Role and Importance of Fieldwork in Learning Geography - Research Paper Example

There has never been, in the past, so much talk about biodiversity, sustainability and citizenship as it is today. It can therefore be confidently said that it is very important for citizens to appreciate at a tender age the value of the environment and understand how the great ecological dilemmas that face the world are scientifically related to it. The first few years of a child’s life are very important for emotional, social and cognitive development. It is hence vital that necessary steps are taken to make sure that children develop in environments that will meet their emotional, social and educational needs. One way of achieving this goal is by engaging children in fieldwork activities frequently. In teaching practical lessons first hand experience plays a vital role as it makes learning more interesting to students while also enabling students to acquire certain vital skills that may not be easily acquired in the classroom setting. During fieldworks students basically collect, analyze and present data. In geography fieldwork plays a vital role in helping students to learn about the environment, places and human behavior. Several constraints have however come in the way of primary school teachers seeking to engage their students in geographical fieldwork. Some of these include unavailability of time throughout the academic year, non-availability of insurance policies to cover students and their teachers on fieldwork missions, lack of resources for carrying out fieldwork activities and pessimism from parents or school administrations regarding such exercises among other reasons. This paper seeks to analyze the role and importance of fieldwork in primary education, and more especially in learning geography. Introduction There has never been, in the past, so much talk about biodiversity, sustainability and citizenship as it is today. It can therefore be confidently said that it is very important for citizens to appreciate at a tender age the value of the environment and understand how the great ecological dilemmas that face the world are scientifically related to it. In fact, according to Professor May of Oxford, “it is in the field… where acting locally becomes thinking globally” (May, Richardson and Banks, 1993, pp2-5). Brighouse, in recognition of the importance of fieldwork stated that "one lesson outdoors is worth seven inside" (May et al, 1993, 2-5). In his view, one outdoor lesson is tantamount to seven in the classroom setup. Field work in geography hence plays a vital role in learning about the environment, places and human behavior. During fieldworks students basically collect, analyze and present data. For fieldworks to be successful there is need for both students and teachers to be adequately prepared and the apparatus to be used must also be in good state. During fieldworks, students often need to perform observations, investigations, and calculations, sometimes using apparatus, from which they later make inferences. The activities performed during fieldworks draw their importance from theories that have been postulated by different psychologists and learning experts as described in the sections that follow. Child Development The first few years of a child’s life are very important for emotional, social and cognitive development. It is hence vital that necessary steps are taken to make sure that children develop in environments that will meet their emotional, social and educational needs. Far reaching and enormous is the cost to society of a child’s state of lower than optimal development. When a child grows up in an environment where his/her development needs are inadequately met, he/she is at a higher risk of having poor safety and health, and also being subject to developmental and learning delays. This therefore means that when the society fails to invest resources and time during the first few years of children’s lives, they may experience long-term effects on the healthcare, foster care and educational systems. It should hence be in society’s interest to make sure that the environments in which children develop is secure, loving and safe. The frequent inability of the child to remember and possibly use skills that he/she has acquired has by several authors been pointed. The explanations given by psychologists such as Jean Piaget and Stern are more or less similar. Over different levels a specific mental operation extends, with passage from one mental development level to the next occurring in the same sequence. As the difficult of an operation increases, the operation may be carried out at a lower level. This simply means that an individual, at the same age, may carry out an operation at different levels. In his explanation, Piaget (2001, pp21-24) applies concepts like causality which a typical child apparently can objectively apply to daily activity. At the verbal level, though, he reverts to more subjective causality forms like affective or voluntaristic ones. While the child’s mental development can be viewed as a network in which external and internal factors are intertwined, unraveling their distinct roles is possible. Responsible for the strict series of phases of development are presumably internal factors, which chiefly are determined by the growth of body organs. Development Theories According To Different Psychologists Jean Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development       According to Jean Piaget, human beings go through four main mental developmental stages in life which are generally related to age, getting more and more complex with increase in age (Piaget, 2001, pp46-51). The four developmental stages according to Piaget include: the sensorimotor period (corresponding to between the first two years of the child’s life after birth), the preoperational period (corresponding to two to six years after birth), the concrete operational period (corresponding to six to 12 years after birth) and finally, the formal operational period which occurs at 12 years and goes through to adulthood). The four stages of development as stated by Piaget are described in the following sections (Piaget, 2001, pp10-26).  