Student field trips in Earth, Environmental and Life sciences are an important and valued component of the curricula in higher education institutions. The key value of field trips lies in providing students with a better sense of real-world environments and equipping them with an enhanced understanding of their subject whilst introducing them to processes, problems or techniques which cannot be studied or practiced in the lecture theatre or laboratory. The fieldtrip abroad is often a student’s first international experience and therefore the most memorable and valued experience in a degree programme. However, it is the case that the experience is not always optimised for student learning. For various reasons, innovative pedagogical approaches and techniques are seldom applied. Science field trips are practically always run with a group of students from a single academic discipline ignoring the demand from employers for interdisciplinary and internationality. The key aim of this Strategic Partnership is to transform this established field-based teaching tool to improve student learning, and to better prepare students for professional practice and their lives as citizens beyond the campus. This Partnership has extensive experience (over 3 decades) of running fieldtrips abroad. Partners have researched and published on the benefits of encouraging integrative thinkers and learners, that is, helping students to make connections within and between disciplines and view challenges from multiple perspectives. The project objectives will be achieved in two ways, through staff development and student interdisciplinary, multinational field courses. 1. International field courses can be costly in time and money, and so require a significant amount of preparation and expertise to ‘make the most of being there’. This Partnership will establish a multinational interdisciplinary staff development (training the trainers) course, at an established field studies centre, for higher education field trip leaders (logistics, curricular design and implementation) that will facilitate discourse and knowledge exchange and build networks. We will introduce field course leaders to innovative teaching approaches that have been shown to build students’ capacities to meet complex challenges through team work and through discourse with industry and NGO partners. This field-based course will enable good practice approaches to field-based learning to be shared amongst participating partners, focusing on knowledge exchange between different institutions, field science disciplines and career stages of course participants. The protocols, templates and other resources developed for course design, assessment, management and logistics will be open-access and available for use by networks throughout Europe and worldwide. The objective is to build a community of trained staff who are better prepared to optimise student learning, and thus employability prospects, and who are in a position to impact positively on the practice of peers in their own institutions and beyond. 2. The Partnership will set up and run fully accredited multinational, interdisciplinary field courses for students. Students will be introduced to unfamiliar environments, and work with peers from other science disciplines to meet real world, career-realistic, challenges. This will take the form of authentic research in interdisciplinary teams. Associated partners from industry and NGOs will provide relevant expertise and perspectives and enhance students’ preparedness for employment. During their field projects students will learn to apply modern technology to meet their challenges in real world scientific and commercial situations. Data collected during field work by students will be hosted in a specifically developed open data platform that will allow for future expansion, meta-analysis and collaboration with other students, and researchers. We envisage that both activities will promote new interdisciplinary networking for course participants (students and staff) and their host institutions and result in the dissemination of evidence-based good practice in field-based pedagogy. We will use the ECTS system for accreditation, as well as micro-credentialing, and will seek other routes to accreditation from appropriate professional bodies (e.g. Royal Geographic Society). We will disseminate this information through summary reports following each field course, conference presentations, submissions to peer-reviewed pedagogic journal literature a website with downloadable resources, and via a culminating report at the conclusion of the project. This will ensure sustainability and impact beyond the Project partners.
Student fieldwork is an essential part of the curriculum in several disciplines. The key value of field trips lies in providing students with a better sense of real-world environments & equipping them with an enhanced understanding of their subject whilst introducing them to processes, problems or techniques which cannot be studied or practiced in the lecture theatre or laboratory. The field trip abroad is often the most memorable & valued experience in a degree programme. However, field trips are not always optimised for student learning. since Innovative pedagogical approaches & techniques are seldom used. Field trips are practically always run with a group of students from a single academic discipline ignoring the demand from employers graduates who have had hands-on experience of working in interdisciplinary & international teams. The key aims of IFiT were: 1. develop a format underpinned by evidence-based good practice for an interdisciplinary European field trip 2. launch the first professional development course & web based Open Educational Resources (OER) for residential field-course coordinators, modelling good practice & involving exchange of knowledge between teachers working in different countries & different academic disciplines. 3. employ the latest GIS data collection & mapping applications (including smartphone) developed for field work. 4. to establish a unique interdisciplinary, multinational field module. These were achieved in two ways, through staff development & student interdisciplinary, multinational field courses. 1. The IFiT Partnership established a multinational interdisciplinary staff development (TTT - Training The Trainers) course, for higher education field trip leaders, covering aspects such as logistics, health & safety, curricular design & implementation that facilitates discourse & knowledge exchange & which also served to help build networks. The TTT workshop was held five times during the project period with a total of 54 participants (18 Portuguese/ 20 Irish/ 16 Germans). These workshops were carried out at an established field studies centre. Field trip leaders were introduced to innovative teaching approaches that have been shown to build students’ capacities to meet complex challenges through team work & through discourse with industry & NGO partners. These field-based courses enabled good practice in the approach to field-based learning to be shared amongst participating partners, focusing on knowledge exchange between different institutions, field science disciplines & career stages of course participants. Protocols, templates & other resources for course design, assessment, management & logistics were developed. They are available via the project website. 2. The Partnership set up & ran multinational, interdisciplinary field courses for students. Of these SPWs, eight could be carried out during the project period. 111 students took part - seven of them only remotely due to the pandemic situation. Students were introduced to unfamiliar environments, & worked with peers from other science disciplines to meet real world, career-realistic, challenges. This took place in the form of authentic research in interdisciplinary multinational teams. Associated partners from industry & NGOs provided relevant expertise & perspectives & enhanced students’ preparedness for employment. During their field projects students learned to apply modern technology to meet their challenges in real world scientific & commercial situations. Data collected during field work by students was hosted in specifically developed smartphone apps for the collection of environmental parameters in the field & data exchange based on Kobo Toolbox that will allow for future expansion, meta-analysis & collaboration with other students & researchers. Due to the particular challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, which started during the project period, alternative approaches to the traditional field trip were also worked on. The result was the concept of a virtual SPW, which retained the element of student-led field-based research & international, interdisciplinary collaboration. The created course was based on inputs & exchange via video conference, field research at the respective locations of the students & the joint creation of videos in which the research & its results were presented. This remote approach was conducted once with 18 participants. In total, 129 students participated in the 9 SPWs (54 Portuguese/26 Irish/49 Germans). The students came from different disciplines (Biology, European Studies, Geography, Geology, Environmental Systems Science). To disseminate the results, a website was created where the project products can be downloaded. In addition, 6 multiplier events were held with 74 participants from companies, governmental organisations & NGOs. Mobilities & results were presented at events for students. The scientific results were disseminated at conferences & in 5 scientific articles.