31.2 - Earth Science Teachers` Association

Transcription

teaching
EARTH
SCIENCES
Site Clearance at
Tedbury Camp, Somerset
Professor Chris King – a
Brief Appreciation
Do Primary Pupils Learn
More Effectively Through
Hands-on Experience or
Teacher Demonstration
of a Physical Glacier
Model?
Jurassic Lawn?
Field Safety Training for
Staff in Geography,
Earth and Environmental
Sciences in HE:
Establishing a
Framework
From Russia – by Bus
Obtaining and Using
Remotely Sensed
Imagery for Teaching in
the Earth Sciences
Comparison of the New
GCSE Science
Specifications for their
Earth Science Content
Training Scientists or
Teaching Science?
Update 2
Breaking Through New
Frontiers in Science
Teaching
Field-based Learning: A
Review of Published
Approaches and
Strategies
News and Views
Reviews
Diary
PEST 54
Magazine of the EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION
Volume 31 ● Number 2, 2006 ● ISSN 0957-8005
www.esta-uk.org
Teaching Earth Sciences: Guide for Authors
The Editor welcomes articles of any length and nature and on any topic related to
Earth science education from cradle to grave. Please inspect back copies of TES,
from Issue 26(3) onwards, to become familiar with the magazine house-style.
Text
Please supply the full text on disk or as an email attachment: Microsoft Word is
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please include a conversion table). The first paragraph of each major article should
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article or should provide an overview to stimulate interest. This is not an abstract in
the formal sense. Subsequent paragraphs should be grouped under sub-headings.
To Advertise in
teaching
EARTH
SCIENCES
te a c h in g
EARTH
SCIENCES
References
Please use the following examples as models
(1) Articles
Mayer, V. (1995) Using the Earth system for integrating the science curriculum.
Science Education, 79(4), pp. 375-391.
(2) Books
McPhee, J. (1986 ) Rising from the Plains. New York: Fraux, Giroux & Strauss.
(3) Chapters in books
Duschl, R.A. & Smith, M.J. (2001) Earth Science. In Jere Brophy (ed), SubjectSpecific Instructional Methods and Activities, Advances in Research on Teaching. Volume 8,
pp. 269-290. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science.
Figures
Prepared artwork must be of high quality and submitted on paper or disk. Handdrawn and hand-labelled diagrams are not normally acceptable, although in some
circumstances this is appropriate. Each figure must be submitted as a separate file.
(not embedded in a Word file) Each figure must have a caption.
Magazine of
the EARTH
SCIENCE TEACH
ERS’
Volume 30
● Number 3,
2005 ●
ASSOCIATION
ISSN 09578005
www.esta-uk
.org
Telephone
Ian Ray
0161 486 0326
COPY DEADLINES
ES 31.3 (PEST 55) 21 May 2006 for
publication July/August 2006
TES 31.4 (PEST 56) 25 September 2006 for
publication November/December 2006
TES 32.1 (PEST 57) 13 December 2006 for
Photographs
publication January/February 2007
Please submit colour or black-and-white photographs as originals. They are also
welcomed in digital form on disk or as email attachments: .jpeg format is to be preferred. Please use one file for each photograph, to be at 300dpi. Each photograph
must have a caption.
TES 32.2 (PEST 58) 20 February 2007 for
Copyright
publication April/May 2007
WHERE IS PEST?
There are no copyright restrictions on original material published in Teaching Earth
Sciences if it is required for use in the classroom or lecture room. Copyright material reproduced in TES by permission of other publications rests with the original
publisher. Permission must be sought from the Editor to reproduce original material from Teaching Earth Sciences in other publications and appropriate acknowledgement must be given.
All articles submitted should be original unless indicted otherwise and should
contain the author’s full name, title and address (and email address where relevant).
They should be sent to the Editor,
Cally Oldershaw
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 07796 942361
PEST is printed as the
centre 4 pages in
Teaching Earth Sciences.
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES G Volume 31 G Number 2, 2006
teaching
EARTH
SCIENCES
Teaching Earth Sciences is published quarterly by
the Earth Science Teachers’ Association. ESTA
aims to encourage and support the teaching of
Earth sciences, whether as a single subject or as
part of science or geography courses.
Full membership is £25.00; student and retired
membership £12.50.
CONTENTS
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5
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From the Editor
Dear Editor
Site Clearance at Tedbury Camp, Somerset
Professor Chris King – Brief Appreciation
9
Do Primary Pupils Learn More Effectively
Through Hands-on Experience or Teacher
Demonstration of a Physical Glacier Model?
Registered Charity No. 1005331
Editor
Cally Oldershaw
Tel: 07796 942361
Advertising
Ian Ray
Tel: 0161 486 0326
Reviews Editor
Dr. Denis Bates
Tel: 01970 617667
Council Officers
Chairman
Martin Whiteley
Tel: 01234 354859
Secretary
Susan Beale
Membership Secretary
Hamish Ross
PO BOX 23672
Edinburgh EH3 9XQ
Tel: 0131 651 6410
Treasurer
Maggie Williams
Primary Co-ordinator
Niki Whitburn
Secondary Co-ordinator
Chris King
Higher Education Co-ordinator
Mike Tuke
Contributions to future issues of Teaching Earth
Sciences will be welcomed and should be
addressed to the Editor.
Opinions and comments in this issue are the
personal views of the authors and do not
necessarily represent the views of the Association.
Victoria Aldridge
12
Jurassic Lawn?
Peter Loader
14
Field Safety Training for Staff in Geography,
Earth and Environmental Sciences in HE:
Establishing a Framework
Pauline Couper and Tim Stott
20
Ted Harris
21
Obtaining and Using Remotely Sensed Imagery
for Teaching in the Earth Sciences
Oliver Tomlinson
28
Comparison of the New GCSE Science
Specifications for their Earth Science Content
Peter Kennett
36
Training Scientists or Teaching Science?
Update 2
Alan Richardson
39
Breaking Through New Frontiers in Science
Teaching
Clare Elsley
40
Field-based Learning: A Review of Published
Approaches and Strategies
Victoria Buck
45
51
52
News and Views
Reviews
ESTA Diary
PEST – Issue 54 – At Home with Earth Science
Visit our website at www.esta-uk.org
teaching
EARTH
SCIENCES
Site Clearance at
Tedbury Camp, Somerset
Professor Chris King – a
brief appreciation
Do primary pupils learn
more effectively through
hands-on experience or
teacher demonstration
of a physical glacier
model?
Jurassic Lawn?
Field safety training for
staff in Geography, Earth
and Environmental
Sciences in HE:
establishing a
framework
From Russia – by bus
Obtaining and using
remotely sensed
imagery for teaching in
the Earth Sciences
Comparison of the new
GCSE Science
Specifications for their
Earth Science content
Designed by Character Design
Highridge, Wrigglebrook Lane, Kingsthorne
Hereford HR2 8AW
Training Scientists or
Teaching Science?
Update 2
Breaking through new
frontiers in science
teaching
Field-based learning: A
review of published
approaches and
strategies
News and Views
Reviews
Diary
PEST 54
Magazine of the EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION
Volume 31 ● Number 2, 2006 ● ISSN 0957-8005
www.esta-uk.org
Front cover
A stroll in the park?
3
www.esta-uk.org
Science (and minerals) in our lives
t has been another busy time with conferences,
meetings, reports, funding proposals and of course
the preparation of this issue of Teaching Earth Sciences. I managed to find some time to continue with
my gemstone writing, and in January completed the
text for a small reference book on gemstones for the
general public, and helped with a book for jewellers in
February. Both should be published later in the year.
The writing keeps me inside and tied to the computer
for days on end, so it is quite a relief to get out and get
some fresh air, even just to work. I managed to visit
Reading and Cardiff in January and Keele and London
in February!
I
Launch of ESEF-Cymru
The visit to Cardiff was to attend the launch of the
Earth Science Education Forum – Cymru, the Welsh
arm of ESEF, which I helped to organise with the
Chair of ESEF and the Keeper of Geology at the
National Museum of Wales. The launch at the
National Museum of Wales, was a great success, with
about 70 attendees from schools, museums, examining boards, and other educational establishments.
Following a discussion meeting we moved to the
large Reardon Lecture Theatre to hear a public lecture ‘Climate past, present and future’ by Professor
Paul Pearson of Cardiff University, which was very
well received.
Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan AM, the First Minister of
Wales formally launched ESEF-Cymru with a superb
speech, which included plenty of references to the geology of Wales and its industrial past and natural heritage
which are also based on its geology. The full speech will
be available on the ESEF website www.esef.org.uk.
Following the launch, ESEF-Cymru will do all that
it can to support and disseminate the teaching of Earth
science at all levels across Wales.
Congratulations
to Chris King on
the news of his
recent promotion
to Professor.
www.esta-uk.org
Earth Science Education Unit at ASE
There were record numbers of attendees at the Earth
Science Education Unit’s (ESEU) Creative Science
workshops at the Association for Science Education’s
(ASE) Annual Conference in Reading in January.
Attendees included biology, physics and chemistry
teachers, as well as Earth science teachers, tutors and
researchers from the UK and abroad. ESEU continues
to go from strength to strength. Since its inception as
a pilot in 1999, ESEU has presented workshops to
the teachers of more than a million pupils. Since
ESEU began work in Scotland in 2003, workshops have
been presented to more than 1000 primary teachers.
As in previous years, ESEU shared a stand at the
conference with ESTA which was popular and ‘flew the
flag’ for Earth science.
4
Keeping an eye on the media
Have you seen any articles that could be used to grab
the interest of students? The article ‘Saved by ‘sand’
poured into the wounds’ caught my attention (see
news and views page 49). More than 85 per cent of soldiers killed in action die within an hour of being
wounded and most of those probably bleed to death.
The article mentions new innovations in treating soldiers and others who may be injured. One is a porous
mineral powder (mainly calcium) which is poured
into the wound, where pores quickly absorb water,
concentrating the blood’s clotting factors and speeding up clotting. Maybe an article such as this could be
used to initiate debate in the science laboratory or the
classroom, and to highlight the relevance of science
(and minerals) in our lives.