The Sensorimotor Period and the Preoperational Periods       During this developmental stage children develop an understanding of the environment by coordinating sensory experiences with motoric actions and hence gain knowledge of their environment through whatever they do physically (Piaget, 2001, pp14-26) . The young child moves from acting out of reflexes that are founded on instinct and start to make thoughts that are symbolic. This happens as the child develops toward the closing phase of the sensorimotor stage. The preoperational period features development that is manifested in terms of intellectual operations that logically are inadequate and sparse. The child learns to represent and use objects by drawings words and images. Also, the child is able to form stable concepts, carry out magical beliefs and a little intellectual reasoning. However, it still remains incapable of doing many things and is greatly egocentric (Piaget, 2001, pp16-20).  The Concrete Operational and the Formal Operational Periods       The concrete operational period is the third stage of cognitive developmental. It occurs between the age of seven and 11, and is characterized by correct use of easy logic. Classification, seriation, elimination of egocentrism and conservation classification, transitivity, decentring and reversibility are important processes that occur at this period. The child during this period is capable of solving problems that specifically are related to concrete or actual experiences and objects, as opposed to hypothetical functions or concepts that are abstract in nature (Piaget, 2001, pp18-20).    The formal operational stage usually commences at between 11 and 15 years and continues into adulthood. This stage is characterized by the ability to apply abstract thinking, logical reasoning and to draw conclusions from raw information. During this stage the individual is able to engage logic and abstract reasoning to solve hypothetical problems. The abstract quality of thinking can be witnessed in verbal problem solving ability for example (Piaget, 2001, pp24-26).  Individuals instead of making decisions based on trial and error will engage in logical reasoning, institute solution testing systems and use deductive reasoning in hypothetical situations.  Erick Erikson’s Stages of Development Much like Piaget, Erickson postulated that children’s development follows a predetermined order (Cooper, 1991, pp83-87). According to his psychosocial development theory, human beings undergo eight distinct developmental stages with each stage having two possible outcomes. When an individual successfully goes through a stage, the result is a healthy personality which will possibly interact successfully with other members of the society. On the other hand, unsuccessful completion of a process will lead to lowered ability to successfully complete other stages and hence results in an unhealthy personality and negative personal attitudes. The theory further suggests that developmental defects can be successfully resolved later during the individual’s life (Cooper, 1991, pp93-96). The eight stages which also roughly correlate with time as put forward by Erickson are briefly described in the following section: The Eight Stages of Development From the time a child is born up to the age of one year, it begins to learn how to trust other people based on how consistent its caregivers are. If the child successfully develops trust, it gains security and confidence in the world and feels secure even in the presence of threats. Unsuccessful completion on the other hand could result in the child being unable to trust other people and hence develop a sense of fear, anxiety and mistrust in regard to the world’s inconsistencies (Cooper, 1991, pp97-103). Between one and three years after the child has been born, it begins to assert its independence by choosing toys with which to play walking away from caretakers and making choices on what they want. If adequately supported at this stage, the child develops increased independence, security and confidence in its personal ability to endure in situations that come its way. A child who is overly controlled, criticized or denied to opportunity to act independently will generally lack self esteem, be over dependent on others, feel inadequate, doubtful, and shameful, and lack self esteem (Cooper, 1991, pp108-109). Between three and six years, children begin to plan their activities, interact with other children and make up games. If the environment is conducive, the child develops security in his/her ability to make decisions