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 (1960's) of the sequence are didactic modes that are teacher centred and use the field as an adjunct to the classroom, in the middle (1990's) are modes that involve active learning and focus on the development of students as investigators, and at the near end (2010's) 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.

Fieldwork in Ground Zero, Mallorca. A Methodological Fieldwork Proposal for a Geographical Analysis of Tourist Areas

“…Our hypothesis is that fieldwork is a particularly suitable tool for developing the following competences and skills in students, tying in the theory studied in the classroom with the real world (France & Haigh, 2018): a) improved student autonomy in analysing realities, facilitating the acquisition of meaningful knowledge; b) a raised environmental awareness and desire to seek a solution to the global changes brought about by humankind during the Anthropocene; and c) an insight into reality through direct contact with it as a means of tackling current socio-ecological problems.…”

“…Furthermore, when fieldwork is used in teaching, students engage in problem solving and they boost their capacity for critical thinking (in keeping with France and Haigh, 2018), exploring how to address and manage the impacts of global change on coastal tourist destinations. We use examples of popular mass tourism resorts, detailing the activities and input to be worked on during the field trips.…”

“…Within the scope of these possible options, participative observation and a certain degree of autonomy are an appropriate mix for problem-based learning (PBL) as a means of fostering self-experience and independent, critical learning processes through student-centred pedagogical tools (Pawson, et al, 2006;Thomas, 2009). France and Haigh (2018) offer a more detailed classification of types of fieldwork, summarised in Table 1. Table 1.…”

Fostering a relational sense of place through video documentary assignments

“…In the expanding literature on the matter, studies have commonly discussed how student-led film, by combining fieldwork and the production of visual material, can enhance active, deep and reflexive learning in geography (Adanalı, 2018;Anderson, 2013aAnderson, , 2013bDando & Chadwick, 2014;Mavroudi & Jöns, 2011). There is now a wealth of literature showing how fieldwork -commonly regarded "the sine qua non of the geographer" (Dummer et al, 2008, p. 459; see also Fuller et al, 2006;France & Haigh, 2018) -enables students to develop a better understanding of concepts by linking them to their own experience, while also encouraging them to modify or evaluate their previous ideas or knowledge through critical reflection (Dummer et al, 2008;Hovorka & Wolf, 2009;May, 1999;Oost et al, 2011). The use of visual materials -photos, videoclips (Ferretti, 2009), movies (Ansell, 2002;Sigler & Albandoz, 2014), documentaries (Hay, 2017) -has similarly been said to facilitate more active and deep learning, especially if it goes beyond passive watching (Di Palma, 2009) and includes the creative process of producing photo(s) (Sanders, 2007;Van Melik & Ernste, 2019) or a video (Anderson, 2013a(Anderson, , 2013bMavroudi & Jöns, 2011).…”

Geographical Field Trips During University Studies. Whereto? (Ii)

“…They provide optimal contexts for acquiring knowledge in Geography (Dulamă, 1996;Dulamă & Roşcovanu, 2007), for geographical and environmental research (Scott et al, 2006), additionally providing important complementary benefits to teaching and library research (Fuller, 2006). The territory outside the formal university space is considered the ideal place where geographers perceive directly the processes from reality, have the chance to grasp them correctly and gain good quality experience about the reality they are living in (Hope, 2009;Ilovan & Havadi-Nagy, 2016), learn how to build Geography understanding, and it is the place where they enhance their awarness by integrating the insight gained in the field (France & Haigh, 2018), in both Human Geography (Hope, 2009) and Physical Geography (Dunphy & Spellman, 2009).…”