Life without Fieldwork: Some Lecturers' Perceptions of Geography and Environmental Science Fieldwork

The purposes of this paper are to discuss the historical emergence of academic geography in Canada, and how it has been tied closely to the nation-state. Canadian geography is not simply a slice from a pre-existing disciplinary block but has been actively formed and moulded by a set of evolving national imperatives determined and coordinated by the state. Justification for this larger argument derives from science studies which aver that context, in this case the national one of Canada, enters into the very lineaments of knowledge. The paper is divided into three main sections. The first is a conceptual discussion drawn from science studies of the relation between national context and disciplinary knowledge. The second sets out the historical development of Canadian geography from the seventeenth century until the inaugural meeting of the Canadian Association of Geographers in 1951. The final section reviews the subsequent 50 years of Canadian geography by focusing on four important moments within the discipline's history, each of which reflects in various forms the nation-state: the quantitative revolution, humanistic geography, the development of GIS, and immigration and the Metropolis project.     

Fieldwork is Good: the Student Perception and the Affective Domain

This paper reports on research that investigates the effectiveness of residential field courses in geography, earth science and environmental science courses at UK institutions of higher education. The research focuses on the effects of fieldwork in the affective domain, which is thought to be linked to the adoption of effective approaches to learning. Approximately 300 students were surveyed immediately before and after a field class, enabling analysis of changes in responses brought about as a result of the field experience. Potential differences were looked for between groups of students determined by gender, age, previous experience of fieldwork and place of residence. The research finds that fieldwork leads to significant effects in the affective domain. In general, student responses were very positive prior to fieldwork and became more positive as a result of the field experience. Some groups exhibited higher levels of anxiety about this learning method prior to the field class; however, such differences were mitigated by the field experience. This study concludes that fieldwork is good.     

Students as Tour Guides: Innovation in Fieldwork Assessment

This paper introduces and details an innovative mode of fieldcourse assessment in which students take on the role of tour guides to offer their lecturer and peers a themed, theoretically informed journey through the urban landscape of Havana, Cuba. Informed by notions of student-centred learning and mobile methods, the tour offers an enjoyable, challenging, rigorous yet flexible form of assessment that can be effectively transferred to a wide range of contexts. Feedback suggests that students are very positive about the tours in relation to other potential modes of assessment both in terms of what they learn and as an experience. Ongoing efforts to develop the tours since they were first used in 2003 are described.     

International Perspectives on the Effectiveness of Geography Fieldwork for Learning

Much geographical scholarship on teaching and learning details the intellectual, technical and personal benefits stemming from residential field course offerings, reflecting characteristics of constructivist active learning. With the sustainability of these offerings in question given logistical and political issues, there is greater demand for changes in field course delivery and structure. This paper seeks to expand the range of pedagogical tools, contexts and ways in which geographical field experience can take place. It does so by reconceptualizing ‘the field’ based on the idea of ‘everyday life’ as a meaningful entry point within a classroom context, and as a space of learning in which students construct knowledge for themselves. An empirical investigation of student learning experiences explores the possibility of re-creating the benefits of residential field course offerings in a classroom-based field course.     

Student Perceptions of Geography and Environmental Science Fieldwork in the Light of Restricted Access to the Field,Caused by Foot and Mouth Disease in the UK in 2001

Internationally, fieldwork is generally seen as intrinsic to the very nature of geographical education. However, objective experimentation comparing student learning experiences with and without fieldwork is rare. During 2001 in the UK, fieldwork was withdrawn from many university degree programmes as Foot and Mouth Disease led to restrictions on access to the countryside. This restriction provided an unexpected opportunity to assess student perceptions of fieldwork in the light of its absence and to review those alternative learning strategies which were put in its place (where appropriate). To this end, nominal group technique (NGT) was applied to five groups of students from five separate UK universities to obtain information on the groups' perceptions of the value of fieldwork. NGT elicited almost 300 responses from 33 final-year students representing a high level of group consensus on the issues involved. Rationalisation of responses identified 12 categories, which reflect and amplify key educational objectives addressed by fieldwork in geography and environmental sciences from existing theoretical literature. Results demonstrate that student perception of fieldwork (based on previous university-level field experiences) is overwhelmingly positive. The groups identified the experience of geographical reality, developing subject knowledge, acquiring technical, transferable and holistic skills, and working with peers and lecturers as being the most important perceived benefits of fieldwork. Negative impacts of fieldwork included high levels of time consumption. Using a systematic and objective methodology, these results confirm, in a novel rigorous multi-institutional approach, the conception of geography and environmental science fieldwork as being of significant value for the overall student learning experience.     

