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This experimental study investigates the effectiveness of virtual experiential learning in fostering student engagement by comparing the engagement and learning outcomes of two groups of students. One group (n = 69) participated in a virtual field trip to a winery, while the other group (n = 36) completed the field trip in person as part of an undergraduate culinary tourism course. A mixed-method approach was used to collect and triangulate data from a student engagement survey, reflective diaries, and assessment marks, which were analyzed using T-test and ANOVA, thematic analysis and descriptive statistics, respectively. Results showed that experiential learning increased students’ skill and emotional engagement in both groups while having no impact on participation and performance engagement. Skill engagement was significantly higher in the virtual group, while the in-person group scored slightly higher in emotional and performance engagement. Deep learning, however, was only reported by students who completed the in-person field trip. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affective engagement is critical if environmental education is to promote pro-environmental behaviors. Given the contextual complexities impacting the affective domain in environmental education, affective engagement may vary depending on the programs, cohorts and classes. In this ethnographic case study, we used point-of-view (POV) camera glasses along with written and verbal student reflections to track the moment-to-moment first-person experiences and the post-trip reflections of secondary school students associated with an ecology field trip to a local coastal area. This case study offers an in-depth account of two students' affective engagement during the field trip. One student demonstrated great interest and curiosity when learning about nature despite being scared to touch wildlife, whereas another student demonstrated limited interest in the field trip but showed a strong desire to protect nature. These findings suggest a complicated, unpredictable relationship between interest in and curiosity about nature, motivation and constraints to learn, environmental consciousness, intention, and ability to act on behalf of nature. Future research should attend to why students feel the way they feel and how they achieve affective learning outcomes during planned and chance encounters in natural outdoor settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to increase inclusion in the geosciences have progressed much in the past few decades. As inclusion grows our procedures and methods for accommodating individuals' needs must adapt. Responsible leaders must grow to meet challenges in a way that mirrors modern approaches to dealing with hardships individuals face. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and related conditions are a growing problem among students. Often compounded by the trying nature of field work, individuals with anxiety disorders encounter challenges that can leave the person debilitated and unresponsive. Simple measures can provide support allowing more individuals to maximize their field experiences. While leaders always carry first aid kits and a basic knowledge of treatment of minor wounds, many people are unprepared for aiding a colleague experiencing anxiety-related symptoms such as Acute Panic Attacks (APAs) or induced mutism. This paper describes simple methods for identifying and managing acute symptoms as well as determining when professional medical intervention is necessary. Our aim is to provide Earth scientists of all education levels a basic overview of the acute symptoms of APAs and provide a guide for preventing and aiding affected colleagues in a field setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an anthropocynical epoch of severe environmental crisis, geoscientists have unique skills to drive the transition to sustainability. Therefore, the geological literacy of society is essential to seek solutions to major challenges. However, the formal education of geology differs considerably from the desirable. Fortunately, there are out of school organizations in charge of geology outreach. In this work, an analysis and redesign of the teaching material offered by the GeoEskolak program of the Geopark of the Basque Coast is carried out. This material is aimed to 4th grade secondary education students who visit the Flysch of Zumaia. The new "Teacher's Manual" has been developed following the strategy defined by the DBS methodology for the design of a sequence and is adapted to the LOMLOE curriculum and the Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science education should encompass enculturation in science which implies performing scientific practices such as use of data and modelling, in authentic contexts like the field. This work aims to determine how preservice elementary teachers (PETs) use data obtained in the field, and how these data contribute to the process of building a model of geological change. Forty-one Preservice Elementary Teachers (PETs) participated in the study. A mixed methods design was used. The data from the conversations of nine groups during the six sessions following a field trip were categorized by constant comparison according to how the data from the field were used. The cases of field data used for modelling were further categorised through the Modelling Model Diagram framework. The PETs´ perception was examined by means of an open-ended question. PETs did use field trip as a learning resource and appealed to it without being explicitly required to. Seven groups used the data for the modelling process, mainly for creating and testing the model. Data were used in four of the groups as evidence for evaluating the validity of models. PETs perceived the field trip to be useful. Specifically, they acknowledged its usefulness whilst carrying out operations related to the creation of the model but they showed lack of awareness about the usefulness of performing other important operations. The findings suggest that the field trip may be a valuable resource for developing scientific practices such as the use of data and modelling in science education. The positive perception of the PETs about the usefulness of the field trip for the learning process may foster their involvement in the design and implementation of such field trips in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Study tours are known to have an important role in enriching the knowledge of students in all fields. Our study aimed to evaluate the experience of a postgraduate and faculty study tour in the field of mental health. Methods: We obtained both quantitative and descriptive feedback from 31 participants who had taken part in the annual study tour conducted in the years 2014–2018 using a specially designed feedback pro forma. Results: All the participants reported overall satisfaction with the tour. Learning was enhanced, and most found the tour relevant to their current field of study. They particularly enjoyed the experience of