and lead others. Conversely, the squelching of this tendency through control or criticism will result in the child developing a sense of guilt and thus remain followers of other children and devoid of self-initiative (Cooper, 1991, pp107-110). From six years until puberty, a child begins to develop in their accomplishments a sense of pride (Cooper, 1991, p103-105). The child initiates projects and work to see these projects come to successful completion. If the child is encouraged with reinforcements, they feel industrious and confident in their ability to attain his/her objectives. Failure to encourage this initiative will make the child feel inferior and doubtful of his/her abilities which in effect hampers the exploitation of the child’s potential. Adolescence marks a period when the transition between childhood and adulthood occurs. A child at this age is more independent and starts to have visions in terms of families, housing, relationships and careers. The child explores possibilities and forms a personal identity founded on the outcomes of explorations. If this is hindered, the child develops in confusion not knowing his/her role in the world. In young adulthood, people begin to share themselves more intimately with others. The young adult explores relationships that could possibly lead to long–term commitments with another individual who is not a family member. The successful completion of this stage leads to comfortable relationship with the other; a sense of safety, care and commitment within the relationship. However, when he young adult avoids intimacy and relationship, and fears commitment, the end result becomes loneliness, isolation and at its worst depression (Cooper, 1991, pp104-109). In mid-adulthood, people establish their careers; begin families, developing a sense of being part of the larger society. People give back to society by bearing children and raising them, working and engaging in community activities. Failure to succeed in this stage makes people feel unproductive and stagnant. The last stage according to Erickson’s psychosocial theory deals with despair versus integrity (Cooper, 1991, pp 109-113). As people grow older, there is a tendency of slowing down in productivity and at some point retire. People contemplate their accomplishments and can develop integrity as they see themselves to have achieved success in life. In a person sees his life as unproductive, the person feels guilty about the past, dissatisfied with life and could easily despair. This can ultimately lead to hopelessness and depression. Blooms’ Taxonomy Benjamin Bloom in 1956 headed a group of educational researchers who came up with classification levels of intellectual activity that are vital for learning (Gerber and Goh, 2000, pp15-17). According to their findings, over 95 percent of test questions that pupils encounter require them to think at the lowest possible level only – to recall information. Bloom and his colleagues identified educational activities to be in three main domains or categories; cognitive, psychomotor and affective - often referred to as Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes (KSA). This classification of behaviors can generally be taken as objectives of the process of training. In other words after a student undergoes the training session, he/she should have gained new attitudes, knowledge and or skills. The researchers identified, within the cognitive domains, six levels from the recognition of facts or simple recall, as the most fundamental level, through more and more complicated and abstract mental levels, to evaluation which is the highest level. From the lowest to the highest level of the cognitive domain are: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation all of which are related to the development of the learner’s intellect (Gerber and Goh, 2000, pp 23-32). The affective domain deals with how people relate with things emotionally: values, attitudes, appreciations, feelings, motivations and enthusiasms. This domain has five main categories with the simplest behavior being receiving phenomena, followed by responding to phenomena, valuing, organization, and internalizing values being the most complex. Coordination, physical movement and application of motor-skill areas fall under the psychomotor domain. In order to develop these skills, the learner must be devoted to practice. From the simplest behavior to the most complicated, the seven categories of the domain include: perception, set, guided response, mechanism, complex overt response, adaptation and origination. Development of Thinking Skills The six main skills are complemented by thinking skills and are integrated in educational curricular of many countries. Thinking is a combination of related processes that include memory, language, use of symbols, perception and forming ideas, and structures (Gerber and Goh, 2000, pp27-31). These cognitive skills are fundamental in developing the ability to learn, to reason and to solve problems. In the United Kingdom, the curriculum that is used emphasizes that whenever use their thinking skills, they centre their attention on “knowing what” to learn and on “knowing how” to learn. Students who experience difficulties in learning also need to develop their thinking skills by working on their perception, sensory awareness and early cognitive skills. Success in thinking is basically determined