GA Annual Conference 2026

At last year's Conference I spoke about addressing misconceptions in the geography classroom. This year, I’d like to continue this theme by examining how we can discover what misconceptions our students might hold and how we can check they have understood what we have taught them. I’ll delve into practical, evidence-informed strategies for checking understanding, including ‘Do Now’ tasks, use of mini whiteboards and low-stakes formative assessment. Rooted in cognitive science, these approaches aim to make students’ thinking visible and help identify misconceptions early. Pitfalls and mistakes to avoid will also be discussed. Attendees will be invited to share their examples of effective methods.