Alison Stokes

What is the Use of Fieldwork? Conceptions of Students and Staff in Geography and Geology

This paper explores conceptions of the purpose of fieldwork held by undergraduates and academic staff in the disciplines of geography and geology. Phenomenographic analysis of written data reveals six qualitatively distinct conceptions broadly classified as ‘fragmented’ and ‘cohesive’. While considerable commonality in conceptions exists across subjects and stages of study, variations appear to reflect underlying diversity in the aims and delivery of undergraduate fieldwork, and in the undergraduate populations themselves. In particular, the identification of apparent ‘mismatches’ between the conceptions held by students and academic staff has important implications for the design and delivery of undergraduate geography and geology fieldwork.

Using Observational Methods to Research the Student Experience

Much pedagogic research undertaken in geography and other disciplines relies on post-hoc methods such as surveys or interviews to investigate the student experience of higher education (often based on self-reports of behaviour). However, observation of students provides a far more direct route to obtain information about their behaviour, and there are many situations where observational data—collected by a researcher or by students themselves using video, audio or written diaries—may provide a deeper insight into their experience. This paper outlines some basic methods of observation, describes the potential advantages and disadvantages of collecting observational data, and provides examples of relevant research which draws on these methods. We conclude with a recommendation that observational methods should be used more widely in pedagogic research.

Supporting fieldwork using information technology

Summary This article summarises the key outcomes from the conference on “Supporting Fieldwork Using Information Technology” held at the University of Plymouth in May 2006, which featured a wide range of presentations and demonstrations outlining the various technologies which are currently applied to fieldwork in the GEES subject areas.

Enabling Remote Access to Fieldwork: Gaining Insight into the Pedagogic Effectiveness of ‘Direct’ and ‘Remote’ Field Activities

This study considers the pedagogical effectiveness of remote access to fieldwork locations. Forty-one students from across the GEES disciplines (geography, earth and environmental sciences) undertook a fieldwork exercise, supported by two lecturers. Twenty students accessed the field site directly and the remainder accessed the site remotely using a computer network. Similar learning outcomes were achieved in relation to both methods of fieldwork, although the students’ attitudes and perceptions were found to vary. Despite these variations in experience, participants in both types of fieldwork exercise identified a range of situations in which remote access might enhance fieldwork provision.

Research in Science Education: Threshold Concepts

This article introduces the idea of threshold concepts as a means to better understand student learning and, hence, to develop an enhanced curriculum to facilitate that learning. The debate surrounding threshold concepts is relatively recent and has mainly been focused within other disciplines such as economics, maths and history. Following on from their contributions to a conference in the UK on threshold concepts in geography, earth and environmental sciences, the authors are seeking to open the debate more widely to the geoscience community and thereby begin to develop an understanding of what this new approach to learning means for our subject area.

Using role-play for expert science communication with professional stakeholders in flood risk management

This paper explores role-play pedagogies in learning and communicating about cutting-edge flood science by flood risk management professionals in local government. It outlines role-play process/structure and evaluates participant perceptions of their learning experiences. Issues were impacts of prior role-play experience on attitudes brought to learning, work hierarchies that affected co-learning and wide diversity in learners’ prior knowledge/skills. Key skills perceived as developed were analytical and strategic use of flood science, and increased confidence in science communication. Feedback has implications for role-play pedagogies in teaching geography in Higher Education, in settings of increased learner diversity and in mirroring pedagogies in future workplaces.

“Choice may not necessarily be a good thing”: student attitudes to autonomy in interdisciplinary project-based learning in GEES disciplines

Abstract Project-based learning (PjBL) is argued to foster a more democratic approach to education, particularly through increasing students’ autonomy over their learning. This article presents the findings of research into students’ views relating to autonomy over topic choice and group constitution during a series of trial interdisciplinary PjBL activities with first-year geography, earth and environmental sciences (GEES) undergraduates in a UK university. Semi-structured interviews with participating students and tutors, in addition to audio-recordings of staff–student discussion during student-led presentation sessions, formed the data set analysed for this article. Findings suggest that while some degree of autonomy was welcomed, participants largely favoured prescription regarding research question and group membership. This has implications for the implementation of PjBL and its potential to foster democratization within the GEES disciplines.

The value of 'having a go': Trialling a project-based learning activity to inform curriculum design

Abstract Active, student-centered pedagogies such as project-based learning (PjBL) can offer significant potential for engaging undergraduates with complex sustainability issues. Driven by institution-wide curriculum changes and informed by educational theories and evidence from previous studies, a trial PjBL activity was designed and delivered on three separate occasions, to three different student groups, at a university in the United Kingdom. In these trials, students from geography, Earth, and environmental science (GEES) programs worked in small (5 to 6 people), multiple-discipline teams to explore a single research question focused on a global sustainability issue. The perceptions and experiences of the trial participants (students and faculty) were investigated using data from surveys and interviews, and the findings applied to designing a new, multiple-disciplinary module focused on energy and climate change. In general, all participants engaged positively with the PjBL approach, although issues around the nature and extent of support available to the students and appropriate methods of assessing PjBL outputs emerged as requiring further consideration. The findings demonstrate that a single research question need not constrain the approach students take when completing a PjBL activity and identify clear potential benefits in terms of developing students’ wider professional skills. This study also highlights the value to curriculum developers in trialing new pedagogic approaches, as the opportunity to “have a go” enabled potential issues for learners and instructors to be identified and mitigated prior to the final module design and implementation.