by three combined processes: 1. Obtaining and, through sensory awareness, organizing knowledge and perception (input) 2. Thinking and making dealings meaningful such as through decision making, evaluating and planning (control) 3. Strategies for solving problems and using knowledge that combine “what I know” with “what I do”, like remembering and generating new ideas (output) In order for pupils to understand their environment, they must be able to perceive, take in or attend to sensory information (May, et al., 2003, pp87-90) Physical and/or sensory impairments in some children may make it difficult to separate, explain and select incoming information. For other children, storage, responses and retrieval of information may be grossly affected. Children with learning difficulties should therefore be explicitly taught how to remember and access information, and also how to develop thinking skills. Developing thinking skills may not be achieved independently since thinking is molded and influenced by the environment and culture in which pupils learn; it occurs in a social context. The teacher may for example encourage students to ask and answer questions as they work in groups during fieldwork activities which encourage their thinking (Gerber and Goh, 2000, p67). Students, in this process, learn to listen to other people’s ideas and learn to negotiate with one another. Perception and sensory awareness skills that pupils should learn include use of vision (for inspecting, fixing, focusing and tracking) use of touch (for identifying materials’ densities and differentiating textures), use of hearing ( listening and reacting to sound) and for the coordination of the different senses (taste, touch, movement and vision). At an early stage, pupils should also learn thinking skills such as predicting and anticipating, remembering (such as by clustering, verbal rehearsal and picturing), linking experiences, events and objects, understanding cause-effect relationship, and imaginative and creative thinking (like through experimentation and play) Fieldwork and its Value Fieldwork is a means by which learners can obtain first-hand experience of their environment. In teaching practical lessons such as geography, first hand experience plays a vital role. It makes learning more interesting to students while also enabling students to acquire certain vital skills that may not be easily acquired in the classroom setting. Among these include observation, investigation and experimentation, cooperation, problem solving, decision making and communication skills all of which are vital for everyday life – seven skills that Brighthouse appreciate are learnt in the field setup (May et al., 1993, pp45-47). It actually grabs the student’s attention and provides a real-life experience that will lead the students to develop geographical questions in their minds in readiness for educational enquiry. It therefore helps in providing opportunities that promote skills that are vital for higher order thinking. Previous Research on the Fieldwork Approach of Teaching It is recognized that it is notoriously difficult to measure the impact of fieldwork on learners. It does not imply that learning has taken place just by the mere fact that a pupil remembered a field trip experience. For this reason in part, many studies tend to emphasize the outcomes in the particular affective domain such as values and attitudes, or those that are interpersonal/social such as leadership or communication skills. According to a research conducted by an outdoor Activities Officer in Hampshire, Start Nundy (2001, pp86-90), three major benefits accrue from fieldwork studies to the pupil; 1. It aids in developing long-term memory as a result of the memorable nature of the setting in the field, 2. It acts as a reinforcement between the cognitive and effective, each of which influence the other and hence effectively bridging for the occurrence of higher order learning, 3. There are affective benefits of the experience like improvements in social skills and individual growth. Nundy (1990, p90) further noted that residential fieldwork, on top of generating affective and positive cognitive learning among students; it can significantly be enhanced beyond levels achievable within the classroom environment. According to Dillon et al. (2005, pp 65-68), well planned fieldwork also helps teachers improve their knowledge on the subjects that they teach, and pick up new ideas and skills that they could apply in class. Fowler and McNamara in their 1975 research across the Atlantic found that compared to other approaches, the fieldwork approach was superior for teaching earth science concepts to ninth and eighth grade pupils (Smith, 1999, pp104-125). Another study conducted in 1999 by Manzanal and other researchers showed that fieldwork helped in increasing the conceptual understanding of Spanish students between the ages of 14 and 16 years (Smith, 1999, pp15-17). The study further showed that fieldwork directly intervenes in developing more favorable attitudes, among students, directed at protecting the ecosystem. Another research conducted by Falk and Dierking (1997, pp 16-21) showed that over 95% of a sample of 128 adults and children remembered field trips, and in particular those to farms, natural sites and natural centers. Fieldwork Constraints Several constraints have come in the way of teachers seeking