Developing an Arctic Geology course: exploring the role of fieldwork in a challenging learning space
This article explores how students are positioned to participate in an Arctic Geology course, what challenges students meet and how developing the course might mitigate these. By analysing the decisions made in the course design, we show how the course creates specific spaces for student learning an...
| Published in: | Uniped |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | Danish English Norwegian Swedish |
| Published: |
Universitetsforlaget
2021
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.1893-8981-2021-03-04 https://doaj.org/article/b88e23781bd945b196687c516f629044 |
| Summary: | This article explores how students are positioned to participate in an Arctic Geology course, what challenges students meet and how developing the course might mitigate these. By analysing the decisions made in the course design, we show how the course creates specific spaces for student learning and specifically how the course challenges the students’ understanding of fieldwork practice. Fieldwork is an important arena for learning key concepts in geology, for the initiation into the community of practice and the disciplinary identity. The study therefore analyses the pre-, syn- and post-fieldwork components and uses the framework of Threshold Concepts to discuss the students’ experiences. The independent data collection in the field stands out as challenging for students because they are encouraged to postpone interpretations to the post-fieldwork projects. This analysis informs the discussion on the course development process and we present strategies for developing the course further. The complex interplay between the intention of the course, the function of each component and the students’ space for participating are all considered. The article thereby contributes with a detailed case study of the teaching development process within higher education. |
|---|