traveling in a peer group without faculty supervision and learning to make decisions as a group. Their chief concerns were about the continuous travel and the limited time allotted to each center. Conclusions: A well-planned study tour during training helps trainees in the mental health field improve their knowledge, hone practical skills, and learn life lessons; it promotes bonding with peers and fosters self-directed learning and independence. The limitations were the inability to have direct face-to-face interviews with most participants and the study tour centers being limited to a small geographical area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary is a response to the Area commentary by Mark Griffiths and Kate Baker, which draws focus on the problematic prominence of colonial material histories at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)'s Lowther Lodge site. We outline an undergraduate field trip – run collaboratively by University College London (UCL) and the RGS‐IBG since 2018 – for first‐year UCL geography students that aims to make them both aware of geography's problematic colonial histories, and party to the ways the discipline is changing and critically engaging with its past. Positioned at the intersections of teaching and research, we highlight this field trip because we believe it stands as an example of precisely the kind of decolonial engagement with the RGS‐IBG for which Griffiths and Baker call. This commentary describes a decolonial field trip run jointly by UCL and the RGS‐IBG for UCL's first year undergraduate geography students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Architectural design and its education are physio- and socio-spatial activities. In other words, creating space is concerned with understanding the physical as well as the social/cultural context to produce meaning and values beyond determining and answering the right questions. Informal learning environments have always been an integral part of the profession even before its formal definition. Experiential learning or field trips play a significant role in architectural and spatial design education, yet procedural aspects of designing such a journey have not been discussed by educators regarding active and informal learning. This paper aims to understand the role of field trips and re-discover how they contribute to spatial design education at undergraduate level through the processes of learning by doing and research by design / design by research. The field trips, or the context, are discussed with a three-fold focus as an interdisciplinary design process: (1) Understanding the study field from macro to micro scale; (2) Experiencing and observing the society, culture and daily life; (3) Comparative studies through visits to buildings with similar programs. Case studies with local, national and international/foreign contexts from design studios of primary and secondary cycles are presented in order to illustrate this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a great importance for undergraduate biology students to study organisms in their natural context. Safety concerns surrounding the global COVID‐19 pandemic prevented Marine Invertebrate Zoology students at the University of Tampa from participating in traditional faculty‐led field trips during the Fall of 2020. Instead, students were assigned to conduct a diversity‐focused field trip on their own and report their findings. Here we describe considerations and methods for creating a safe and valuable self‐guided field trip assignment for upper‐level invertebrate zoology students. These methods are adaptable for a variety of different habitat types and can be conducted with little to no special equipment or training. Students were successful in completing this assignment and found it highly enriching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine the effect of the instructional plan which includes workshops pedagogically modelling the exhibitions at science centres for an effective field trip, on high school students' learning the concepts on 'Simple Machines: Pulley and Levers'. In this study, a semi-experimental design with the pre- and post-test control group was used in a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection tools. In this study, which was conducted in physics courses for four weeks, according to the convenience sampling method, one control and three experimental groups consisting of 9th-grade students (n = 32). Four groups were created as: traditional teaching in the control group, a field trip to the science centre after teaching the subject in the experimental group 1, workshop after the field trip to the science centre in the experimental group 2, a field trip to the science centres after the workshop in the experimental group 3. Simple machines concept test and semi-structured interview forms were used as data collection tools in the research. The research concluded that field trips that were made with the instructional plan containing workshops pedagogically modelling the exhibitions in the science centre had a significant effect on the conceptual achievements of the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, it was aimed to reveal middle school students' views about Konya Science Center. The study was conducted with 40 fifth and sixth-grade students from a public school in the 2nd term of the education year 2017-2018. A case study methodology was used as a qualitative research design. As a data collection tool, a form including openended questions about Konya Science Center was used both before and after visiting the science center. Besides, semi-structured interviews were carried out with the students after the visit. A content analysis technique was used to analyze the research data. The findings showed that the participants had some experience about the affordances and limitations of science centers after the visit. Students expressed that science centers help them develop new scientific ideas and that they are interesting and intriguing. Also, they expressed that there are too many scientific activities to implement in the science center. Based on the research findings, school principals are suggested to increase the number of visits to science centers. Besides, it should be emphasized that science center visits are not just for fun but for having students learn and consolidate the curriculum learning objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecopedagogy, or place‐based, experiential, and environmental education, has become a critical part of contemporary environmental and geographic learning, in attempts to tackle perceived moral panics around childhood and environmental crisis. Drawing upon research with children taking part in a "summer club" in the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, Wales, this paper critically explores instances of ecopedagogy within the educational landscape of the National Park. We examine the moral geographies of ecopedagogy through our concept of geocoaching, which attempts to explicate the workings of embodied practices, or