Organizing Field Trips in Geography
Chan Lung Sang
Department of Earth Sciences University of Hong Kong
assisted by
Connie Wu Geography Curriculum, EMB
Leung Pik Sai St Mary’s Church College EMB Geography Enhancement Course
Reform Proposal for
Education System in Hong Kong Curriculum design
• To encourage cross-curricular
and inquiry-based approaches to learning to help students
develop self-learning and life- long learning attitude.
[EMB, Review of Academic Structure of Senior Secondary Education, Executive Summary, 2004]
Workshop on Field Studies
• The Essence and Modes of Field Studies
• Facilitating Field Studies in Hong Kong
• PBL – A New Mode of Field Studies
• The St Mary Church School Experience
Balancing the Triangle
Logistics and Resources
Liability and Risk
Academic Merits
Field
Studies
Why taking students to the field?
• Illustrate taught concepts with real samples
• Enable students to attain a more complete picture
• Develop an appreciation of the complexities of real- life cases
cross-disciplinary nature lack of definitive solutions
• Best venue to train observing and describing skills
• Students enjoy more, learn better
• Teachers enjoy more, teach better
The intangible merits
• To be challenged physically
• Opportunity to work and live collaboratively
• Learn to appreciation of nature and cultural heritage
• Learn to become a responsible member or a team and of Society
Some Fieldwork Approaches
Emphasis on Quantification (analytical approach)
Emphasis on Affective Learning (systems approach) Student-centredTeacher-led
Discovery fieldwork
(teacher functions as animateur)
Hypothesis Testing
Enquiry Fieldwork
(teacher functions as resource provider)
Earth Education
Field excursion
(teacher functions as guide and interpreter)
After Lambert & Balderstone (2000) Learning to Teach Geography in the Secondary School, London: Routledge Falmer
A comparison of two approaches
(after Principia Cybernetica Project)
leads to multidisciplinary education leads to discipline-specific education
integrates duration of time and irreversibility
independent of duration of time;
phenomena considered reversible.
modifies groups of variables simultaneously
modifies one variable at a time
emphasizes global perception; fuzzy details
emphasizes the precision of details;
avoids overall perspective
studies the effects of interactions studies the nature of interaction
concentrates on the interaction amount elements
concentrates on the values of individual elements
Systems approach Analytical approach
*Field studies must essentially employ the systems approach.
Modes of Field Studies
• Teacher-centered, using field as classroom (no prior lecturing)
• Teacher-centered, integrate field learning into classroom teaching
• Teacher-centered, conducting canned exercises in field
• Student-centered, undertaking field project prescribed by teacher
• Student-centered, undertaking field project designed by themselves
Increasing involvement of students Subject expertise of teacher Easiest
More DifficultMore Difficult
Workshop on Field Studies
• The Essence and Modes of Field Studies
• Facilitating Field Studies in Hong Kong
• PBL – A new mode of field studies
• The St Mary Church School Experience
Field Excursions for Geography
• Slopes, Weathering & Badlands
• Faults & Folds
• River Features
• Beaches, Coastal Landforms
• Rocks & Minerals
• Urban and rural development
• Environment, resources and social issues
Slopes and highland streams:
Nam Chung, Luk Keng, Wu Kau Teng area
Ping Fung Shan (escarpment) Nam Chung (wetland habitat)
Hok Dau (entrenched meander) Wu Kau Teng (raised terrace)
Faults & Folds: Ma Shi Chau, Lai Chi Chong
Rocks: Central, Lamma, North
Lantau, Shing Mun River
Field Excursions in HK
• Slopes and highland streams: Lantau, Nam Chung
• Faults & Folds: Ma Shi Chau, Lai Chi Chong
• River features: No good natural river systems, much to see about river training
• Beach & coast: numerous, Sai Kung, Long Ke, raised beach
• Rocks: Central, Lamma Is, North Lantau, Shing Mun River
• Weathering: Cheung Chau, Lamma Is., Ninepins
Modes of Field Studies
• Teacher-centered, using field as classroom (no prior lecturing)
• Teacher-centered, integrate field learning into classroom teaching
• Teacher-centered, conducting canned exercises in field
• Student-centered, undertaking field project prescribed by teacher
• Student-centered, undertaking field project designed by themselves
Common Field Problems
• Variation in students’ level and ability
• Dominance by few bright students
• Lack of interaction among students
• Constrained thinking in set exercises
• Lack of opportunities to observe and reason
• Solution-driven (analytical approach)
*Advantages of field teaching not fully utilised
Example: Description of Rocks
How do we normally do it?
• What are the major minerals in the rock?
• What kind of rock is it, igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic?
• What is the name of the rock?
How do we normally do it?
• What do you call this kind of weathering feature?
• How does it happen?
• What kind of weathering is it? Chemical or physical?
Example: Weathering
What are in the student’s mind?
Did I learning about it in class?
What‘s the answer?
What’s the answer?
What‘s the answer?
I think I should know…
I know I know…
Darn! I am just a pig!
Can these practices be enhanced in the field exercise?
• Observe
• Describe
• Infer
• Hypothesize
• Propose investigation methods
Redesigning the questions!!
What are the major minerals in the rock?
WHAT can you describe about the rock? For example, colour is obviously one. WHAT
ELSE?
What kind of rock is it, igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic?
How may you measure these properties?
What is the name of the rock?
What does each of the properties tell you about the rock?
Composition? Minerals? Freshness?
Eye-ball Colour
What does it say about the rock How to measure
Property
WHAT can you describe about the properties of the rocks? For example, colour is obviously one. WHAT ELSE? CAN YOU LIST AT LEAST 9
OTHERS readily determined properties? What does each of the properties tell us about the rock? (Group)
What do we call this kind of weathering feature?
Describe this exposure. What are the most remarkable characteristics?
How does it happen?
What caused the distinctly different colours in the rock?
What kind of weathering is it? Chemical or physical?
Why did oxidation occur at those particular locations?
*Technical terms vs. Generic terms
How did rectangular joint intersections produce rounded core stone?
Nature of weathering process
Conditions for weathering
How can reaction be sped up?
Gibbs free energy
(surface area/volume ratio)
Weathering spheroids
*Guided thinking vs. Constrained thinking
A comparison of two approaches
(after Principia Cybernetica Project)
leads to multidisciplinary education leads to discipline-specific education
integrates duration of time and irreversibility
independent of duration of time;
phenomena considered reversible.
modifies groups of variables simultaneously
modifies one variable at a time
emphasizes global perception; fuzzy details
emphasizes the precision of details;
avoids overall perspective
studies the effects of interactions studies the nature of interaction
concentrates on the interaction amount elements
concentrates on the values of individual elements
Systems approach Analytical approach
*Field studies must essentially employ the systems approach.
How did the wave-cut platform form?
• Erosion
• Hydraulic action by waves
• Abrasion by sediments
• …..
The analytical approach
Considering the coastal landform as an open system, use a system diagram to depict the processes and elements of this system
The systems approach
input output
Subsystems Processes Components
INPUT Energy:
Solar energy Wave energy
Gravity Matter:
Rain Seawater Ground water
Sediment debris
OUTPUT Water Sediment
Energy Organics
Atmosphere systemocean subsystem
Subsurface subsystem
PHYSIOGRAPHY SUBSYSTEM
BIOLOGY SUBSYSTEM COASTAL SYSTEM
EROSION
MASS WASTING
WEATHERING
CLIFF RETREAT
WAVE CUT PLATFORM
Rock pool Rocky shore
