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.