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Liberating learning: Thinking beyond ‘the grade’ in field‐based approaches to teaching
Author(s) -
Malam Linda,
GrundyWarr Carl
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
new zealand geographer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.335
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1745-7939
pISSN - 0028-8144
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-7939.2011.01213.x
Subject(s) - geographer , value (mathematics) , field (mathematics) , perspective (graphical) , politics , sociology , critical thinking , pedagogy , ethnography , engineering ethics , social science , psychology , mathematics education , political science , geography , engineering , economic geography , mathematics , machine learning , artificial intelligence , computer science , anthropology , pure mathematics , law
This paper is positioned within current debates on education development and the value of fieldwork as a pathway to fostering a nuanced, sophisticated and empathetic world view among students. Here, we focus on one form of field‐based teaching within geography, that is, intensive field studies courses taught abroad. We draw on our experience as cofacilitators of a six‐week intensive field course conducted in various parts of Thailand. The course we discuss in this paper was focused on teaching students both applied research skills (critical engagement, ethnographic research methods and ethical research practice) and substantive content (the social, cultural, political and economic aspects of Thailand from a geographer's perspective). We argue that the value of field studies lies in the ability of such a course to help students enhance and deepen broad, generalisable skills such as problem solving; ethical research practice; critical engagement with complex social issues; and independent research skills.