habits, interwoven with how personal and social memories are brought to bear in outdoor educational activities. We take three examples of geocoaching – a bug hunt; a walk to a standing stone; and an outdoor filming and photography exercise – to explore how past, present, and future selves and fields are co‐produced by educators and children. In doing so, this paper questions the straightforward traceability between ecopedagogy, critical ecological consciousness, and future environmental stewardship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field trips are important part of biology lessons because they enable to connect the theoretical and practical part of teaching and to present the products of nature in their natural environment. This proposal is focused on field trip during winter season in which the students observe the birds on non-frozen bodies of water and it is intended for primary and lower secondary students. Both field trips are divided into initial phase at school, the phase in the field and the summary performed at school again. Students in both cases solve the worksheets and learn to cooperate in the group during dealing with different tasks. These tasks are designed as lower levels of inquiry so these worksheets are suitable for students with minimal inquiry experience. They will also learn how to recognize different species of birds and observe their behavior, which are the main research procedures in vertebral zoology. The field trip was performed with the students from primary level and students from lower cycle of grammar school. We present both modification of worksheets in this paper based on different age of students. It was verified that proposed materials are applicable into the practice at both selected educational levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review study aims to: (1) provide an overview of development of the educational research about the use of field trips as a teaching resource in Didactics of Experimental Sciences; and (2) synthesize the main educational implications referred to it. Thus, the articles published between 2000-2017 and hosted in Web of Science and Scopus databases were reviewed. The results approved around the fields: (1) author/s and year; (2) country; (3) scientific discipline; (4) educational stage; (5) context; (6) methodology; and (7) educational implications. The main results point to irruption of the scientific production on this line of investigation, in spite of not abounding prolific authors in her. In addition, we have proven that United States is the country where the greatest numbers of jobs have been carried out, while the preferential educational stage to carry out field trips is Primary Education. The natural spaces are placed as the most visited context and the Environment, Biology and Geology as the preferred disciplines for field trips. Finally, the main educational implications point to the promotion of positive attitudes and emotions, as well as the acquisition of contents as strengths of field trips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper details a research study, conducted by the Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) and Toledo Public Schools (TPS), outlining the impact of visual literacy interventions on pre-literacy development. Because TPS K-3 students regularly fail the state report card in literacy, the two groups co-developed a curriculum that enhanced tier two vocabulary acquisition for preschool students. Elements of the curriculum, detailed in the paper, included regular visits to the TMA and curricula interventions in TPS classrooms further promote art museums as valuable resources for learning in and out of schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This following paper deals with Geographical Education through field trips and their potentialities in teaching Geography. The city, which emerges as a stage for field trips, is not only a passive agent in this context, but a space that educates through its objects and actions. It shows, from such understandings, a proposal of field trips to two places in the city of Porto Alegre - RS: the Historic District and the Cemetery of Santa Casa de Misericordia. The concepts experienced in this field trip go beyond the issues of urban geography, since there are various conceptual and analytical possibilities to be explored in the places visited, as demonstrated throughout the text. Considering teaching Geography from urban experiences place the student as a social subject, inserted in a real context of a city that pulsates, vibrates and moves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The collaboration between Museum Victoria and ReMSTEP partners: the University of Melbourne and Deakin University has enabled the development of the Reconceptualising Rocks project, designed to enhance the teaching of Earth Science for pre-service Science teachers. This study sought to determine how perceptions and understandings of Earth Science could be enhanced through immersion in the contextual learning in the Museum. Furthermore, the project aimed to explore how science ideas and practices can be translated for educational purposes. The findings revealed that participants found Earth Science interesting and were able to identify links to other Science areas. These findings have implications for the teaching of Earth Science across the curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education brings changes in behavior of the individual in a desirable manner. It aims at all round development of an individual to become mature, self-sufficient, intellectually, culturally refined, socially efficient and spiritually advanced. In experience-based is that the experience of the learner occupies central place in all considerations of teaching and learning. A key element of experience-based learning is that learners analyze their experience by reflecting, evaluating and reconstructing it in order to draw meaning from it in the light of prior experience. The main aim of the study is to assess the knowledge of nursing students before and after Experience based learning and to determine the attitude of EBL at the end of the field trips. A quasi Experimental research design was adopted. Sample free technique was used to select the 90 B.sc and M.sc (N) students. The data was collected by using semi structured knowledge questionnaire. Inferential and descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data. There was a significant difference in pre test and post test mean score (t= 15.98 at p<0.001). A weak positive correlation was found between post- test knowledge and attitude. There is a significant improvement in knowledge of students in various child welfare services among the present students (Χ =3.18±.421)thanthepreviousyear(Χ=2.86±.371). