Can a case study in Geography ever be considered to be so old it is past its sell by date?

There is not a single Geography teacher on the planet that does not have a favourite case study. We love them and whether it is Hurricane Katrina, Kobe earthquake or the Aral sea we are all card carrying geeks regarding key facts and interesting tit-bits ,we are unanimous in our appreciation of their importance.

Case studies act as a real world representation of theory and concepts we teach and help to ‘anchor’ students’ knowledge to a place and time. This combination of place and theory, the spatial and temporal ,are essential tools in the Geography teacher’s arsenal and one we should perhaps give more consideration too.

When discussing and planning case studies – be it natural hazards, changing cities, consequences of development, tectonic processes, climate change – there is a multitude of examples we could use. These examples come from a broad range of places – our own localities, our own experiences, exam boards and even what we were taught when we ourselves were in school, back in the day! – and it’s important that we give some consideration to what we use to augment our teaching. I will not explicitly address that question, but rather another question that I feel has greater pertinence, that of modernity and relevance.

When I started in the classroom, back in 2010, my university tutors were aghast at the notion of using an ‘old’ case study. We never found out precisely what old meant… but it seemed to be anything more than 10 years old. I fell afoul of this when teaching a year 7 Geography class unit on natural hazards. As part of our lessons on earthquakes, I used the 1995 Kobe earthquake. Needless to say, the use of this 15 year old case study earned me some stern words about ensuring that any case studies I use are ‘up-to-date’.

This conversation has stayed with me throughout my teaching career and I have always sought to continuously update my case studies and examples to ensure they are modern, and have links with the recent past. In pursuing this aim, I feel that I may have compromised the quality of my teaching.

I am currently of the opinion that a case study can never be out of date. I think that through skilful planning and careful introduction, any case study can be used to enhance a unit of study, from P6 to IB. I wouldn’t advocate the sole use of the Kobe earthquake – its causes, effects and responses – however, without the use of a comparison e.g. the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami of 2011.

By utilising a comparison, it allows students to see how the ‘geography’ might have changed over time. For example – when we compare the Kobe earthquake with the Tōhoku earthquake – there is a great opportunity to compare the long term impacts of an earthquake. For example, the Kobe earthquake has wrought a long term negative on the city – reducing average income levels in the city even 24 years after the event. By presenting this information to students, it can help them to consider the potential long term effects of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami alongside what they may have already learnt about it in the short/medium term.

Using this as an example, ultimately demonstrates the power of case studies – even older ones. Knowledge is a powerful thing, especially when linked with that which students already have. Looking at the past can help to make cognitive connections and make it easier to comprehend, extrapolate and subsequently retain knowledge.

Learning in school is ultimately a process of transference using previous knowledge and experiences as a filter for new knowledge. Students don’t always make the proper connections yet being able to use case studies from the not so recent past enables them to understand the context and build bridges to the new ideas, concepts and information that we as teachers are trying to teach.

As time passes, and new case studies emerge, we can test out geographical theory and watch how it evolves in the real world. The 2004 Boxing Day tsunami is out of date yet has a valuable place in the curriculum – not just as an example of a tsunami, but as evidence of the developmental and environmental gap and ways in which countries development may be derailed by natural disasters. By spinning this example into a lessons narrative, it can be a powerful example for students, far more intellectually fulfilling than a single case study exemplar.

Geography, for all of its brilliance, can often fall victim to its breadth and it is important to appreciate that intellectually overloading students with geographical ‘ancient history’ is counterproductive, but a few carefully chosen older case studies can enhance contextual understanding and allow for greater development of geographical learning within the classroom.