How to read a scientific paper
As school curricula move towards wanting pupils to be
able to assess the scientific value of articles in the media
(for example in newspapers, books and scientific journals as well as on television and radio), it may be useful
to look at the approach taken by Carl-Georg Bank at the
University of Toronto when teaching Plate Tectonics.
His summary of the 5-step approach to reading a scientific paper includes the following, with questions to ask
(in italics):
Reading
● Skim – fast first reading (focus on title, abstract, intro
...conclusions). What are the objectives and key points
of the paper?
● Reflect – what is the hypothesis being tested, what
about use of data acquisition and use of data? Does it
relate to my question?
● Re-read – focus on points important to you (underline and take notes). Which information is important
for me?
● Critique – good argumentation (weak points, no data
support...). Are conclusions logical? Is the paper
easy/hard to follow?
● Summarise – as text, diagram or concept map. Neither simply a summary nor simply a critique, how
could I improve on the study?
Writing
Earth scientists beginning to read scientific articles and
develop their scientific writing skills may find it useful
to consider the ‘four Cs’ of scientific writing as suggested by the same author:
● Content (order of key points)
● Clarity (of sentences)
● Coherence (of paragraphs and whole text)
● Craft (correct punctuation, spelling etc.)
Writing a one-page summary, a one-paragraph summary, a diagram or a poster of a paper, article or topic, is
something that I was regularly set as a task both at school
and university. It helped with the development of key
skills such as critique and summary, served to focus the
mind and helped with preparation of assignments and
revision notes for assessments and examinations.
For the full article refer to Reading and Writing Taught
in a Sophomore Course on Plate Tectonics by Carl-Georg
Bank, Journal of Geoscience Education, pp 25-30, Volume 54, Number 1, January 2006. www.nagt.org.
(growth, reproduction, movement etc.). I have never
been much good at making up rhymes or word associations to remember the information, but maybe
rhyming couplets, poems, or cartoons work for you? A
couplet for number 10 on the Mohs’ scale of hardness
that I saw recently and rather liked – speaking as a lady
who likes diamonds...
Mnemonic devices for learning Earth science
How did you learn the facts, and how do you suggest
your pupils learn lists, for example Mohs’ scale of hardness? I was in a class where we learnt the Mohs’ scale of
hardness by rote – having tried out the minerals and
their ‘scratchability’ on each other (the minerals, not
my classmates), the desk, the window and just about
anything else within reach!
As for the periods, eras and epochs – I just learnt to
write a list of the first letters and then added the remainder of the word. In biology there was GRMFRES
This way of learning can also be useful by highlighting
misconceptions or misunderstandings that the pupils
have. How creative have you or your students been? Do
get in touch with some of the more memorable devices.
All clever, sensible, comical or fun ideas will be published – at the discretion of the editor! Keep them clean.
And do keep sending your articles, items for news
and views, diary dates and letters.
Cally Oldershaw
Editor
‘Hardest known substance coming in at ten:
many women get diamonds from their men’
Dear Editor
Response to Mr Rick Ramsdale re: Geological
Howlers articles
I am very sorry you don’t like the recent Geological
Howler articles. The material was not collated to be a
damning indictment of the candidates, the intention
was not to ridicule candidates nor the deliverers of the
subject. The article was meant to give readers a smile,
and the intention was meant to be light-hearted. Personally I enjoy reading them and while some puzzle me
others make me laugh – a lot!
In comparison to the sheer numbers of candidates
and papers sat each year, the selected responses number
a very minuscule percentage. Examiners appreciate the
pressure which candidates are under during the external assessment (e.g. spelling mistakes – often are not
penalised – but they raise a smile in the context –
recently the use of SPINAL instead of SPINEL!). Many
of the responses included in the article have stimulated
thought provoking discussion in the examination team
meetings and have gone forward to inform future writing of questions.
How do I use the “howlers”? I often use them as
examples with my students, enabling me to more able
explain misconceptions. Using an example, (e.g. “name
a type of igneous rock – answers limestone, sandstone”), I often play a word association game, e.g. students are only allowed to use igneous terminology
going round every student in the classroom; get it right
and you drop out of the loop, get it wrong and it comes
back around to you (when there’s less words left to
choose from!).
I do agree with your comments about the title. When
I was first asked to compile the article time was very
short (due to my teaching commitments, a tight deadline – and trying to have a life!). I stuck with the previous title but I am not precious about this and welcome
suggestions. I suppose the old adage of “you can’t please
all of the people all of the time” is true! I have had a lot
of positive verbal comments about the articles at the
ESTA conference and other gatherings, but if public
consensus agrees with Rick, then I will keep my human
desire to giggle and restrain my thoughts to private fora.
Jo Conway
5
www.esta-uk.org
Dear Editor
Geological Howlers: The next generation,
arrested evolution or extinction?
Undermining professionalism? Holding candidates
misconceptions up to ridicule. Dear me! Whilst I have
every respect for Rick Ramsdale’s point of view (TES
Volume 31, No1 2006) I can’t believe that our little
“walk on the light side” could be so misinterpreted.
Undermining professionalism? Complete cobblers!
(to pick up on Rick’s analogy – sorry – couldn’t resist
that!). All examiners are attempting to do is hold a mirror up to colleagues to show what their candidates write
in exams and enable us to identify in our own teaching
possible pathways to such misconceptions. How many
teachers have read or used those examiners’ reports in
which we religiously point out reoccurring exam errors
(at the cost of sizable chunks of rain forest)? Few I
would suspect. However, the occasional appropriate
“howler” included in a lesson (or INSET course) with
an invite to explain why this was an inappropriate
response is an excellent method of correcting misconceptions. And, yes, they are sometimes very amusing –
which is why they are chosen for publication and why
they work so well.
And is this not what we do all the time in teaching
when we ask students to evaluate the validity of a daft
statement that has just been made? Why should this
necessarily be ridicule?
But frankly, I am not really advocating some pseudointellectual justification for this sort of material. Why
can’t they just be taken as they are – a mildly amusing
set of comments made by students that make some peo-
ple smile. How many of us parents will smile at our
own children for comments made that show their misunderstanding of the complexities of the world in
which they are growing. To consider this as ridicule is
itself ridiculous.
Is it out of place in Teaching Earth Sciences? I think not;
unless humour has become an outdated means of
putting over a valid teaching point to an intended audience. (If you happen to be a 5ft 31/2in, middle-aged,
balding geology teacher you are not really in any position to take yourself seriously). This is our magazine
(despite being open to public scrutiny) and I would
hope that there would always be room for a “lighter”
side in an eclectic publication.
So, as the mistakes conveyed in “howlers” are so self
evident, I fail to see how a more scholarly article could
add anything more to this resource. However, I would
be more than happy if someone would like to act as a
banker for “exam misconceptions” and to write an
annual feedback article turning them into a “source of
professional insight” on concepts that need to be
addressed in our teaching, as Rick suggests.
That is unless the readership prefer stasis or indeed
complete extinction!
Peter Loader
Chief Examiner - WJEC AS/A Geology
P.S. Did you know that: “Basaltic rock is a lot finer than
andesitic and more easily inhaled”!
Peter has kindly sent me an email of his response to my letter, Howlers – The Next Generation. It seems you
may have received others! Peter and I must agree to differ on Howlers. I remain deeply uncomfortable with
this anachronism. However, this is as unsurprising as it is irrelevant. In a vital group of professionals this sort
of thing is to be expected.
The question still remains: If Howlers should be used to support more effective teaching then how should
Howlers, The Next Generation, be organised? Peter seems generally supportive of the idea. Anyone out there
got any more thoughts?
Rick Ramsdale
PS. Earth Science Risk Assessment: “Inhaling basalt can seriously damage your pupils (or at least make your
eyes water)”.
www.esta-uk.org
6
Site Clearance at Tedbury Camp, Somerset
eaders might be interested to know that the
important geological locality at Tedbury Camp,
near Frome in Somerset, has been partially
cleared in recent months. This site has tremendous
educational value, not least because it exposes an angular unconformity between the Carboniferous Limestone and overlying Jurassic Inferior
Oolite. Furthermore, it is safe and
relatively accessible – an ideal place
for school groups, university students and interested members of
the public to visit.
Since the time that Tedbury
Camp was first popularised
through the publication of New
Sites for Old – a student’s guide to the
geology of the east Mendips (Duff et al.
1985), the former quarry had
become much overgrown. The
recent clearance effort removed
many of the silver birches from the
Jurassic faces and cleared four sections (two in the Jurassic, two in the
Carboniferous) of vegetation, rubble and litter. The
upper part of the path from Great Elm pond was
improved and small areas of the unconformity surface
were treated with patio cleaner to make them easier to
inspect. As a bonus, one of the team found a well pre-
R
served echinoid in the Inferior Oolite which served to
redouble everybody’s efforts just as the enthusiasm for
digging was beginning to wane!
This work was undertaken by a group of conservationists from Frome College under the guidance of Dr
Martin Whiteley, Chairman of the Earth Science Teachers’ Association, and Dr Gill Odolphie, Teacher Warden from the East
Mendip Study Centre. Further
activity is planned during 2006 in an
effort to enhance the educational
value of Tedbury. This includes a
site visit for teachers attending the
ESTA Conference in September
and the production of web-based
teaching and learning materials that
provide a modern synthesis of what
can be seen in the area.
The Somerset Geology Group
would like to host an informal
Friends of Tedbury Camp Quarry
Group. This would serve to circulate news and discussions on interpretation to those who are interested in the locality.
Please contact Hugh Prudden if you would like to participate ([email protected]).
Martin Whiteley
ESTA Chairman
7
www.esta-uk.org
Professor Chris King – Brief Appreciation
PETER KENNETT
he whole of ESTA will surely be rejoicing at the
news of Chris’ elevation to a Professorship. So
far as we know, this is the first in Earth Science
Education in this country.
