R Schaaf

Students as scholars: evaluating student-led learning and teaching during fieldwork

Student-led teaching and learning is an innovative form of active learning that empowers students with direct ownership of the learning experience. Reporting on a final-year undergraduate field trip to Barcelona, Spain, peer-to-peer teaching is used to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and uncover the processes that help create a sense of place. Students experience the issues that academics face when leading activities in the field. This paper explores the benefits and limitations of this approach which can potentially challenge the power relationship between student and tutor to the extent that the student is elevated to that of scholar.

Using Focus Group Research to Support Teaching and Learning

Using qualitative research methodologies for pedagogic research can provide informative insights into student experiences of the teaching and learning environment in Higher Education. This paper considers the practicalities of undertaking a pedagogic study using focus groups by outlining strategies for effective focus group organization, highlighting good practice from the social sciences and pedagogic literature and providing a critique of a recent geographical study, in which focus groups were used as the sole research method. Furthermore, the paper illustrates how a pedagogic research study can be used to enhance teaching and learning and to inform curriculum planning and course management.

Foundation Degrees in Geography and Tourism: A Critical Reflection on Student Experiences and the Implications for Undergraduate Degree Courses

Over the last decade, some UK Geography Departments have diversified their range of courses to offer Foundation degrees (Fds), providing students with alternative routes through higher education (HE). These courses are delivered either offsite at further education colleges (FECs), embedded within an undergraduate programme at higher education institutions (HEIs), or by work-based learning. These pathways present students, staff and institutions with new opportunities, issues and challenges. This study examines contrasting pathways of offsite and onsite Fds in Tourism Management and Development Geography offered by two HEIs and two FECs in southwest England. The needs and experiences of Fd students are varied, related to the individuals personal and academic background, the course pathway taken, institution-specific issues and the degree of support and preparedness for HE. The contrasting academic cultures, teaching methods and assessments encountered in FECs and HEIs, and the availability of resources, raise generic and specific issues, such as confidence building and learning to become independent and autonomous learners, which challenge Geography and Tourism students during their academic careers. This study concludes that closer collaboration between the HEI and the partner FEC is necessary for Geography and Tourism courses, and highlights the need for better alignment and reinforcement of HE systems in FECs, for instance through fieldwork, and the offering effective induction and support in study skills. Finally, it is important to facilitate the smooth transitions of students ‘topping-up’ to Year 3 of an Honours degree at the parent HEI. Managers of undergraduate courses in Geography and associated subjects can also learn from the vocational and contextualized learning promoted by Fd courses and direct entry students to undergraduate courses.

Do Groups Matter? Using a Wellbeing Framework to Understand Collective Activities in Northeast Thailand

This paper is motivated by two key themes in international development: the recent surge of interest in wellbeing as the desired outcome of development, and the continuing promotion of group-based activities within development policy and practice. Drawing on findings from research conducted in Northeast Thailand, this paper discusses the development and implementation of a multidimensional framework, which was used to investigate how groups affect the wellbeing of individuals and the community. The research highlights the problematic nature of community groups, as there were often large gaps between aspirations and satisfaction with group membership. Through analysis of these findings, the value of using a wellbeing-focused framework is illustrated, as it provides a more comprehensive way of analysing the diverse and dynamic motivations, experiences and outcomes of group membership. Overall, the wellbeing approach results in greater understanding of the role of groups within the community and the development process.

Financial efficiency or relational harmony? Microfinance through community groups in Northeast Thailand

Groups and microfinance facilities are intended to produce a variety of economic, social and political outcomes. However, the debate in the development literature about their effectiveness heightens the importance of exploring whether multidimensional outcomes are actually achieved. Drawing on findings from empirical research in Northeast Thailand, where promotion of groups and microfinance schemes is strong, this article highlights the need to understand the context and existing relationships within which community groups and microfinance services are situated, in order to identify important characteristics and processes that limit the outcomes of the groups. In particular, the research illustrates how the groups’ operation has resulted in a trade-off in material and relational wellbeing outcomes, as financial efficiency is valued only to the extent that relational harmony can be assured.

Providing specialist support to peers: evaluating a student mentoring scheme for semi-independent overseas fieldwork

Abstract This article explores how a pilot student peer-mentoring scheme can be used to support semi-independent overseas fieldwork. Students returning from an extended period of living and working in a developing country are seen to contribute by acting as a role model of what can be attained and providing valuable insights into the overseas experience. The students return with more knowledge of a particular place, culture or research project than their tutors. Other benefits include providing identity to the degree programme, enabling social interaction between academic cohorts, and as a recruitment tool. This article explores the experiences of student mentors and mentees, identifies the benefits and issues, and makes recommendations on how these can be addressed in a more formal mentoring scheme.

Student experiences of foundation degrees in further and higher education

Abstract The number and variety of foundation degrees offered by UK universities has grown in recent years. Many are delivered off-campus at partner Further Education institutions or through workplace learning, whilst others are partly embedded within existing undergraduate degree programmes at Higher Education institutions. Each route presents Higher Education with new issues and challenges, namely responding to the skills training and pastoral support needed by incoming foundation degree students at different levels of HE. The ability of foundation degree students to make the transition to a university environment will affect their academic performance, and retention and completion rates. This article explores these aspects in relation to foundation degrees offered by two universities and Further Education colleges in southwest England.

Geography and art: encountering place across disciplines

This article summarises a project undertaken at the Newton Park campus of Bath Spa University over 1 week in October 2015. The project provided a space for interdisciplinary collaborations between geography and art students to explore the commonalities and differences in how they saw, interpreted and creatively re-presented the campus, using a variety of methods. This article outlines the project and reflects on the processes, outcomes, and challenges of collaboration. It highlights how this approach can enhance student learning experiences, by facilitating more interdisciplinary collaboration across the sciences, arts and humanities, and social sciences. In doing so, it explores the potential and pitfalls of collaborative cultural geography in practice across disciplines.