Field work and field courses within undergraduate biology degrees have been under threat in recent years for multiple reasons and while there has been widespread support from learned societies, academic staff and students for the retention of field study, there has been little research to support the perceived value of field teaching within this context. This paper reports on research that addresses this issue. Undergraduate attainment data from final-year biology undergraduates were compared with similar attainment data from their penultimate year of study. Those students who attended a 10-day residential field course in Portugal between their penultimate and final years of study were found to perform about a grade better on a 20-point scale compared with non-attending students in their final-year honours module. This research provides quantitative evidence that field courses can increase attainment and improve cognitive learning in undergraduate biology students.

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The author would like to acknowledge the generous support of his colleagues, particularly Professor Michael I. Meyerson, and the insatiable curiosity of his research assistant, Gabriel Terrasa.

as otherwise specifically provided in tllis chapter, any person who ... (c) intentionally discloses, or endeavors to disclose, to any other person the contents of any wire, oml, or electronic communication, knowing or having reason to know that the information was obtained through the interception of a wire, oml, or electronic communication in violation of this subsection. .. shall be punished. .. ."); Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act, 18 PA. CONS. STAT. § 5703 (2010) ("Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a person is guilty of a felony of the third degree ifhe ... (2) intentionally discloses or endeavors to disclose to any other person the contents of any wire, electronic or oral communication, or evidence derived therefrom, knowing or having reason to know that the information was obtained through the interception of a wire, electronic or oral communication .... "). 3 Bartnicki, 532 U.S. at 535 ("[A] stranger's illegal conduct does not suffice to remove the First Amendment shield from speech about a matter of public concern.").