Chris had already begun to make an impact on
education whilst on his PGCE course at Keele, in
1977, under David Thompson, when David was
heard to comment that he had a brilliant student on
the course that year, who would certainly soon be
making his mark.
Chris was appointed to teach A level Geology at
Altrincham Boys’ Grammar School in 1978 and made
his first contribution to Geology Teaching (the precursor of
Teaching Earth Sciences) in June 1980, with an article on
“Georiddles” – no, not a cheap plastic sieve, but a geological puzzle with which he had teased his 6th Formers!
This has subsequently been followed by countless articles, ranging from the sheer fun of “Graptolobics”, and
many influential papers on the science curriculum at
both national and international level.
Chris held several roles at Altrincham, whilst at the
same time, the National Curriculum, Mk I appeared.
Chris immediately became involved, up to the hilt,
with attempts to knock the politicians’ view of the
Earth into more realistic shape, and also to counter, in
the most diplomatic way, those who sought to strangle
the inclusion of Earth Science at birth. This resulted in
what became known at the former National Curriculum Council’s offices as “The King Fax”, as messages
whizzed to and fro, trying to meet the incredibly short
time scales allowed for development of the Curriculum and all the syllabuses, sorry, specifications, which
flowed from it. What’s new?!
Chris also co-edited ESTA’s Science of the Earth series,
trying all the time to second-guess which way the revisions of the National Curriculum would go, in an effort
to keep up to date.
Having inspired many a
student to enjoy Geology
at Altrincham, Chris
duly followed his old
mentor at Keele, as a
Lecturer in Science
Education, when David
Thompson retired in
1996. Chris built on
Keele’s already excellent
record for training Earth
scientists and others to
become effective science
teachers, but also began
to develop fresh ideas,
most of which, we
gather, come to him in
T
Figure 1
Chris also shakes
Scotland
Figure 2
Chris stirs things
up at Keele
www.esta-uk.org
8
the bath! Among these was the initiation of the Earth
Science Education Unit (ESEU) in 1999, with the
enthusiastic support of UKOOA. The ESEU began
with Chris being allowed one day per week, assisted
by one retired old geology teacher and a teacher seconded for two days a week from her own college. It
has now grown to cover the whole of mainland UK,
with a team of about 50 trained Facilitators, and to a
large extent represents ESTA’s main input into science
education for 11 to 16 year-olds.
More recent developments have included the foundation of the Science Learning Centres, and it is thanks
largely to Chris’ untiring efforts in promoting his own
Department’s bid that Keele is now the main centre for
the West Midlands.
It would probably take a search through ESTA’s
archives to ascertain the number of years during which
Chris has been repeatedly re-elected to serve on Council, but it is a lot. Chris’ sterling work has already been
recognised by ESTA by his being made Chairman in
1990-92, and an Honorary Life Member in 1994. The
Geological Society bestowed their Distinguished Service Award Medal on him in 2003.
Those of us who liaise closely with Chris are aware
of just how hard he works, and since the computer
clock never lies, we know at what time of the night he
prefers to send out his emails! All of these messages
demonstrate his grasp of a situation and his visionary
attitude, and yet they are always just as encouraging and
cheerful as the man himself. In spite of this punishing
routine, Chris manages to find time to devote to his
family and to the life and activities of his local church.
Indeed he has even been known to read books, some of
them not actually about geology!
In an earlier existence, Chris worked as a diamond
prospector in southern Africa. He tells how he found
minerals related to diamonds in ancient sandstones and
used the palaeocurrent directions to work out where
the currents came from. This in turn led to the discovery of a diamond pipe, and to the development of a productive mine.
ESEU Facilitators have become used to telling each
others’ stories to try to enthuse science teachers, but
when this one is related, the teachers express
incredulity and say, “You mean to tell me that he left
that and went into teaching...!?”
Indeed, Chris’ interests in the International scene
led to him becoming closely involved with the setting
up of the International Geoscience Education Organisation (IGEO), and its triennial conferences.
Many of us have reason to be grateful that Chris did
just that, and would wish him a really rewarding and
happy time in his new role. As one “old” ESTA member always says, “Keep up the good work, Chris!”.
Do Primary Pupils Learn More Effectively
Through Hands-on Experience or Teacher
Demonstration of a Physical Glacier Model?
VICTORIA ALDRIDGE
Physical models are a significant part of Earth Science teaching; but what difference does it make
whether the teacher demonstrates the model or the pupils use their own? It has been shown that
our understanding of how learners prefer to receive information, whether it’s visually, audibly or
kinaesthetically, is related to how effective classroom practice can be, and that knowing and
catering for different learning styles within a class can boost the overall attainment of the pupils.
or these reasons, experiential learning approaches
(pupils using their own physical models) might be
expected to produce different outcomes from
expositional approaches (teacher demonstration of physical models). This small-scale action research project
tested this in a limited way. One primary school (P5)
class received a lesson on glaciers from a teacher using a
glacier model for demonstration. The other class
received the same lesson but were allowed to work in
small groups and create their own glacier model. The
results do not suggest that the experiential approach
results in higher attainment scores for knowledge and
understanding, but that there are more significant factors
involved. While these factors are likely to include taking
account of learning styles, this is not simply achieved by
a preference for experiential over expositional activity.
The difference between experiential and expositional
approaches may be crucial in terms of other purposes and
outcomes however, including how the pupils themselves
understand the purpose of the lesson.
F
Learning Styles
Over the past few decades extensive research has taken
place into our understanding of the learning process. In
particular, research on learning styles has enhanced
understanding. “When there is a mismatch between the
preferred learning style of the student and that of the
teacher, there is every likelihood of underachievement,
boredom and even misbehaviour. In general terms,
schools cater better for visual and auditory learners”
(Hughes & Vass 2001).
The VAK (Visual Auditory Kinaesthetic) classification method is one way of identifying how our learners
prefer to receive information. Visual learners prefer to
‘see it’, auditory learners prefer to ‘hear it’, whereas
kinaesthetic learners prefer to ‘do it’ (CEC, 2002). This
study asks whether a lesson aimed at including all VAK
approaches is more effective than one that uses visual/
auditory engagement only.
Experiential (Hands-On) vs Exposition
(Demonstrative) Approaches
The Association for Experiential Education (AEE)
defines experiential learning as “...a process through
which a learner constructs knowledge, skill and value
from direct experience” ( www.aee.org/ndef.html ).
Reece & Walkers (1997) stated that “The key to effective, long term learning is based upon experiential
learning which has the following features: personal
involvement, stimulation of feelings and thinking, self
initiation and self-evaluation... Active learning by doing
is seen as the key”.
If pupils are personally involved in a practical task
alongside others, they are more likely to be involved in
discussion about the task, construct it through personal
experience and, especially for science, model processes
of investigation and enquiry. Practical work assists these
processes greatly (Harlen 1999; Hodson 1992) by
involving the full VAK range of learning styles.
However there is also research that challenges the
importance of practical activity (Wurdinger & Priest,
1999). Demonstrating a lesson (typically accommodating visual and auditory learning styles) can be just as
effective in terms of interest and motivation, according
to Harlen (1999), and positive pupil reaction is determined as much by teacher style (Tobin and Fraser,
1987). Moreover, learners can be de-motivated if practical work does not give them a sense of achievement,
either due to the complexity of the practical experiment, its ‘failure’, and/or a combination of irrelevance
and frustration.
Moreover, practical activity is perceived to be
“expensive” and so its disputed value is significant. In
Mitchell’s (1987) study of the importance of experiential education with bilingual students, for example,
teachers agreed that practical experiential learning was a
great idea in principle but noted difficulties such as
time, space, differentiation of ability and bilingual competence. They also defended book-based work as an
equally valid method of learning.
This all rather suggests that it is of greater importance to focus on purposes and outcomes, including in
terms of learning styles, than it is to simply endorse or
rely on a particular approach (e.g. exposition versus
experience). Gardner & Gauld (1990) maintain that
what learners actually “like” about practical activities is
9
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Figure 1
Flour ‘mountain’
with syrup
‘glacier’.
not related to what they learn, but to the “opportunity
to engage in the variety of active learning methods, to
interact more freely with the teacher and with other
pupils, and to pace the work as it suits them, that
appeals, rather than the opportunity to conduct practical investigations”. Experiential practical activity is
valuable as long as its purpose is clear and it does not
obscure understanding, if understanding is the purpose. This study compares experiential and expository
approaches with lessons that are otherwise controlled in
respect of planned purpose, structure and teacher style.
Methodology
Two Scottish primary five classes (labelled here “P5expositional” (23 pupils) and “P5-experiential” (22
pupils)) took part in separate lessons about glaciers. The
lesson content, teacher and outcomes were the same for
each class, except whether the physical model was used
in exposition or experientially. Both lessons involved a
four phase model (Overview, Input, Process, Review)
including:
● Explanation of the formation and movement of
glaciers
● Definitions for new vocabulary
● Illustration using photographs
● The modelled activity
● A worksheet to assess knowledge and understanding
Table 1:
Whole class
averages
In the physical modelling phase of the lessons, the
teacher demonstrated the glacier model to the whole of
P5a Exposition
P5b Experiential
Worksheet (mark out of 16)
9.23
10.66
Worksheet (mark out of 16)
(Six weeks later)
6.77
8.38
Difference in scores
-2.46
-2.28
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10
the P5-expositional class, whereas the P5-experiential
class handled the same glacier models in small groups
of four or five. The teacher did not demonstrate the
model for the latter group but instructed the pupils
how to carry out the activity.
The model consisted of emptying a bag of flour into
a tray to create a “mountain”. The pupils examined the
“mountain” and pointed out any particular features
such as boulders, cliffs, cracks and the characteristics of
the surface (typically uneven and not smooth). Next a
tin of syrup was emptied over the top of the flour
mountain and this demonstrated the path of a “glacier”,
eroding and smoothing the landscape. This activity has
a number of variants, including the use of sawdust for
example. However, the surface of a flour mountain
responds very visibly to the passage of the glacier (Figure 1), and it is very easy to see the processes of erosion
through the syrup and is unexpectedly easy to clear up.