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field trips play a significant role in the building of expert knowledge of numerous institutions. So why is their nature and significance for knowledge production rarely discussed in the anthropology of expertise? In this paper, I draw on the particular instance of an expert field trip undertaken by a disaster management organization in the Indian state of Odisha in the aftermath of Cyclone Phailin in 2013. I show that field trips are contingent practices defined by their sequential logic, relationships, interests, and by the personal perceptions of people who undertake them. The choice of personnel to carry out this field exercise is fundamental and depends on institutional views of aims and understandings of what constitutes expertise. In line with E. Summerson Carr's argument that expertise is something people "do" rather than "hold", I show that enacting expert status serves to assert power and to enable its holder to achieve their aims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children in today's society are far from natural environments and in need of contact with nature, which may be why various symptoms such as stress or anxiety. There is research showing that contact with nature is beneficial to the development of infants in addition to encouraging a more pro-environmental attitude. This paper aims to educate the students of the Degree in Early Childhood Education of those benefits by implementing a series of activities focused on the use of urban parks as a resource for the approach to the nature of children. It is necessary that university, school and family encourage the use and enjoyment of these spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the strengths associated with integrating experiential learning from the classroom into the field for enhancing business aviation education, and proposes a model that combines traditional delivery methods that utilize flexible distance-based technologies in digital platforms. Field trips contribute to the development of student knowledge with real-world learning activities that allow students to refine critical-thinking skills. Within the Aviation Business Administration undergraduate degree program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Singapore Campus, the use of field trips unveil the complexities found in the aviation industry and manufacturing areas to improve student learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sense of belonging is a student’s sense of feeling accepted, valued, encouraged, and included by others in their discipline. Sense of belonging fundamentally influences behavior and is linked to academic and career outcomes. Recent projections indicate there will not be enough qualified college graduates for requisite STEM agriculture careers. Further, there is an ethnic disparity in STEM agriculture degree recipients. As Black and Hispanic students have higher attrition than White students in STEM, there is an opportunity to implement educational interventions to improve their sense of belonging and increase matriculation into the agriculture workforce. The objective of this study was to evaluate if an experiential learning opportunity, a five-day tour of the beef cattle industry, changed students’ sense of belonging with a focus on ethnicity. Procedures involving human subjects were approved by Texas State University IRB (#8309). Students from two universities attended a beef cattle industry tour in the Texas Panhandle in May 2022. Students toured facilities, interacted with industry professionals, and reflected on their experiences through daily entries in journals. Pre- and post-tests were administered via Qualtrics as identical questionnairebased survey instruments immediately before and after the tour. Questions were adapted from previously validated instruments. Sense of belonging metrics were scored on a 5-point Likert scale where 1=Strongly disagree and 5=Strongly agree. Cronbach’s alpha for the pre-survey was 0.71 and for the post-survey was 0.74. Statistical analyses were conducted with SPSS v.26. Independent sample t-tests were used to evaluate the change from pre- to post-survey responses and oneway ANOVA was used to evaluate the difference in responses between ethnicities. Students (n = 21) were predominantly female (81%); attended Texas A&M University (67%) or Texas State University (33%); and were White (52%), Hispanic (33%), or Black (14%). We combined “Hispanic” and “Black” into a single independent variable to analyze differences between White (52%) and non-White (48%) students. Before the tour, there was a difference (P = 0.05) in sense of belonging between White (4.33 ± 0.16) and ethnic minority (3.73 ± 0.23) students such that White students had a stronger sense of belonging in agriculture. There was no change (P = 0.55) in White students’ sense of belonging as a result of the tour, from 4.33 ± 0.16 to 4.39 ± 0.44. However, there was a change (P ≤ 0.01) in ethnic minority students’ sense of belonging, from 3.73 ± 0.23 to 4.37 ± 0.27. Ultimately, participating in the tour increased Hispanic and Black, but not White, students’ sense of belonging. One potential benefit of implementing experiential learning opportunities in dynamic social environments is improving students’ sense of belonging, especially in careers/industries where ethnic minorities are underrepresented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An interdisciplinary field trip to a remote marine lab joined graduate students from fine arts and natural resource science departments to think creatively about the topic of climate change and science communication. We followed a learning cycle framework to allow the students to explore marine ecosystems and participate in scientific lectures, group discussions, and an artist-led project making abstract collages representing climate change processes. Students subsequently worked in small groups to develop environmental communication material for public visitors. We assessed the learning activity and the communication product using pre- and post-field trip participant surveys, focus group discussions, and critiques by art and communication experts of the products. Significant changes in knowledge about climate change occurred in program participants. Incorporating artists and the arts into this activity helped engage multiple senses and emphasized social interaction, as well as providing support to participants to think creatively. The production of art helped to encourage peer learning and normalize the different views among participants in communicating about climate change impacts. Students created effective communication products based on external reviews. Disciplinary differences in cultures, language, and standards challenged participating faculty, yet unanticipated outcomes such as potentially transformative learning and improved teacher evaluations resulted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports the efficacy of a research-based learning (RBL) exercise on hydropedology of arid zones, with guided and open research projects (OPR) carried out by teams of undergraduate students in Oman. A range of activities and assessments was used to support student learning during the three-month course. Assessment included monitoring of field trip and lab activities, attendance recording, scrutiny by a panel of written reports