Geotechnical News • September 2016
39
GEO-INTEREST
learned for future courses. What
makes fieldwork so valuable to learn-
ing geoscience? Pyle (2009) identifies
the main goals of field courses as a)
synthesis and application of knowl-
edge; b) acquiring the field skills and
techniques typically required for an
entry-level, professional geologist;
c) enculturation into the values and
ethics of practicing geoscience; and
d) exposing students to the variety
of geologic phenomena they may
encounter. Similarly, Mogk and
Goodwin (2012) review arguments
based on “practitioner’s wisdom”
claiming that field education yields
improvements in students’ knowledge
and problem-solving skills, enhances
students’ ability to reflect on their own
thinking (metacognition), generates
positive feelings that lead to enhanced
learning, offers direct and immersive
experiences of geologic phenomena,
and introduces students to profes-
sional practice” (Petcovic, Stokes &
Caulkins, 2014).
Specifically, blended learning compo-
nents of the field course involved: a)
A pre-field exercise self-assessment,
b) daily online journals posted on the
course’s website by the students tied
to the information that was presented
each day of the field exercise, c) cri-
tiques of online journals among peers,
and d) a post-field exercise self-assess-
ment (Table 1).
Much academic debate has been
dedicated to determining the necessary
balance of methods and tools to be
included in a Geological Sciences and
GeoEngineering program. Consider-
ation of several factors is warranted,
the most prevalent of these factors
being the current state of industry
and their requirements, technological
advancements, sustainability educa-
tion as well as instructional meth-
ods informed by ongoing education
research. The re-design of the course
to include the use of blended (onsite/
online) learning as well as synchro-
nous/asynchronous interactions was
conducted with a view to enhancing
the learning outcomes of the geologi-
cal and geotechnical field exercises.
By utilising existing technology and
pedagogy in field training, we sought
to: a) Identify the diverse learning
needs of the students and connect
them to the learning outcomes of the
Field Course, b) Investigate the value
of the field exercise specifically for
each student with a view to inform-
ing the design of future field exercises
with a
learner-centered
approach, and
c) Allow for the production of student-
generated teaching material (discus-
sion forum posts, student reflections,
videos, photos) that would capture the
field exercise activities through the
eyes of the learners.
The results of the pilot study were in
agreement with other researchers in
the Sustainable Education realm in
the sense that geological field train-
ing may also be in need of
“a rede-
signed educational paradigm that is in
essence relational, engaged, ethically
oriented, and locally and glob-
ally relevant.”
(Stirling, 2001). By
Table 1. Blended Learning Component of Field Exercise (Description of Requirements).
Pre-Field Exercise Self-
Assessment –Selected
Questions
Online Journals:
Critical Reviews (Cri-
tiques) of posted Daily
Reflections:
Post-Field Exercise Self-
Assessment
How do you anticipate this
field trip to support your
learning in geoengineering?
Include specific areas of
learning that you would like
to expand on (such as field
work practices, identifica-
tion of particular geological
formations, field data collec-
tion etc.).
• Describe the following:
-For each day of the tech-
nical tour, what were
the most important
technical character-
istics of the sites that
you visited?
• Describe and critically
reflect on the information
that was presented onsite
by course instructors,
consulting engineers,
technical company
representatives etc. Was
the information that was
provided helpful to you?
Why, or why not? What
new did you learn? What
specific areas/topics
would you like to know
more about?
• For each Critique, criti-
cally examine the content
of a Daily Reflection post
of your choice.
• Are there any key techni-
cal characteristics about
the information on the
sites that are missing in
the post you are evaluat-
ing? Are there any fea-
tures about a particular
site that you would like
to highlight or elaborate
upon? Feel free to share
any new information
such as a website link or
bibliography that is rel-
evant to the information
presented in the post.
• Did the field exercise
meet your learning needs
as a geoengineering
graduate student?
• Did you gain new knowl-
edge in the technical
areas that you were hop-
ing to expand on? Why
or why not?
• During this technical tour,
did you visit any sites
that attracted your re-
search interest in particu-
lar? If yes, which ones?
Why? Please explain.