The pupils in P5-expositional were allowed to view
the model closer in small groups of five, after the glacier had stopped moving. The pupils in P5-experiential
were able to observe their own models close up
throughout and also got to view the other glacier models in their classroom. In both classes the pupils were
encouraged to identify the glacier features and to discuss their findings with their peers.
Both classes completed individual glacier worksheets to assess the knowledge and understanding
gained by each pupil. The worksheet was completed
again 6 weeks later in order to assess the retention of
knowledge. An additional question was added to this
second worksheet in order to assess understanding with
new input material (responding to unseen photographs). A sub-sample of both classes was also interviewed after the glacier lesson.
Results
Table 1 shows the class-averaged scores from the worksheets, excluding the additional question. Knowledge
and understanding, as measured by these worksheets,
reduced over the six week interval for both classes.
Seventeen out of 23 pupils in P5-expositional scored
lower on the second worksheet (six weeks after the lesson) than they did on the first worksheet (at the end of
the lesson). Eighteen out of 22 pupils in the P5-experiential class also scored lower. Table 1 shows that P5experiential pupils obtained a slightly higher average
score in each worksheet than P5-expositional pupils.
The pupils in P5-experiential also had a slightly lower
average drop in scores between the two worksheets.
An extra question was added to the second worksheet
which asked the pupils to compare two photos; one of
recent glacier moraine and one of an older glacier
moraine. The pupils were asked, “How do we know that
one of these photos shows moraine from a recent glacier?” (Moraines were discussed generally in the original
lesson in the context of those that appeared on the physical model). This question was added to the second
worksheet in order to assess pupil understanding in the
face of new input, as opposed to recall. No difference in
understanding was noted between the two classes.
Four mixed-ability pupils from each class were also
interviewed after the lesson. The pupils were asked a
number of questions. The answers given by the pupils
displayed a very similar level of understanding between
the two classes. However, when asked what the
favourite part of the lesson was P5-expositional said
“the worksheet” and P5-experiential said “pouring the
syrup on”. Both classes were very positive during the
interview and couldn’t think of any improvements that
could have been made to the lesson.
Discussion and Conclusion
The results show slightly higher knowledge and understanding scores for pupils who engaged more experientially and using a greater part of the VAK learning style
range. It could be argued that a hands-on activity used
in order to enhance a lesson is beneficial in helping
pupils to learn slightly more efficiently.
However the results are not very different and the
difference is certainly not statistically significant, and so
could be attributed to random variation or even to
minor systematic variation in factors such as the age
profiles of the class or other dimensions of class ability.
This lack of difference is itself important. The two sets of
pupils had substantially different learning experiences
within the controlled situation of identical lesson models, intended purposes and teacher. The absence of significant differences between the expository and
experiential approaches suggests that there are more
important factors involved in retaining knowledge and
understanding than the use of expositional or experiential models designed to facilitate the use of different
ranges of VAK learning styles. It may not be the handson approach to a physical model that is relevant but the
complete learning and teaching process (for example
the four phase lesson model) that surrounds it.
For hard-pressed primary teachers of Earth science
this is important because of the time and cost implications of using physical models. For some planned purposes
(in this case the development and retention of knowledge and understanding exclusively) it appears not to
matter much whether the pupils’ engagement is experiential or expository. More important factors appear to
be involved in the delivery of those purposes, at least
within the constraints of this study. However it is
important to note that the very act of planning those
purposes is probably an important factor itself. Moreover, the difference between experiential and expositional use of models may be very significant in relation
to other purposes (if planned) or unintended outcomes
(if not). The development of skills and the so-called
‘soft’ or ‘affective’ outcomes of working socially in
independent teams are obvious examples that were not
studied here.
Finally, the difference between what the interviewed
pupils from each class thought was best about the lesson – “pouring the syrup on” versus “the worksheet” –
might hint intriguingly at their own varied understandings concerning the purposes of the lesson. “Pouring
syrup on” is enjoyable for less achievement-driven reasons than doing a worksheet is. Does this suggest that,
for the pupils, the kind of activity might describe the purpose
of the lesson, rather than the purpose of the lesson determining the activity?
Victoria Aldridge
References:
www.aee.org/ndef/html
City of Edinburgh Council (2002) ‘Learning For All’
p21-23
Gardner, P. & Gauld, C. (1990) Labwork and Student’s
attitudes. In: Hegarty-Hazel, E. (Ed) ‘The Student
Laboratory and the Science Curriculum’.
London: Routledge.
Harlen, W. (1999) The Role of Practical Work In:
‘Effective Teaching of Science: A Review of Research’. The
Scottish Council for Research in Education
Hodson, D. (1992) ‘Assessment of practical work: some
considerations in philosophy of science’. Science and
Education, (1):115-144
Hughes, M. & Vass, A. (2001) ‘Strategies for Closing the
Learning Gap’. Network Educational Press.
Mitchell, R. (1987) ‘Implementing a child-centred approach
to primary schooling in a bilingual setting’. The Scottish
Council for Research in Education.
Tobin, K. & Fraser, B. J. (Eds) (1987) ‘Exemplary
Practice in Science and Mathematics Education’.
Perth: Curtin University of Technology.
Wurdinger, S. & Priest, S. (1999) ‘Integrating Theory
and Application in experiential learning’ In: Miles, J. &
Priest, S. (Eds) ‘Adventure programming’ State College,
Victoria Aldridge is a former Development Officer for Scottish
Earth Science Education Forum & City of Edinburgh Council,
now working in Malaysia. The work described is part of an
action research project undertaken as a primary school teacher
in City of Edinburgh Council.
11
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Jurassic Lawn?
PETER LOADER
It is said that I will do more or less anything to promote geology at my school and boost numbers,
but the observation of one of my colleagues – “he’s got the only department where a dinosaur on
the staff would be a positive advantage”– rather started a chain of events that resulted in just
that! Well virtually!
ollowing research into an A level question1 on
dinosaur trackways, I realised that if I could not
find a dinosaur then perhaps one could find, or at
least search for, me. So at the last ESTA conference
(have you been lately; well worth it?) I purchased a reasonably priced replica Iguanadon hind-footprint from
those nice people at GeoEd Ltd., and set to work tracing out a set of sturdy footprints in plywood (care of
maintenance support – thanks Terry!).
Research on real trackways2 suggests that the length
of the hind footprint is approximately one quarter of
the hip height of the original animal. (i.e. 4 x footprint
length = hip height). This gives a rough measure of 1.6
metres for my little monster and an overall height of
about 4 metres. The stride length is clearly a function of
the speed of movement and gait (Figure 1). This relationship between size and stride length is termed the
F
Figure 1
A stroll in
the park?
relative stride length (SL/h), where SL represents
length of stride and h the height at the dino’s hip.
Gaits are generally given as the ratio of stride length
and hip height (SL/h) and show if the animal was walking, trotting or running (see key below).
I decided that, as my dino-friend would be crossing
the Rector’s Lawn (a privilege reserved exclusively for
the staff, and Rector, of course!) – then he/she had better be walking or they might get a two hour “afterschool” (detention) rather than just the one. When
everyone had left for the October half term holiday, I
was spotted by a recalcitrant detainee jumping from
one foot to another in the vain attempt to simulate the
stride pattern of a 5 tonne herbivore ambling across
Figure 1
metres
2
Right
hand
print
SL
1
Left
hand
print
0
FL
Key
FL - hind-foot print length
SL - stride length of either left/right foot
h(hip height) = 4 x foot print length (FL)
Relative stride length (SL/h) is used to determine gait
– whether the animal is
Walking – (SL/h< 2.0)
Trotting – (SL/h>2.0 and <2.9)
Running – (SL/h>=2.9)
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12
the edge of the lawn and disappearing into the bushes!
Satisfied with the accuracy of my measurements (and
the visual effect from any overlooking rooms) the
footprints were positioned across the lawn making
sure not to mix up left from right prints (they are
reversible!). Each was held down by a couple of bricks
and a memo delivered to the caretaker as to the possible health and safety implications of “messing with my
scientific investigation”. Though it was tempting to
return to school during the half-term(!) I decided to
wait the week out and was rewarded with some excellent “lawn-kill” footprints, which even in January are
still just about visible.
These are ideal as a teaching aid for my A level students to enable us to simulate the collection of the
dinosaur morphology and function data required by
our specification. Interest was also shown by the more
enquiring minds of my Middle School charges and I
gladly agreed to add to our “gifted and talented” provision (see photos) in the hope of future reward. The
effect on the first Open Day after half-term was all that
I could have wanted. Prospective students of all ages
were seen dragging their parents to the scene of my
crime in order to answer a “Treasure Hunt” question
given on arrival at school and gain a chocolate dinosaur
prize for their efforts.
But what of the little prep girl who was reported to
be traumatised by the thought of a dinosaur hiding in
the bushes. “Don’t worry”, reassured her 6-year old
brother, “Iguanodons are herbivores”! So yet another
potential geologist went away quite happy!
Just like me!
Pete Loader
“Dino-Master”, St. Bede’s College, Manchester
Figure 2
Getting the measure of the beast
References
1WJEC GL4 2005, Q1
2 http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/Palaeofiles/
Tracks/default.html
Figure 3
It went that way!
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Field Safety Training for Staff in
Geography, Earth and Environmental
Sciences in HE: Establishing a Framework
PAULINE COUPER AND TIM STOTT
The need for, and requirements of, staff development opportunities in fieldwork leadership for
Higher Education staff have been explored by consultation with representatives of subject
organisations and the Outdoor community.
his article summarises the outcomes of that consultation (a full report is available on request).
Currently available opportunities for relevant
training are identified, and a ‘framework’ for considering staff development is proposed. This includes a list
of the competencies that it is suggested field leaders
should endeavour to develop. This list is intended to be
a facilitative tool, for example in assisting self-assessment of development needs. Finally, a number of
avenues for further work are recommended in order to
provide increased support for HE staff involved in leading fieldwork.