and open oral presentations. Students’ feedback through teaching evaluation is compared with other courses in the Department-College, illustrating high level of students’ satisfaction. OPR best fit the scaffold of RBL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Photovoice is one method that enables an educator to view an experience from a student’s perspective. This study examined how teachers might use photovoice during an informal learning experience to understand the students’ experiences and experiential gain. Design and methods:Participants in this study consisted of six students, three male and three female, ranging from ninth through twelfth grade at a rural Ohio high school, who attended a field trip to a biological field station for a four-day immersive science experience. Students were provided cameras to photograph what they believed was important, interesting, or significant during an immersive four-day science trip to a biological field station, individualizing their observations in ways meaningful to them, and enabling them to assimilate or accommodate the experiences to their schema. Results:Analysis identified five positive benefits to use photovoice as an evaluation tool: teachers were provided qualitative evidence to evaluate student interaction on the field trip; teachers could evaluate the students’ photographs and captions to determine if the field trip met the learning objectives; students were empowered to approach the goals and objectives of the field trip by making the field trip personally relevant; students assimilated and accommodated the new observations and experiences to their own schema; students automatically reflected upon the learning experience as they captioned the photos. Conclusions:Through photovoice, the teachers were enabled to qualitatively assess each student’s experience and learning from the field trip by illustrating what the students experienced and thought was significant; providing the teachers a method to evaluate all participating students, including those who are secretive or do not normally contribute to class discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2011, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois embarked on the creation of a program that allows middle and high school students to explore community health issues using human patient simulation. MedLab was created to engage students in an authentic exploration of medical science, biology, and human anatomy, with a particular focus on how these fields apply to learners’ lives. The program content is made relevant through an emphasis on personal health, community health, and medical science career pathways. This article explores the development, implementation, use of technology, and outcomes of MedLab. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Schools may be places of learning, but a great deal of learning occurs outside of school. A growing body of literature investigates how school field trips allow rural students to make real-life connections with their school curriculum. This paper contributes to that area of research by describing how students from five middle schools in the United States responded to a travelling museum exhibition hosted at a non-museum site. The authors explore the impact of the exhibition on students from poor, rural backgrounds, discussing how it helped them to engage with themes such as freedom of expression, democracy, citizenship and Holocaust education. The results show that, by connecting curricular content with real-life situations, field trips such as this have the potential to change not only students' understanding of the curriculum, but also their teachers' estimation of their abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address declining attendance and local interest in its property, the historic Thompson House, The Ward Melville Heritage Organization developed a new program, Medicine: Past, Present and Future. This article describes how the new program has replaced the traditional tour with an active learning experience, turning visitors from passive observers to active participants. More importantly, the new program uses contemporary medical practice to help participants understand and connect to an eighteenth century doctor and his world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study, is to assess the current situation of the supplementary outdoor learning process in Turkey Primary Schools by gathering the findings of inquiries via metasynthesis method. Data of this study are derived from the 18 thesis and dissertatitions held between 2004-2014. Synthesis findings are represented below as: - Teachers who conduct suplementary active outdoor learning activities mostly perform preparative activities before outdoor learning. - Pupils, find those preparative activities as helpful and beneficial. - The learning experience gained in outdoor learning places is expressed as effective by pupils and teachers. - Acording to pupils' and teachers' view, active outdoor learning contributes to pupils' cognitive and emotional development. In this context, it provides more meaningful, joyful and retentive learning experiences. - Reinforcing activities performed in classrooms after outdoor learning is insufficient according to pupils' view, is average according to teachers' view. Pupils, find it important and beneficial to support with reinforcing activities in classroom after outdoor learning activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development studies employs theories, tools and methods often found in geography, including the international field trip to a “developing” country. In 2013 and 2014, I led a two-week trip to Ethiopia. To better comprehend the effects of “the field” on students’ learning, I introduced an assessed reflexive field diary to understand what the field trip experience teaches students about themselves and their relationship to the field. In this paper, I present critical reflections on “the field” that speak to a provocative concept – “the tropics”. These reflections illuminate prevailing challenges in the study and practice of development and suggest a way forward. