including biology, physics, civic education, ecological education, and personal and social education. The teaching activities for the ‘New Age Atlantis’ case study is aimed at pupils aged between 12 to 15 years. The case study results confirm that as pupils collaborate and communicate with their peers and teachers, they learn to critically accept the opinions of others and, at the same time, to defend their own opinions. All of the pupils were able to understand and recognize the problem at hand.