T
Introduction
This project was established to enable the HE Geography, Earth and Environmental Science (GEES) community to learn from the expertise of the Outdoor
(mountaineering/outdoor pursuits) community in
relation to issues of fieldwork safety. Fieldwork often
takes place in potentially hazardous locations, including
rivers, woodlands, coastal/tidal locations, moorland and
mountains and urban areas.
HE subject organisations and outdoor organisations
were invited to be involved in a consultation (either
through meetings or electronic communication) to
investigate the need for, and requirements of, staff
development opportunities in the safe management of
fieldwork specifically tailored to Higher Education.
This article summarises the key findings, with a full
report available on request.
Fieldwork has long been recognised as playing a central role in GEES subjects (Kent et al., 1997; Williams et
al., 1999; Fuller et al., 2003), often occurring in potentially hazardous locations. A growing literature on fieldwork pedagogy (e.g. Gold et al., 1991; Kent et al., 1997;
Warburton et al., 1997; Livingstone et al., 1998; Andrews
et al., 2003; Boyle et al., 2003; Fuller et al., 2003; King,
2003) often recognises field safety as being of paramount importance (e.g. Gold et al., 1991). However,
discussion tends to be: a) limited, often only making
brief reference to risk assessment, and; b) largely
focused on methods of encouraging students’ awareness of safety (Francis and Wignall, 1997; Gaskarth,
1997; Sutcliffe and Grocott, 1997; Woodcock, 1997)
rather than considering the staff experience or compewww.esta-uk.org
14
tence that such teaching is based on. Fieldwork safety
guidance is available in both national (e.g. CHUGD,
undated; ESTA, undated; Nichols, 1990; CVCP, 1995;
AUCL, 1996) and departmental guidelines (online
examples of the latter include those of the Department
of Earth Sciences at University College London and the
Geography Department at Exeter University), but
these are predominantly, if not wholly, recommendations for the establishment of procedural systems
designed to ensure the safe execution of fieldwork.
Undoubtedly such systems are essential, but a ‘checklist’ approach to complying with them would not necessarily ensure effective, safe leadership of fieldwork. In
particular, such guidelines are often limited in their
consideration of what actually happens in the field,
emphasizing pre-field visit procedures and the establishment of precautionary incident management procedures, and post-visit review. Arguably, competent
leadership whilst in the field, and the on-going decision-making involved in this (Outdoor Education
Advisor’s Panel, 2004), “is the most important safety
factor of all” (DfES, 1989: 4).
The Outdoor community has considerable expertise
in leading groups of all ages in much the same environments, and in training others to lead groups in these
environments, with participant safety and risk management (rather than simply risk assessment) to the fore.
The emphasis here is on a continuous process of risk
management and leadership, from pre-visit risk assessment and establishment of necessary protocol, through
effective group leadership incorporating continuous
assessment of, and adaptation to risk, through to post
field visit review. Outdoor leadership literature (e.g.
Ogilvie, 1993; Langmuir, 1995; Graham, 1997; Long,
2004) thus considers not just safety procedures and the
necessary technical skills, but also the ‘soft skills’ of
group leadership. Outdoor leadership courses – such as
the Walking Group Leader and Mountain Leader
schemes – are likely to be too in-depth for most GEES
subject staff, but the higher education community
could clearly learn from the expertise of the outdoor
community.
The need for staff development opportunities has
been apparent throughout the discussions, with suggestions that some (particularly new) staff feel unprepared
when leading fieldwork. Opportunities for gaining
experience may be limited (e.g. 14 days a year or less)
and so the chance to learn from ‘outdoor professionals’
would be welcomed. However, some concerns were
expressed, particularly in relation to the establishment
of a qualification. If this were then seen as a requirement for staff leading fieldwork, it was suggested that
the effect may be to decrease the opportunities for students to participate in fieldwork, rather than enhance
provision. It should be noted here that the Government’s ‘Better Regulation Task Force’ takes the view
that regulation should be used only as a last resort, stating that “perhaps people don’t need to be told what to
do if they’re given the right information to help them
take their own decisions” (Better Regulation Task
Force, 2003: 3). Although written within the context of
statutory regulatory intervention, the notion is central
to this project: that providing individuals in HE with
the opportunity to learn more about, and develop their
expertise and confidence in the successful management
of fieldwork will be more effective in enhancing provision than would a requirement of staff to ‘jump
through hoops’ in an instrumental manner. In essence,
this requires a recognition that risk can never be eliminated, but can be managed – a position clearly stated by
the Health & Safety Executive and key to their current
‘risk debate’ (Health & Safety Executive, 2005a; 2005b).
Currently Available Opportunities
A range of opportunities for relevant training currently
exists (Table 1), many of which are in ‘outdoor leadership’ rather than ‘fieldwork leadership’, and not specifically tailored to a HE context. However, such schemes
may be of value in providing ‘models’ of training and
assessment that the GEES community may consider
adapting, and in providing alternative means of developing and demonstrating relevant competence.
A Framework for Staff Development
It was suggested that the primary function of a framework for staff development should be: to promote the
safe management of field-based experiential learning in
the Geography, Earth and Environmental Science disciplines in Higher Education, in order to maximise the
learning experience of students.
In this context, ‘promote’ should be interpreted to
mean both; a) encouraging and enabling individual
staff members to develop competence and confidence
in managing fieldwork safely; and b) to ‘publicise’ the
collective competence of the GEES community,
thereby encouraging the confidence of HE managers
(and health and safety officers) in fieldwork and thus
fostering continued support for field-based experiential learning.
It is here suggested that a ‘framework for staff devel-
Table 1:
Currently available
staff development
opportunities.
Scheme
Administering Organisation
Notes
Mountain Leader
Mountain Leader Training UK
Walking Group Leader
Mountain Leader Training UK
These cover competencies applicable to fieldwork, particularly in
remote areas, providing national recognition of such
competencies. They go beyond the requirements of most HE staff
and take considerable personal commitment.
Level 2 Basic Expedition Leader
Award
Sports Leaders UK
For lowland, rural areas. This award does not cover high hills,
moorland or mountainous terrain.
Group Leader Training
Local Education Authorities
For school staff leading minors.
OCR Level 3 Certificate in Off-Site OCR exam board
Safety Management
Targeted at ‘adults working with young people’.
Accredited Practitioner of the
Institute of Outdoor Learning
Institute of Outdoor Learning
Primarily aimed at leaders working in the outdoor industry, it
emphasizes that candidates should have experience in leading a
range of client groups.
New Lecturer Workshop
HE Academy Subject Centre for
Geography, Earth &
Environmental Sciences
Includes some consideration of fieldwork.
Health & Safety on Fieldwork
Field Studies Council
BSES Leadership Training Course, BSES Expeditions
incorporating NVQ Level 3 in
Leadership and Management
Training in safety issues tailored
to departmental requirements
4-week training course including overseas expedition.
Marlin Training
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Table 2: Framework for Staff Development
A: DESIRABLE COMPETENCIES FOR FIELD LEADERSHIP
The competencies listed below are suggested to be those that it is desirable for field leaders to endeavour to develop.
The list is not intended to be prescriptive, and could be used, for example, as an aid to self-reflection and the identification of
development needs.
1. Pre-fieldwork planning
Staff should be familiar with the planning responsibilities of the field course leader, and capable of thorough preparation of the event.
1.1 Field trip planning
Staff should:
a. be clear about the pedagogical aims of, and reasons for, the field visit, ensuring they are appropriate to the student cohort;
b. ensure that the field visit is organised in accordance with the guidelines and requirements of the department or institution;
c. complete detailed preparations; plan the venue, negotiate access, obtain relevant weather and tide forecasts, arrange transport;
d. ensure the students involved are thoroughly briefed; students should understand the purpose of the activity, what to expect
of the visit, and what is expected of them.
1.2 Risk assessment prior to fieldwork
Staff should:
a. understand the difference between generic risk assessment, event-specific risk assessment, and on-going risk assessment and
management;
b. aim to promote a culture of risk awareness, risk assessment and risk management among students, involving students in risk
assessment whenever possible;
c. be aware of hazards specific to the environment in which the visit is to take place;
d. be aware (as far as available evidence allows) of the most hazardous aspects of fieldwork.
2. On-site aspects of field leadership
Fieldwork should be a safe, enjoyable, educational experience for students. Staff should endeavour to:
a. manage the group effectively by setting realistic targets, reviewing and revising them if necessary, performing ongoing risk assessments, and maintaining effective communication with students as appropriate to the form of fieldwork being undertaken;
b. develop a reflective, flexible approach to leadership;
c. develop effective group management and supervision skills;
d. have in place clear guidelines for remote working of students where appropriate.
3. Incident management
The department and institution providing fieldwork opportunities should have established procedures for dealing with incidents. Staff involved in fieldwork should:
a. be thoroughly conversant with these procedures in order to implement them in stressful circumstances if necessary;
b. ensure that students working remotely are conversant with relevant procedures;
c. hold a current first aid qualification.
4. Post-fieldwork review
Post-event review should be an integral part of fieldwork, and should:
a. include review of the pedagogical effectiveness of the activity;
b. include review of the management of the group and event in relation to both pedagogy and the safety of participants;
c. lead to enhancement of practice.
5. Throughout all of the above, staff involved in fieldwork:
a. should endeavour to develop an awareness of their own competence/limitations;
b. would benefit from familiarity with the legal responsibilities of field staff towards individual students and the group as a
whole, including in ‘down-time’ on residential fieldwork;
c. should be mindful of the responsibilities of field staff towards each other, land/property owners and managers, the general
public, the environment, and the HE community;
d. should be aware of current best practice in managing adult groups, particularly in ‘down-time’ on residential fieldwork.
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Table 2: Framework for Staff Development Cont.