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The first of the following two narratives is a personal reflection by the instructor of 'Narrative Approaches to Bioethics,' an elective in the PhD program at the Albert Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics at Saint Louis University. The author argues that perhaps the primary goal of medical ethics education should be to show how to construct plausible and defensible interpretations of human experience and sensibly resolve the problems that these happenings occasion. To that end, the author engaged the sympathetic reading capacities of his students by 'thwarting' their expectations for medicalized case studies to 'dissect' and instead chose works that invited careful readings of morally-complex literary works. One such reading was Huckleberry Finn, which the class read on the book's 100 anniversary. Huckleberry Finn chronicles Huck's search for truth, goodness and justice on the Mississippi River-a location the class explored on a field trip. The second narrative is the personal reflection of one of the students in this class and attests to the moral pedagogical power of Huck Finn. He relates the insights gleaned from a particular passage where Huck confronts moralistic dogmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper comprises a presentation of the findings of a case study that investigated how situational factors triggered 12th grade students’ interest during a field trip to a zoo. The purpose was to identify sources of interest and to investigate the attributes that make them interesting. Students’ interest was investigated by a descriptive interpretive approach, based on data from classroom and field trip observations, video recording, and interviews. The findings provided evidence that substantial situational interest can be generated during a fieldtrip to a zoo. Students’ interest was triggered by variables such as active involvement (hands-on activities), novelty, surprise, and knowledge acquisition (activities and provided information), and social involvement (opportunities for socialisation). The results show that strong interest is stimulated when several variables are in play simultaneously. The study implies that zoo visits can provide students with affective experiences, which can be a powerful way to stimulate students’ learning motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Educators are experiencing difficulties with 1-day field trips in human geography. Instead of teaching students how to apply theory in the field and learn to sense geography in everyday life, many excursions have degraded into tourist-like events where lecturers try to motivate rather passive students against a noisy urban backdrop. Although various (partly) student-led approaches have successfully addressed the issue, there are still a high number of tours that use a traditional, tutor-led model. The example of a series of three audio tours produced at Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany, shows how these conventional field trips can be transformed into audio tours that help students not only to better internalize human geographic learning content but also cultivate empirical research, creative thinking, and individuality. In this paper I provide a critical description of tutor-led fieldtrips. Downsides are identified and contrasted with the audio-guided tours that an increasing number of museums create for their visitors. 1 then show, how learning from a narrator's voice instead of from a tour guide is also not only possible in the context of higher education but in many ways may be a superior learning tool. The concept of three interlinked audio tours is presented with regard to design, production, and distribution. The need of additional learning materials such as maps, posters, and workbooks to foster active learning through creative impulses and the independent use of empirical methods are discussed, before the successful implementation into the bachelor curriculum is described. I conclude by highlighting the importance of fieldwork and by recommending audio-guided tours as a productive method of active learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated whether listening to spontaneous conversations of elementary students and their teachers/chaperones, while they were visiting a zoo, affected preservice elementary teachers' conceptions about planning a field trip to the zoo. One hundred five preservice elementary teachers designed field trips prior to and after listening to students' conversations during a field trip to the zoo. In order to analyze the preservice teachers' field trip designs, we conducted a review of the literature on field trips to develop the field trip inventory (FTI). The FTI focussed on three major components of field trips: cognitive, procedural, and social. Cognitive components were subdivided into pre-visit, during-visit, and post-visit activities and problem-solving. Procedural components included information about the informal science education facility (the zoo) and the zoo staff and included advanced organizers. Social components on student groups, fun, control during the zoo visit, and control of student learning. The results of the investigation showed that (a) the dominant topic in conversations among elementary school groups at the zoo was management, (b) procedural components were mentioned least often, (c) preservice teachers described during-visit activities more often than any other characteristic central to field trip design, (d) seven of the nine characteristics listed in the FTI were noted more frequently in the preservice teachers' field trip designs after they listened to students' conversations at the zoo, and (e) preservice teachers thought that students were not learning and that planning was important. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A summer academy is held for grade 9-12 high school students at the University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, every year. The academy, dubbed the Da Vinci Engineering Enrichment Program (DEEP), is a diverse program that aims to attract domestic and international high school students to engineering and sciences (and possibly recruit them). DEEP also provides them with the opportunity to experience the university setting. This paper discusses the organization of DEEP and presents the details of a DEEP course developed to introduce students to electrical engineering. This course is designed for junior (grades 9 and 10) students and includes lectures, hands-on activities (both in a team and individually), and a field trip. The survey results, collected as both formative and summative feedback, indicate the success of the course. This paper also provides recommendations for future offerings of the course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a mobile technology-assisted seamless learning process design where students were facilitated to develop their personalized and diversified understanding in a primary school's science topic of the life cycles of various living things. A goal-based approach to experiential learning model was adopted as the pedagogical design to support the student's personalized learning process. We chose to report the student's inquiry into the life cycles of the spinach plant and the butterfly to pinpoint the how the student's personalized learning was fostered in the experiential learning. The learning process consisted of (a) in-class enculturation and question posing; (b) out-of-class field trip observation; (c) on site reflection after observation; (c) data collection and conceptualization of life cycles in the field trip; (d) the hands-on experimentation of growing the spinach plant and rearing a butterfly after the trip at home; (e) creation of animations and composition based on the hands-on experience individually either at home or in class to re-conceptualize the life cycles of the spinach plant and the butterfly, and (f) sharing and evaluation of their work in class. Each student was assigned a