to engage their students on fieldwork activities (Smith, 1999, pp 15-17). Some of these include unavailability of time throughout the academic year, non-availability of insurance policies to cover students and their teachers on fieldwork missions, lack of resources for carrying out fieldwork activities and pessimism from parents or school administrations regarding fieldwork among other reasons. Despite safety fears and concerns about fieldwork resources, the situation in the United Kingdom appears quite promising (Smith, 1999, pp18-24). According to a report on outdoor learning (Dillion et al, 2005, pp67-69), there is significant evidence showing that most schools used field centers, farms and city farms in teaching a wide range of subjects. According to the report, outdoor learning include for children include: values and beliefs, feelings and attitudes, understanding and knowledge, personal development, behaviors and actions and social development. Engaging in fieldwork activities also helped in developing understanding and knowledge of ecological, geographical and food production processes. Professionals’ General Perspective on Fieldwork In the United Kingdom, it is a statutory requirement to have fieldworks as part of geographical education art key stages one to four for all pupils. It is known to provide many unique opportunities for students who have varying preferences and different learning styles; bodily-kinesthetic, visual-spatial, naturalist and interpersonal (BakerGraham, 1994, pp54-60). Educators also recognize the fact that alternative strategies such as those involving the application of communication and information technology need to be improved to reaffirm the essence of fieldwork in education. Some writers have also argued in favor of the psychological value of fieldwork terming it as a creative form of learning. Many professionals have in essence demonstrated that while theoretical aspects of fieldwork can be differently interpreted depending on which region of the world people are in, the importance of fieldwork is globally strong. Indeed the pedagogic implications of fieldwork activities cannot be underscored in promoting the learning of geography across all learning and practical levels. Geographers and scientists in general for a long time have regarded fieldwork as an invaluable tool for understanding our environment through direct contact, gathering basic data information about the environment and fundamentally as a method for instituting geographical learning. Geographers across the world have demonstrated the fact that fieldwork in the field of geography has a considerable history (BakerGraham, 1994, p5). “The classroom experience area i can fill in” Conclusion It should be the society’s interest to make sure that the environments in which children develop is secure, loving and safe. Fieldwork directly intervenes in developing more favorable attitudes, among students, which could be directed at protecting the ecosystem. It is known to provide many unique opportunities for students who have varying preferences and different learning styles; bodily-kinesthetic, visual-spatial, naturalist and interpersonal. Despite safety fears and concerns about fieldwork resources, the situation in the United Kingdom appears quite promising. Educators also recognize the fact that alternative strategies such as those involving the application of communication and information technology need to be improved to reaffirm the essence of fieldwork in geographical education. References BakerGraham A 1994 Can outdoor education encourage creative learning opportunities Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Leadership 11-4-23;5 Cooper G 1991 The role of outdoor and field study centers in educating for the Environment Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Leadership 8-2; Dillon J ODonnell L Rickinson M Morris M Scott W and Reid A 2005 Classroom in a Rural Context Action Research Project Slough National Foundation for Educational Research Elise G and Alison M 2004 Fieldwork as part of the Geography curriculum referring to Geography option and general retrieved on 27th April, 2009 from http://www.education.gov.mt/edu/edu_division/research/research_2004/research_2004_11.htm Falk J and Dierking L 1997 School field trips assessing their long-term impact Curator 40;3- 211;8 Gerber R and Goh K 2000 Fieldwork in Geography Reflections Perspectives and Actions Geo Journal Library Vol 54 Innovating with Geography: Fieldwork retrieved on 27th April, 2009 from http://www.qca.org.uk/geography/innovating/geography_matters/fieldwork/index.htm Justin Dillon The value of fieldwork retrieved on 27th April, 2009 from http://www.geographyteachingtoday.org.uk/images/text/Fieldw_JD1.pdf May S Banks V and Richardson P 1993 Fieldwork in Action Planning Fieldwork Sheffield Geographical Society Nundy S 2001 Raising Achievement through the Environment the Case for Field Centres Doncaster National Association of Field Studies Officers Piaget J 2001 Studies in Reflecting Abstraction Hove United Kingdom Psychology Press Smith G 1999 Changing fieldwork objectives and constraints in secondary schools in England International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education 8-2; QCA Developing skills thinking skills retrieved on 27th April, 2009 from http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_1841.aspx Read More