Geotagging Photographs in Student Fieldwork

This resource paper provides guidance for staff and students on the potential educational benefits, limitations and applications of geotagging photographs. It also offers practical advice for geotagging photographs in a range of fieldwork settings and reviews three free smartphone applications (apps) for geotagging photographs (Flickr, Evernote and Panoramio). Geotagged photographs have the potential to encourage post-fieldwork student reflection on a landscape. A short case study of first-year undergraduates who geotagged photographs as a method of data collection is outlined. This resource paper also briefly discusses the use of student-owned devices in fieldwork which may reduce pressure on departmental budgets.     

The use of campus based field teaching to provide an authentic experience to all students

Abstract

Fieldwork is an important part of undergraduate degrees in Geography and has been shown to be an effective pedagogic strategy. Fieldtrips are often to remote locations, both residential and shorter day trips. For institutions, field trips can be costly in terms of money and staff time and difficult to timetable. Some students may have difficulty attending due to caring commitments or employment. For some, going to a novel environment to learn new skills can be overwhelming. At Askham Bryan College a “Field and Environmental Techniques” module for Foundation Degree level students, ran in weekly two hour sessions, for 24 sessions. These were formatted to suit the College timetable and to fit with students other commitments. It resulted in a structure re-think, moving from individual lectures and longer fieldtrips to an integration of theory and fieldwork in short sessions utilizing the campus environment. Student surveys revealed this structure benefited learning as they could link theory with practice and it prepared them for carrying out future fieldwork in novel locations. In addition, students highlighted the social benefits of the module. Social aspects of fieldwork are regularly reported as a benefit of residential trips, but it was an unexpected benefit of this module.     

Applying a systems approach to the management of change in fieldwork

Abstract

Fieldwork is increasingly subject to a variety of external pressures. The management of change in fieldwork provision can be aided by an appreciation of the systemic nature of fieldwork. Social paradigms of team behaviour are particularly applicable to fieldwork, and to understanding some systems failures.     

Teaching historical geography in the field

This paper examines the pedagogical and practical challenges associated with teaching historical geography, and archival research specifically, in the context of the undergraduate field trip. In so doing, it draws upon students' own reflections on the experience of conducting archival research during a field trip to New York City and presents the results of an international survey of academics' views as to the current problems and future possibilities associated with the teaching of historical geography and the implications of these perspectives for future curriculum design.     

Fieldwork@40: fieldwork in geography higher education

ABSTRACT

Fieldwork is the most powerful learning invitation in the toolkit of Geographical Education. This review of papers in The Journal of Geography in Higher Education (JGHE) suggests seven modes in the development of fieldwork. These are arrayed as a kind of historical, perhaps evolutionary, sequence but most remain current in Geography fieldwork practice. At the far end (1960s) of the sequence are didactic modes that are teacher centred and use the field as an adjunct to the classroom, in the middle (1990s) are modes that involve active learning and focus on the development of students as investigators and at the near end (2010s) are those that centred on the field study area and its qualities, that involve concern about the ethics of student engagement and that employ blended learning technologies. The review charts the JGHE’s gradual shift away from its original, almost exclusively, UK-focus toward something rather more international and inclusive. Fieldwork is where Geographers learn “from doing” Geography to “do” Geography. Its special attributes include providing experiential, sometimes transformative, learning through the immersion of the learner in the field experience. In 40 years, JGHE has helped Geography Fieldwork move from the margins of the curriculum to its current place at its core.     

Strength without Mercy: Winston Churchill on Technology and the Fate of Civilization

Abstract

Churchill's lifelong meditation on scientific progress led him to search for ways in which its transformative power could be moderated and guided for the preservation of civilization. The increasing role of scientific discovery and technological innovation in maximizing the destructive potential of warfare, Churchill believed, had brought a moment of decision for humanity: Whether to foster and maintain the moral and political principles that formed the foundation of civilized life or to trust wholly in an amoral science. He found guidance in the study of the humanities, Anglo-American constitutionalism, and Christian ethics.     

