Why do field trips work? Using the pedagogy of field trips to plan better course experiences

Abstract:

Field experiences are a fundamental and well-loved tool for teaching Earth and Environmental Sciences. However, a number of concerns threaten continued incorporation of field experiences into courses, including increased class sizes, strained finances, legal liability, accessibility concerns, and the effects of COVID-19. These effects have fallen disproportionately on two-year colleges and large public universities, which are likely to have large populations of students from groups that are underrepresented in STEM. Because of this, it is critically important to investigate and articulate the value of field trips. Understanding their value helps to ensure administrative support for their continued use, and further, applying the best practices learned from field trips to emerging virtual and asynchronous field experiences will improve student learning.

By reviewing existing literature on traditional field trips and courses, virtual field experiences, and accessible field trips, we have identified several attributes that contribute to the value of field trips as a pedagogical tool. The strength of field activities lies in 1) the integration of active learning, 2) the co-creation of knowledge through collaborative, problem-based activities, 3) place-based learning that provides real-world context, and 4) rapid feedback between peers and instructors. These strategies are well-represented in scholarship on teaching and learning, and the few studies that compare outcomes between courses with and without field components show that student learning is positively impacted by field activities. Additionally, the strategies implemented in field learning may help to reduce the achievement gap for underrepresented groups (e.g. Beltran et al., 2020). When designing virtual and asynchronous field activities, instructors should aim to re-create as many of these attributes as possible to make courses that are as impactful as those with traditional field trips.