smartphone on a 1:1, 24 × 7 basis, which was used by individuals to mediate their seamless learning experience across multiple contexts. Through our analysis of the learning content, processes and products, we illuminate how the goal-based approach applied to mobile-assisted experiential learning facilitates students' personalized learning and helps them to fulfill their agency in such learning experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: GeoTools is an Android application that can carry out several tasks essential in geological field studies. By employing the accelerometer in the Android phone, the application turns the handset into a pocket transit compass by which users can measure directions, strike and dip of a bedding plane, or trend and plunge of a fold. The application integrates functionalities of photo taking, videotaping, audio recording, and note writing with GPS coordinates to track the location at which each datum was taken. A time-stamped file name is shared by the various types of data taken at the same location. Data collected at different locations are named in a chronological sequence. At the end of each set of operations, GeoTools also automatically generates an XML file to summarize the characteristics of data being collected corresponding to a specific location. In this way, GeoTools allows geologists to use a multimedia approach to document their field observations with a clear data organization scheme in one handy gadget. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Field trips are effective because they situate learning and facilitate knowledge transfer, thereby influencing students learning attitudes, interests, and motivation. Variations in field trip configurations and the subsequent affective and cognitive influences provided the motivation for this study of Outside Day—an environmental education field trip for 6th-grade students. The participants were immediately postassessed on their attitudes toward the event and 1 month later assessed on their event activity recall. Results indicate the students held positive attitudes toward the field trip and recalled a hands-on orienteering activity most frequently. The discussion provides explanations and implications of findings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The development and application of a framework that captures main characteristics of learning in nature—the Field Trip in Natural Environments (FiNE) framework—is the main outcome of this study that followed up 22 daily field trips of 4–6th grade students to nature parks. The theoretical and practical framework, which was developed based on the research literature and the data collected, allows systematic analysis of various phases of the field trip: preparation, pedagogy, activity and outcomes. The FiNE framework incorporates multiple views of the researchers and participants and examines the pedagogy employed and the outcomes as reported by the participating students. The employment of the framework indicates limited preparation and the use of traditional pedagogies and highlights the importance of social interactions and physical and learning activity. The FiNE framework provides researchers with a plausible scheme to assess various components of field trips to nature and to elucidate possible outcomes of such experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Modern Australia has been defined as an immigrant nation, a settler society that is located in the South and yet is problematically, ontologically and epistemologically oriented towards the North. Australia's colonial experience and trauma – far from being resolved – are characterised by a condition of collective amnesia expressed in social, cultural and psychological boundaries. It is in this landscape that an active and transformative form of cultural studies pedagogy has emerged. This article critically unpacks aspects of this pedagogy through Borderlands, an undergraduate subject that we teach in the Cultural Studies programme at Southern Cross University, and that responds to collective postcolonial amnesia through the antidote of sentient engagement. Using borderland theory (Anzaldua 2007), Borderlands is driven by ethical, transformative imperatives regarding knowledge and responsibility for both student and teacher. Borderlands sets out to redefine cultural studies' pedagogical practice by utilising field trips as a means of epistemological unsettlement and disruption, invoking and engaging with the tangibles of migration, installation, dispossession and displacement. Our article joins students on an excursion into the field, to four specific sites. Through this architecture we argue that Borderlands is an example of an unruly, unsettling cultural studies pedagogy that lends itself to sentient decolonisation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper promotes urban parks as suitable locations for geology field trips. A sample field guide of Griffith Park in Los Angeles is presented. The area described includes fault splays in the Santa Monica Fault Zone, and shows an inferred linkage between the Hollywood Fault and the Eagle Rock Fault. A conjunction of three faults is described, along with prominent jointing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reflects on the significance of field trips for undergraduate experiential learning. Experiential learning is critical to the development of managers as future reflective practitioners, and this case study makes a significant contribution to debate about field trips at a time when UK university spending cuts threaten their future provision. Based on a qualitative study, this article highlights the experiential learning generated by an undergraduate field trip that took place on a 7-day cruise out of Southampton, UK, during March 2009. Students reflect upon their learning experiences, both personal and professional, and their perceptions of the value of such learning experiences for their knowledge and understanding of cruise management. The article also discusses associated benefits of field trips, such as student self-development, the facilitation of group cohesion, and the marketing opportunities for educational institutions. The implications of the findings are useful for educators as well as the wider cruise community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Landslide Forum (WLF) is a triennial mainstream conference aimed at gathering scientists, stakeholders, policy makers and industry members dealing with the management of landslide risk. The First World Landslide Forum, organised by the International Consortium of Landslides, UNESCO, WMO, Food and Agriculture Organization, UNISDR, UNU, UNEP, IBRD, UNDP, ICSU, WFEO, KU and the Japan Landslide Society, was held in 2008 at the United Nations University, Tokyo. The 1st WLF adopted the 2008 Tokyo Declaration 'Strengthening the International Programme on Landslides with UNISDR'. The Second World Landslide Forum has the objective to further develop the outcomes of the First Forum in Tokyo 2008 by providing a global cross-cutting information and cooperation