文献与田野三视阈:中古州县治城位置考证方法研究——以唐代昌州治所变迁及静南县治地考辨为例

本文以唐代昌州治所变迁及静南县治地考辨为个案,提出文献分析与田野中的记忆、形胜、文物三视阈相结合,考证研究中古时期州县治城位置的方法。考证指出,唐代静南县必定不在今大足区龙水镇,也不在今大足区三溪镇,应在今大足区西五十里之地,旧称静南坝,即今大足区高升镇太和坝张家坝。乾元元年(758年),昌州初治昌元县,在今荣昌区盘龙狮子坝狮子林会龙桥,历史上又称旧州坝。大历四年(769年)迁移昌元县治到“南凭赤水,北倚长岩”的赖婆村,即今荣昌区河包镇。昌州因大历六年(771年)战乱而废,大历十年(775年)重置,至元和年间,昌州治和昌元县治地记载已不清晰,但至迟到元和八年(813年),昌州治所已经从昌元县改治静南县。到唐末景福元年(892年),昌州治从静南县改为大足县。考证过程中发现,由于传世历史文献地理认知上存在里程计算感性、方位坐标僵化、方位指向模糊、简脱衍串明显的“四大不精”,所以,在考证古代州县治地位置时,为了保证研究的信度,须用田野考察获取的乡土历史记忆、实地山川形胜、周边文物支撑三视阈对历史文献记载进行校证。     

Fieldwork and disabled students: discourses of exclusion and inclusion

Disabled students form a significant but under represented minority in higher education in the UK. Participation appears to be particularly low in disciplines that contain a fieldwork component. Fieldwork has been recognized as a barrier to the participation of disabled students. This paper emphasizes a critical perspective on fieldwork, highlighting the way in which fieldcourses as currently conceived, enacted and experienced, can exclude disabled students. It discusses a survey of the experiences of providing learning support to disabled students undertaking fieldwork in geography, earth and environmental science departments in the UK. It also considers the various ways in which the images, spaces, practices and cultures of fieldwork may exclude or marginalize disabled students and the different ways in which fieldwork may be made more inclusive.     

Pedagogical benefits of fieldwork of the students at the Faculty of Geography in the light of the Bologna Process

Students’ opinion and assessment of the quality of teaching presents an important segment of the evaluation of the quality of teaching at university level in accordance with the principles of the Bologna Process. In this study, we have examined opinion of students at the Faculty of Geography, University of Belgrade on the pedagogical benefits of fieldwork, which presents an important determinant of geographers’ education. A total of 215 students evaluated pedagogical benefits of fieldwork in relation to didactic-methodical aspects such as: immediate contact with objects of knowledge; interdisciplinary study of a problem; application of various methods of teaching; enhancement of motivation for learning; improvement of social relations, and development of skills necessary for fieldwork. Research results indicate that students recognize and positively evaluate benefits of fieldwork. Final-year students as well as students who had more days of fieldwork evaluate benefits of fieldwork in a more positive way. Research results indicate the need to improve the quality of fieldwork and increase its share in the curriculum of the Faculty of Geography in accordance with the constructivist paradigm in education, which places a student at the centre of educational process, and fundamental principles of the Bologna Process.     

Fieldwork and disabled students: discourses of exclusion and inclusion

Disabled students from a significant but under represented minority in higher education in the UK. Participation appears to be particularly low in disciplines that contain a fieldwork component. Fieldwork has been recognized as a barrier to the participation of disabled students. This paper emphasizes a critical perspective on fieldwork, highlighting the way in which fieldcourses as currently conceived, enacted and experienced, can exclude disabled students. It discusses a survey of the experiences of providing learning support to disabled students undertaking fieldwork in geography, earth and environmental science departments in the UK. It also considers the various ways in which the images, spaces, practices and cultures of fieldwork may exclude or marginalize disabled students and the different ways in which fieldwork may be made more inclusive.     