B: MECHANISMS BY WHICH SUCH COMPETENCIES MAY BE DEMONSTRATED
The Health & Safety Executive recognise four mechanisms for the demonstration of competence:
i. Holding a national qualification
At present there is no national, fieldwork-related qualification tailored to a higher education context.
ii. Holding an equivalent qualification
Equivalent qualifications, ideally nationally recognised (or equivalent overseas qualifications), such as those listed in Table 1 may
provide evidence of competence in some (perhaps all) of the areas listed above.
iii. Undertaking suitable in-house training
In-house training offered by institutions may provide evidence of competence in some (perhaps all) of the areas listed above.
iv. Demonstrating competence developed through experience
Staff should be encouraged to maintain a reflective log of their fieldwork/field leadership experience, as evidence of competence
developed through accumulated experience.
opment’ should consist of:
i) A statement of the desirable competencies, which
field leaders should endeavour to develop;
ii) A statement of the mechanisms by which such
competencies may be recognised.
Such a framework should facilitate staff development at
all career stages (including postgraduate), recognise and
emphasize the value of continuing experience and
development, encourage the dissemination of good
practice, and allow recognition of relevant qualifications and experience obtained from outside the HE sector (such as those listed in Table 1).
The framework proposed in Table 2 integrates pedagogy and fieldwork safety, something that those
involved in the consultation agreed was essential. Both
are dependent on effective group management before,
during and after a field visit, and both benefit from a
reflective approach. The educational purpose of fieldwork, in both generic and event-specific contexts, is
central to the management of any visit and provides the
justification for undertaking the activity.
It was also felt that a reflective approach to leading
fieldwork should be encouraged. This will help to facilitate the development of self-awareness of staff competence in managing and leading fieldwork, increasing the
likelihood that individuals will recognise their responsibilities and limitations, and work within these.
Practicalities of Provision
A number of options for the delivery of staff development opportunities could be considered, for example:
i) A single, nationally recognised training course specific to leading students in HE fieldwork;
ii) An agreed curriculum, that could be delivered in
multiple locations;
iii) A variety of courses tailored to, for example, different levels of experience or different environments;
iv) Recommended use of already existing training
(such as those identified in Table 1);
v) A package of ‘good practice’ guidance that staff are
recommended to follow.
Maximum flexibility is desirable, and a combination
of options (for example, options iii, iv and v above)
may be the most effective. In particular, any courses
that are offered should be available in multiple locations across the UK to ensure accessibility to all HE
institutions. The consultation group was of the opinion that training opportunities should incorporate
practical elements (e.g. simulation), and that a reflective log would be a useful staff development tool, in
encouraging continued development and enabling
experience to be recognised.
Ideally, staff development opportunities should be
available to cover all aspects of fieldwork in all environments. Discussion revealed that ‘down-time’ in
residential field visits is a particular area of concern, as
is the transport of students to and from sites (specifically the issue of staff driving minibuses). Such concerns clearly need to be addressed, and it is likely that
further investigation of these issues will be required
in order to provide a solid evidence base from which
to address them (see below). It should also be recognised that fieldwork is undertaken in a wide range of
environments, from remote mountainous areas to
urban locations. Both the commonalities (for example, students working in unfamiliar locations) and the
differences (such as remote fieldwork compared to
city locations) between work in these environments
should be catered for.
A package of good practice could be the first step
towards the provision of staff development opportunities. The experience of the outdoor industry is that any
legal proceedings arising from accidents are judged
against good practice, and clarity regarding what the HE
17
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GEES community considers to be good practice in
fieldwork would thus be of benefit.
The consultation group is clear that the provision
of staff development opportunities is a priority, and
whilst there is some support for providing the option
of associated assessment, this is of secondary importance at this stage. However, if assessment were to
occur, this should be an assessment of competence
undertaken by someone more experienced than the
candidate being assessed. The mechanism of such
assessment would be crucial to the credibility and success of the scheme. It is thus recommended that any
assessment or qualification should take into account
the four mechanisms of demonstrating competence
that are recognised by the Health and Safety Executive
(and outlined in Table 2).
dent ratios on fieldwork in spite of cost implications.
A high staff-student ratio allows new staff to benefit
from accompanying more experienced personnel, and
thus facilitates ‘mentoring’ in the development of field
leaders. Most importantly, it is essential to encourage
recognition that providing opportunities for fieldbased experiential learning in HE is in itself good
practice. A body of literature supporting this already
exists (Boyle et al., 2003).
This combination of developing a sound body of
‘evidence’ of fieldwork practicalities, and providing
clear, reliable information based on this evidence,
should go some way towards addressing the many concerns associated with fieldwork and hence contribute to
ensuring that students continue to have opportunities
for field-based experiential learning.
Further Research Required
A strengthening of the ‘evidence base’ on which decisions about fieldwork are made would be of value, both
in managing fieldwork and in addressing the concerns
of individuals and institutions responsible for fieldwork
provision. Aspects for further research include:
1. Identification and dissemination of good practice, in
both individual and departmental/institutional practice.
2. Identification of the ‘most dangerous’ aspects of
fieldwork, where most accidents and/or near-misses
occur, in order to focus concerns more effectively.
3. Identification of restrictions or limitations on fieldwork, and reasons for these.
Conclusions
Arguably, dialogue about, reflection on, and awareness
of fieldwork safety issues should be encouraged. This
requires the development of an evidence base, good
practice recommendations established from this, and
facility for the dissemination and discussion of both
good practice and near misses.
Publicising the desirable staff competencies for field
leaders recommended here should assist staff in assessing their own development needs. Any professional
development opportunities made available specifically
for GEES staff should be focused around these competencies. If, or when some assessment of competence is
deemed necessary, this competence should be demonstrated through any of the four mechanisms recognised
by the Health & Safety Executive.
Finally, the evidence base referred to above should be
used to increase awareness among HE managers, health
and safety officers, and any other relevant parties, of the
professional competence of GEES staff in leading fieldwork, thus helping to maintain the central role of fieldwork in the student experience in GEES disciplines.
Pauline Couper
The College of St Mark & St John, Plymouth
Tim Stott
Liverpool John Moores University
The GEES community could learn from the wealth of
individual experience that exists by pooling resources,
sharing examples of good practice but also recording
and sharing the ‘near-misses’. Concerns regarding fear
of reprisal (either personal, or restrictions to future
fieldwork) would need to be addressed in order to
facilitate this, but an anonymous web-based repository may be one way of encouraging the necessary cultural shift.
Finally, building on the work suggested above,
sound information, advice and examples of good practice should be available for departments and institutions to encourage the continued provision of
experiential learning opportunities. The risks of fieldwork need to be realistically assessed, encouraging
recognition that ‘accidents do happen’ (risk can be
managed but never eliminated) and that staff need
support and protection in such circumstances, but that
the occurrence of accidents is rare. Clear information
regarding the legal responsibilities of staff towards
students during fieldwork is required, to provide reassurance for individuals, departments and institutions
that they are meeting their obligations. Recommendations should include the retention of high staff-stu-
www.esta-uk.org
18
Acknowledgements: Original article published in Planet Issue
16, the publication of the Higher Education Academy Subject
Centre for Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences (GEES):
http://www.gees.ac.uk/pubs/planet.
This project was funded by the Higher Education Academy
Subject Centre for Geography, Earth and Environmental
Sciences (GEES). We are grateful to all those who contributed
to the consultation, particularly the individuals who gave up
their time to attend meetings.
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19
www.esta-uk.org
TED HARRIS
Roderick Murchison was one of the forefathers of modern geology. In Scotland, the land of his
birth, he is relatively unknown. But 3000 miles away in the Russian city of Perm, he is a well
known and respected figure, so much so that Russian schoolchildren there have been studying
the life and work of this nineteenth-century geologist.
urchison was born at Tarradale House, Muir
of Ord in the Scottish Highlands and served
in the Peninsular Wars before taking an interest in geology. In 1841 Czar Nicholas I commissioned
him to report on the mineral wealth of Russia and so
began his travels, in the course of which he would cover
over 14 000 miles. As a result of his surveys and mapping, he defined the geological period known as the
Permian (290 to 245 million years ago), which he
named in honour of the city of Perm.
In 1845, Czar Nicholas bestowed upon him a Russian knighthood. Queen Victoria later made Murchison
a baron and, during the course of his lifetime, he
received a further seventeen major awards from governments and scientific societies across the world,
eventually becoming Director-General of the British
Geological Survey.
Murchison wrote an account of his travels in Russia
as a popular geological ‘travelogue’ but never saw it
published. It was finally published, by the BGS, in 2005
under the title Murchison’s Wanderings in Russia,
complete with colour reproductions of Murchison’s
original geological map and cross-sections.
In December 2005, a group of 24 schoolchildren
aged between 13 and 15 and their three teachers began
an arduous overland journey by bus to visit the place of
his birth in Scotland. The school board in Perm had
part-funded the journey after the pupils’ project on
Murchison won a schools competition. The BGS in
M
Figure 1
Keith Westhead
piping the group
from Perm into
Murchison House.
PHOTO FERGUS MACTAGGART
BGS © NERC.
Edinburgh became involved in the early stages of planning for the trip and helped to arrange a programme of
activities for the young visitors.
The trip included a visit to Tarradale House, now in
private hands. The owners opened the house to the
group and the local community provided a hot meal
and some Scottish entertainment for the young visitors
at the nearby community centre.
While in Edinburgh, the BGS held a reception (at
their office, Murchison House, named after the great
man) for the group. The children presented the Survey
with an engraved plaque, commemorating Murchison
and his work in Russia, similar to one erected at their
school in Perm. Dr Martin Smith, the BGS head-ofstation in Edinburgh, presented the group with a copy
of Wanderings in Russia and a suitably inscribed piece
of Permian sandstone. Also at the reception were members of the Scotland-Russia Forum and the Russian
Consul in Edinburgh, Mr Nikita Matkovski.
Afterwards, the group chatted with staff, who had
welcomed them into the building to the sound of the
bagpipes, and then left, heading for Stratford-uponAvon and the theatre before making the return trip
home. During their trip the group made links with
schools in Edinburgh, Muir of Ord and Dingwall, and in
Fortrose Academy, sixth-year pupils learning Russian are
already planning an exchange visit to Perm later this year.