platform for all types of organisations representing academia, United Nations organisations, governments, private enterprises and individuals that contribute to landslide research, practice, education and decision making and are willing to strengthen landslide and other related Earth system risk reduction strategies. The emphasis of this forum will be 'Putting Science into Practice' with special attention given to actual implementation of technology and research in everyday applications and procedures with the direct involvement of researchers, engineers, private enterprises, stakeholders as well as policy and decision makers. The abstract submission and pre-registration of participants was quite successful with 649 received abstracts and more than 800 participants at May 2011. The full organisation of the event is now in progress taking into consideration the new figure and interest in scientific community and stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies advocate careful selection of local historic sites and recommend collaboration between stakeholders to create meaningful learning experiences for students. The author describes the efforts of a historical society, a university professor, and a local school district to develop an integrative field trip to a one-room schoolhouse. Discussion includes how content was determined and how the social studies curriculum module provides a hands-on approach to teaching about the past. During pre-visit lessons, a field trip, and postvisit activities third-grade students handle primary sources, listen to oral histories, role-play, and construct a timeline. The author explains how evaluation played an important role in the development and refinement of the module. Teacher and student interviews as well as teacher questionnaires revealed that the field trip effectively connected third-grade curriculum with the history of the Lutz-Franklin Schoolhouse, helping students to develop chronological thinking and to learn the basics about historical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Podocarpus National Park (PNP; 145,692 ha), established in 1982, is the only national park in southern Ecuador. It was established principally to protect Andean conifers, Podocarpus spp. In this introduction, first, we describe the methods that we used in our rapid appraisal of PNP. We detail our analytic perspective and the problem-oriented, contextual, and multi-method approach that we used. Second, we briefly describe PNP and its context. Our account of PNP management policy is a story about people who make up one large social process regarding how PNP will be used and who gets to decide. Within this social process, people are seeking values (e.g., well-being, wealth, respect) by using existing institutions and calling for new ones that use and affect resources in different ways. In this introduction we look at this social process, the idea of the “common interest,” and the need for management policy to help meet this goal. We also look at development and conservation as a decision-making process that must be understood and managed well if sustainability is to be had. The key to success in this regard, we argue, is to link “authority” and “control” in PNP management policy. Third, in this introduction we also give an overview of the articles in this volume and how they support this common interest outcome for the people in and around PNP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, instructional pedagogies in learning contexts from classrooms to boardrooms are couched within experiential learning paradigms. The field trip is a teaching pedagogy that draws on experiential learning. The author aims to demonstrate how a field trip to Sea Islands, South Carolina, presents an opportunity for undergraduate anthropology students to experience a learning continuum from course readings and films to a firsthand experience. The effectiveness of the field trip as an instructional pedagogy is assessed. Best practices for incorporating field trips into instruction are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this article is to outline some useful practices for organizing a field trip for hospitality and tourism students. A conceptual framework is proposed to guide the discussion based on the results of studying three different groups of students who took part in course-related field trips. Detailed explanations covering the pretrip, on-trip, and posttrip phases are provided of how to organize a field trip that enhances student learning. The active role of the teacher/educator throughout is the key to the success of any field trip. A summary of 14 useful practices for organizing a field trip that enhances learning is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An international tourism course involving coteaching international tourism subjects from different disciplinary perspectives in the form of a learning community and including a field trip to an international tourism destination was designed to explore opportunities to overcome some of the limitations inherent in traditional teaching approaches. This article provides a detailed description of the course structure, learning objectives, and contents as well as insights derived from the various evaluation processes, which involved the analysis of results from conventional evaluation surveys, field trip journals, student papers, posttrip discussions, institutional responses, and critical self-evaluation by the faculty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field trips are ideal for increasing students’ experience and perceptions of various organisms and their relationship between the original habitat. However, in general field trips are greatly neglected by teachers and their short-term effects are thought to be questionable. Therefore, we conducted a one-day field trip for both improving students’ knowledge in ecology and for examining short-term effects. Based on the results of the research conducted 3 days after the trip, we found a significant and positive increase in students’ attitudes toward biology, natural environment outside and future career in biology. Moreover, students displayed a better understanding of ecology concepts like ecosystems and food webs. However, no similar pattern was observed for the control group experienced only traditional biology settings. Thus, this study is unique showing significant short-term effects of a field trip on students’ attitude and knowledge toward biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although most teachers agree that a field trip is an important educational experience for their students, many struggle with finding a way to make it connect with their classroom curriculum. Creating an effective field trip involves creating an effective lesson plan and using the resources of the museum, zoo, or aquarium to foster inquiry and learning. By incorporating the learning cycle into their field trip, students are able to use their explorations with animal-based exhibits to develop basic life science concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]