Practice What You Teach: Facilitating Anarchism In and Out of the Classroom

Abstract: In recent years, human geographers have criticized the increasing corporatization, commodification, and objectification of knowledge production, and have looked to critical pedagogical frameworks that seek to counteract these forces. Anarchism, as a body of theories and practices, has a long history of engagement with radical pedagogical experimentation. Anarchism and geography have much to contribute to one another: anarchism, through its support for creative, non‐coercive, practical learning spaces, and geography, for its critical examination of the spaces of education. In this paper, I evaluate the prospects for anarchist‐geographic pedagogies theoretically, as well as through my own experiences teaching and learning about anarchism over the past decade in a liberal arts, higher education US environment. I argue for a combined critical anarchist‐geographic pedagogical approach that appreciates the challenges of building alternative learning models within existing neoliberalizing institutions, provides the necessary tools for finding uniquely situated opportunities for educational change, and emplaces a grounded, liberating, student‐led critical pedagogy.     

实地考察与顾颉刚的学术研究

顾颉刚先生一生都喜欢游历 ,他非常重视实地的考察 ,并自觉地将实地考察与学术研究紧密地结合起来。他在古史考辨、民俗学、历史地理学、边疆与民族问题等诸多学术领域中取得的巨大成就 ,都在很大程度上得益于对实地考察的重视及身体力行。他这种严谨扎实的治学精神是留给后人的宝贵精神财富 ,同时也在史学方法论方面给了我们极大的启迪     

Teaching the Politics of Obesity: Insights into Neoliberal Embodiment and Contemporary Biopolitics

Abstract:  This article reflects on the author's experiences teaching an undergraduate lecture course on the politics of obesity. The course involved a critical examination of the construction and representation of the so-called epidemic of obesity and the major causal explanations for the rise in obesity. Students were unusually discomfited by the course and invoked pedagogical concerns and instructor embodiments in expressing their reactions. Student responses demonstrate how obesity talk reflects and reinforces neoliberal rationalities of self-governance, particularly those that couple bodily control and deservingness and see fatness as weakening the health of the body politic. The course also animated many students to scrutinize more deeply their own diet and exercise practices. I argue that the intensity of reaction stems from the productive power of the discourse of obesity and considerable investment students had in their bodies as neoliberal subjects. Besides classroom observations, the data in this paper are taken from student journals.     

Teaching the Craft of Archaeology: Theory, Practice, and the Field School

Field schools are a rite of passage for archaeologists, the first experience of what for many is the defining activity of the discipline: fieldwork. While teaching competence in practical techniques is the minimum goal of any field school, this technical training must be situated within the broader goals that drive the fieldwork. The University of Denver Archaeological Field School provides the fieldwork for the Colorado Coal Field War Archaeological Project. This project is an experiment in archaeology as political action in the present. It explores the possibility of an emancipatory archaeology through engagement with contemporary audiences and struggles. In this paper we discuss some of the ways we try to link technical training with the admittedly unusual theoretical and political goals of the project, teaching not only skills but an awareness of the responsibilities these skills should bring.     

Historical Perspectives on Pre-Colonial Irrigation in Southern Africa

Abstract

One of the basic areas of interaction between water as natural resource and human societies as agents of cultural transformation is the technology of irrigation. In Africa at least 66 per cent of the available water is used for purposes of irrigation. For more than 4 000 years irrigation has secured food supplies for humans on a continent that is noted for its relative shortage of sufficient natural water supplies.

There is a remarkable hidden power of water in the history of southern Africa. This is particularly the case when we consider the development of early irrigation technologies of Iron Age farmers. The small irrigation furrow of the subsistence farmer was just as important to an insular community of Bantu-speaking people in pre-colonial times, as is the sophisticated irrigation technology in present-day South Africa. Currently there is a paucity of information about pre-colonial indigenous irrigation technology. This can be ascribed to a number of factors of which the invasion of modern Western traditions in the nineteenth century is perhaps the most important. A number of other factors for the apparent blind-spot is also presented in this study.

In southern Africa there are traces of indigenous pre-colonial irrigation works at sites such as Nyanga in Zimbabwe; the Limpopo River Valley; Mpumalanga; and South Africa's eastern Highveld. Reference is also made in this article to specific strategies of irrigation used by Iron Age communities, prior to the advent of a colonial presence. Finally, attention is also drawn to pre-colonial land tenure and state formation against the backdrop of Wittfogel's theories on hydraulic society.