Ted Harris
Figure 2
The children holding facsimiles of Murchison’s maps and other historical documents at Murchison House in Edinburgh. Standing behind
the children are Martin Smith, BGS head of station (left) and Ted Harris, BGS schools liaison in Scotland (centre by bust of Murchison),
Neville Long, of the Scotland-Russia Forum, and Nikita Matkovski, Russian Consul in Edinburgh (both to right). The children’s teachers are
(left to right) Olga Shibanova (to left of Martin Smith), and Olga Yakovleva and Nataliya Kurdina (both to right of Ted Harris).
PHOTO FERGUS MACTAGGART BGS © NERC.
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20
Obtaining and Using Remotely Sensed
Imagery for Teaching in the Earth Sciences
OLIVER TOMLINSON
Satellite based Earth imaging systems provide an overview of large (even continental) areas of the
Earth’s surface and from a perspective which can give insight and show features not obviously
apparent on the ground. They can provide very detailed large scale imagery of specific locations as
well as allow the analysis of areas which are inhospitable, difficult to reach or are politically unstable.
ne of course needs to differentiate between passive and active imaging systems. Passive systems simply record reflected solar and/or
emitted electromagnetic energy from the Earth’s surface, typically in the visible, reflected infrared and thermal infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
In contrast, active imaging systems emit a beam of
energy (typically in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum) which interacts with the Earth’s
surface and then they record some part of the returned
signal. Active imaging systems are commonly termed
imaging radar and have some advantages over their passive counterparts. However this article will focus on
passive imaging systems, as such imagery is more
widely available (especially for free) and is less complicated in terms of interpretation, processing and theoretical physics.
The mineral and oil industries have long used satellite imagery to help find potential locations of new mineral or oil reserves – especially in hard to reach and
inhospitable areas. Specialists in this area are often looking for certain tell tale features in an image. This may be
related to looking at the faults/lineaments present in a
region or spectral analysis of the overlying vegetation.
The latter is termed geo-botany, and may involve looking for deviations from what are considered normal
spectral reflectance curves for a vegetation cover type
which can be caused by high levels of certain minerals
(such as copper ore). In terms of geological mapping,
though much information on lithology can be obtained
from single band images, especially in the 1.6 - 2.2µm
(reflected infrared) region of the spectrum, it is multispectral imagery covering arid/semi-arid areas (where
ground cover is low) which commonly show an amazing correspondence with published geological maps.
Lastly, those working in the field of geological hazards
can also benefit from the use of such imagery. For
example volcanoes are easily seen in such imagery and
can be studied from a safe distance. Imagery can be used
to identify/map different lava types and material from
previous eruptions, perhaps as the basis for a hazard
map of the region, while imagery from the reflected and
thermal infrared parts of the spectrum can be used to
monitor an ongoing eruption.
The purpose of this article however is not to teach
you what you as Earth scientists already know, or pro-
O
vide an overview of remote sensing theory, but to
make you aware of how easily such satellite imagery
and associated computer based viewing and processing tools can be obtained (for free) and used in the
classroom, even if just in hard copy (printed) format,
given access to a computer with a broadband internet
connection (or better).
Image Resolution
A vast array of imaging systems are currently in orbit
around the Earth. The imagery from these systems can
be described according to their resolving power or resolution: Spatial, Spectral, Temporal and Radiometric
resolution. As with maps, one generally selects an imaging system which has an appropriate resolution in relation to the topic or phenomena being studied. If you are
unfamiliar with the concept of image resolution, then
Mather (2004) provides a good explanation, as do several of the web sites considered at the end of this article.
Overview of selected satellite imaging systems
for which free data is available
The Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer or
AVHRRi instrument is carried on-board the NOAA
(POES) series of satellites. A single AVHRR instrument
images the entire Earth in a 24 hour period, but several
AVHRR instruments are currently in operation. The
basic technical specification of the AVHRR instrument
is summarised in Table 1. While initially designed as a
meteorological instrument, the AVHRR has great benefit to geological studies, especially in arid and semi arid
areas. Figure 1 shows a false colour composite of an
AVHRR image for Morocco and much of NW Africa
and it clearly shows a number of large geological and
geomorphological formations. It is argued by Short
(2005) and others, that the availability of such macro
scale remotely sensed imagery led to the development
of a new sub-field of Earth Science called ‘mega-geomorphology’.
AVHRR imagery is useful for applications such as fault
mapping and volcano monitoring. NOAA even operates
a web site dedicated to the monitoring of volcanos using
satellite imagery (http://www.osei.noaa.gov/ Events/Volcano). Lithology in AVHRR imagery is often assessed on
the basis of night time thermal differences between its
two long wave thermal bands (bands 4 & 5). The short
21
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Table 1:
NOAA AVHRR/2
Revisit
Swath
Spatial Resolution
Radiometric Resolution
Band 1
0.58 - 0.68µm
Band 2
0.72 - 1.10µm
Band 3
3.55 - 3.93µm
Band 4
10.30 - 11.30µm
Band 5
11.50 - 12.50µm
Spatial, spectral,
temporal and
roadiometrics
resolution of
selected passive
satellite imaging
systems.
(SOURCE: INFORMATION
COLLATED FROM ITC, 2005)
24 hours
2700km
1100m
10 bit [1024 levels]
Visible Red
Near IR
Thermal IR
Thermal IR
Thermal IR
Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM)
Revisit
16 days
Swath
185km
Spatial Resolution
30m*
8 bit [256 levels]
Band 1
0.45 - 0.52µm
Visible Blue
Band 2
0.52 - 0.60µm
Visible Green
Band 3
0.63 - 0.69µm
Visible Red
Band 4
0.76 - 0.90µm
Near IR
Band 5
1.55 - 1.75µm
Middle IR
Band 7
2.08 - 2.35µm
Middle IR
Band 6
10.40 - 12.50µm Thermal IR (*120m)
Note: IR = Infrared
wavelength thermal channel (band 3b) of the AVHRR3
instrument is also valuable in that it can be used to detect
lava flows, lave tubes and lava lakes.
Processed AVHRR data of value to Earth surface
studies is available however this data generally requires
the use of an image processing (IP) package to read the
data and generate the images. One of the best sources of
global AVHRR data is the USGS EROS Global Land 1KM AVHRR project [http://edcdaac.usgs.gov/1KM/
comp10d.asp ]. This site provides access to global
mosaics of AVHRR data from 1992-1996. The imagery
is in the form of 10 day composites (i.e. each image is
derived from the average reflectance from a series of ten
individual daily images). To access the imagery, you
define an area of interest using lat/lon and then select
the individual AVHRR channel (or other derived product) to download and at what spatial resolution ii.
Figure 1 was created by downloading data from the
1KM AVHHR project and importing it into the MultiSpec processing package.
This data source is easy to use though the currencyiii
of the imagery may be an issue for some applications,
and you have to repeat the download process for each
band of imagery you want. The biggest hurdle is learning how to import and display the data in an image processing package iv. If you find this hurdle to big to
overcome, then you may wish to consider Landsat
imagery or NASAs World Wind Application.
The Landsat programme was the first terrain imaging
programme designed specifically for the regular and predictable large scale (and at the time, high spatial resolution) imaging of the Earth’s surface. Operated by the
U.S. government, Landsat 1 was launched back in 1972.
The Thematic Mapper (TM) debuted on board Landsat
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22
SPOT Vegetation (VGT)
Revisit
Swath
Spatial Resolution
Band 0
0.43 - 0.47µm
Band 2
0.61 - 0.68µm
Band 3
0.78 - 0.89µm
Band 4
1.58 - 1.75µm
24 hours
2,250km
1000m
10 bit [1024 levels]
Visible Blue
Visible Red
Near IR
Middle IR
Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM)
Revisit
16 days
Swath
185km
Spatial Resolution
30m*
8 bit [256 levels]
Band 1
0.45 - 0.52µm
Visible Blue
Band 2
0.52 - 0.60µm
Visible Green
Band 3
0.63 - 0.69µm
Visible Red
Band 4
0.75 - 0.90µm
Near IR
Band 5
1.55 - 1.75µm
Middle IR
Band 7
2.08 - 2.35µm
Middle IR
Band 6
10.40 - 12.50µm Thermal IR (*60m)
Band 8
0.52 - 0.90µm
Pan Visible (*15m)
4 in 1982 and its technical details are shown in Table 1.
Band 7 was added rather late in the development of the
TM programme at the behest of the geological community (hence why it is out of sequence given its waveband sensitivity), because this spectral region is quite
good for mineral identification. The relatively high spatial and spectral resolution of the Landsat TM made it
very useful across a large spectrum of applications and
it became the main work horse of remote sensing. In
the late 90s the TM was improved and relaunched as
the ETM aboard Landsat 6. However Landsat 6 never
made orbit and so the ETM instrument only started
imaging the Earth with the launch of Landsat 7 in 1999.
Table 1 includes the technical specifications for the
ETM instrument. The ETM is much the same as the
TM instrument, except the thermal channel now has a
60m resolution and a broad visible panchromatic channel has been added with a 15m resolution. Raw TM &
ETM data for processing are generally quite expensive,
but cheap or even free imagery can be obtained from a
number of sources. Today the TM & ETM imaging systems would be considered moderate resolution imaging systems, but the imagery they produce is very
valuable and suitable for a large range of applications.
