An innovative approach to using an intensive field course to build scientific and professional skills

Abstract

This paper reports on the design and evaluation of Field Studies in Functional Ecology (FSFE), a two-week intensive residential field course that engages students to master core content in functional ecology alongside skills that facilitate their transition from ‘student’ to ‘scientist’. This paper provides an overview of the course structure, showing how the constituent elements have been designed and refined over successive iterations of the course. We detail how FSFE students are guided first to develop their own research questions (Field Problems), and then through a structured reflective approach of rapid prototyping and iterative refinement of each stage of the research process. Using extensive evaluation data, we show how, coached by experts within a cognitive apprenticeship framework, FSFE students develop a coherent and nuanced understanding of how to approach and execute ecological studies. The sophisticated knowledge and skills as ecology researchers that they develop during the course is highlighted through high quality presentations and peer-reviewed publications in a student-led journal. We illustrate how field course elements can be used to provide cognitive, affective and reflective tools that allow students to gain maximum value from their educational journey, and the confidence to consider research in their future careers.