The best single global source of free TM & ETM
imagery is NASA’s Applied Sciences Directorate Landsat Mosaic [https://zulu.ssc.nasa.gov/mrsid/]. NASA’s
Landsat mosaic web site is a free Landsat TM/ETM
image archive of global coverage (excluding the polar
regions) in MrSIDv format. A free MrSID plug-in for
your web browser can be obtained from LizardTech
( www.lizardtech.com ). Once the site is loaded in a
browser, you select images using a map interface. You
zoom in to your area of interest and then can view
Figure 1:
AVHRR/2 composite image of NW Africa. Low spatial resolution imagery such as this is excellent for regional and continental scale
studies and shows a considerable amount of geological /geomorphological detail, especially in arid / semi arid areas as shown here. The
dune seas (ergs), plateaus and massif features stand out quite clearly, as do the High and Anti Atlas mountain ranges. Complex folding
is also evident in places and possible faults can also be traced (more easily visible when viewed on a computer screen). The band to
colour gun assignment of the composite is RGB=AVHRR bands 3, 2 & 1 respectively. Densely vegetated areas appear green, dune seas
appear as a light beige and salt depressions (such as those of the Grand Erg Occidental) are a bluish-white (not to be confused with the
darker bluishwhite colour seen in the North and over the Atlas, which is cloud and / or snow). The major geological features such as the
Yetti Eglab Massif are shown in red.
AVHRR/2 DATA COURTESY OF THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (HTTP://EDCSNS17.CR.USGS.GOV/1KM/COMP10D.HTML)
and/or download the TM or ETM image of that area. If
downloading, please note the TM files are ~32Mb
each, while the ETM files are ~ 150Mb each). The
images are already in a false colour composite format
(i.e. you don’t have access to the original individual
image bands as you do with the 1KM AVHRR project)
and are in UTM projected co-ordinatesvi. The ETM
images (circa 2000) are RGB=742 (Middle IR, Near IR
and Visible Green), but each band of the composite has
been ‘pan sharpened’ using the ETMs 15m panchromatic channel – this effectively means the imagery is at
~ 15m spatial resolution and accounts for the whopping 150Mb file sizes. The TM images (circa 1990) are
also RBG=742, but because they are not pan sharpened, spatial resolution remains at about 30m and file
sizes are a lot more reasonable. If you have access to a
GIS, then because the data is projected, you can use the
GIS to re-project the data for integration with other
data sets if need be (e.g. OSGB). While MrSid is an odd
format, if you have an application which reads MrSid
format, viewing and using such imagery is very easy.
Figure 2 shows an extract from the ETM (2000)
mosaic (tiles N-29-25 & N-29-30) which centres on a
Hercynian Massif formation in the Anti Atlas to the
East of Tiznit (South of Agadir), Morocco and the corresponding extract from the 1:500,000 geology sheet for
the same area. The match between the features in the
image and the units and their boundaries on the geology map is clearly apparent and underlines the value of
such imagery to Earth scientists. The match with larger
scale geology maps is equally good.
Other moderate spatial resolution imagery can be
obtained which is technically free, but you have to pay
an administration charge which though not expensive
may be beyond the budgets of some. Perhaps the best
example is the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER). ASTER is a
14 channel imaging system on NASA’s Terra satellite.
ASTER imagery is sub classified by its spatial resolution
and spectral range:
● VNIR – Bands 1-3: 4 Visible and near IR channels at
15m spatial resolution
● SWIR – Bands 4-9: 6 Near IR channels at 30m spatial resolution
● TIR – Bands 10-14: 5 thermal channels at 90m spatial resolution
An $80US processing charge is levied for each ASTER
scene (granule) if you want to download via FTP (it is
more expensive if you want imagery on media). ASTER
imagery can be browsed and ordered via the USGS/
NASA Earth Observation System Data Gateway
( http://edcimswww.cr.usgs.gov/pub/imswelcome ).
From a geological point of view, VNIR imagery provides a 100% improvement on Landsat TM imagery,
while the SWIR provides more spectral discrimination
in the short wave infrared useful for mineral discrimination. ASTER imagery however is only available in
HDF format which many IP software packages, especially older ones, cannot read.
Overview of selected free PC based image
viewing and image processing packages
Image viewers are the simplest to use, but cannot easily
be used to read in raw data such as that from the
AVHRR archive. However they are very good for
23
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Figure 2:
Tiled Landsat 7 ETM composite image of a Hercynian Massif in the Anti Atlas (East of Tiznit), Morocco and associated geology map
extract. The ETM composite (2000) shows a Hercynian massif (located at ~9°W 30°N). The features and colouring in the image can be
seen to closely match the geological units shown on the geology map. Lineaments and patterns of folding are also clearly visible. The
image above was created by tiling two ETM (2000) images (N-29-25 & N29-30) using Lizardtech’s GeoExpress View application. The area
of interest was then zoomed into and saved as a separate TIF file. A horizontal line of contrast difference in the top left is the only real
clue as to where one tile ends and the other begins.
ETM DATA COURTESY OF NASA (HTTPS://ZULU.SSC.NASA.GOV/MRSID/). GEOLOGY MAP SOURCE: CARTE GEOLOGIQUE DU MAROC, MARRAKECH SHEET, 1:500,000 (1957).
MrSID imagery. For those who want to do more than
browse or print imagery, consider one of the image processing applications, but note a greater level of technical
knowledge is required to use them.
Because the Landsat archive imagery is in MrSID
format, an image viewer capable of reading MrSID
images is neededvii. Two such image viewing packages
are described next and while they are very similar in
many respects, there are some important differences.
Leica’s ViewFinder (formerly ERDAS ViewFinder)
[http://www.gis.leica-geosystems.com/Products/Imagine/downloads/viewfinder.asp] can read a range of standard satellite image formats (but not HDF format). It is
nice and easy to use viewer, especially for multi-spectral
imagery. It allows files to be saved to TIF (for use in a
standard graphics program) or Erdas Imagine formats
(for use in IP software). Because the Landsat MrSID
imagery is geo-coded, this application will also allow
you to measure distances and calculate areas (using an
overlay layer). It can also perform simple processing
(histogram stretching and spatial filtering). On the
down side it has no print capability, but it does allow
you to copy the contents of the main window to the
clipboard for pasting into other applications.
Lizardtech’s GeoExpress View [http://www.lizard
tech.com]. Lizardtech are the company who developed the
MrSID format. As well as providing an MrSID image
plug-in for web browsers, they also have a standalone
viewer – GeoExpress View. This software is more limited
that Leica’s ViewFinder in terms of the image formats it
recognises (TIF and MrSID only) and the image processing it is capable of. On the plus side you can tile adjacent
images (if geo-referenced) and print from within the
application (it prints whatever is in the window with a
scale, so can print whole images or just sub sections). As
well as allowing you to measure distances and areas, it also
allows you to place annotation over the image (text and
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24
drawing), which is useful for hi-lighting features. It can
export images to several graphics formats (either the
whole image or a selected area) and it also allows window
snapshots to the clipboard. The real problem is that you
can only use it for 30 minutes at a time and then have to
restart it (a limitation of the free version of this application). However you can save your projects, so you can pick
up where you left off each time your time expires. Note:
when using this application, you have to start a new project before you can open an image file.
When considering satellite imagery and image viewing software, one cannot ignore the fantastic ‘World
Wind’ application recently developed by NASA
(http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov). World Wind is a tool
for exploring all of/any part of the Earth in 3D using
satellite imagery, while via its ‘scientific visualisation
studio’ it provides a fantastic perspective on topics from
African wild fires to volcanic activity. The imagery is
part of the application, in that when you zoom in to the
Earth, it automatically pulls imagery relevant to that
location from the web and displays it. The closer in you
zoom to a location, the more detailed the imagery
becomes. This means you don’t have to mess about
downloading separate images and software to display
them. On the down side, the initial download is quite
large (45MB) and the application needs an internet
connection (broadband or better) when it is being used.
It primarily uses NOAA AVHRR and Landsat7 ETM
imagery as the main means of representing the surface
of the Earth, but for some locations other imagery (e.g.
MODIS) is also available. For the USA, ortho-rectified
vertical aerial photographs are available which show a
stunning level of detail. The application is not unlike
using a flight simulator to navigate to your location of
choice and fly around it, exploring it from different perspectives. Figure 3 shows a screen shot from the World
Wind application looking north towards Agadir & the
High Atlas, Morocco. As part of the Geography degree
at Derby, The World Wind application is used to help
familiarise students with the environment around
Agadir prior to their field visit.
As far as IP software goes, the packages considered
are free, easy to install and come with a good set of tutorials (though may take some time to download and
learn how to use!). They do vary in their complexity
(and they are ordered from simple to complex). All
however could be used to teach IP in the classroom.
BILKO [ www.soc.soton.ac.uk/bilko/index. php].
Bilko was written by UNESCO and is a non-commercial/teaching application. It is PC based and comes with
its own tutorials on basic image processing which are
quite well written (though have a coastal / marine bias
as that is the topic of study for which Bilko was developed). Bilko has good image import capabilities
(including HDF files), but is a little limited in terms of
image processing and export capabilities.
MultiSpec [http://dynamo.ecn.purdue.edu/~biehl/
MultiSpec]. MultiSpec is a non-commercial / teaching
package developed at Purdue University. Versions are
available for MAC and PC based systems. MultiSpec
comes with some sample imagery / tutorials. MultiSpec
can read a number of image formats (including HDF
and ERDAS) and is reasonable for processing and
exporting imagery.
TNTLite [www.microimages.com/tntlite]. TNTLite
is a free (but cut down) version of a commercial image
processing package called TNTmips. As such it is limited in certain ways (it will only read / display relatively
small file sizes and you cannot export files). Again, tutorial and sample image files can also be downloaded. Versions for MAC, PC, Linux & SUN systems are
available (as are different language versions). While
image export has been disabled, this software is otherwise very comprehensive. Those with no image processing experience may find it a little complicated and
may be better trying one of the other packages first. It
can read imagery of nearly every format, including
MrSID and HDF.
Figure 3:
Screen shot from NASA’s World Wind Application. The view is looking north towards the High Atlas mountains from a position just to the
west of the Hercynian Massif from Figure 2. Much of the top left quarter of Figure 2 is visible in this view. We again have Landsat ETM
imagery, but this time it is draped over elevation data and place names are added by World Wind. Integrating the satellite imagery with
elevation data greatly aids interpretation as it provides a context for the features (and their boundaries) depicted in the image. The City
of Agadir is at the base of the High Atlas (top left). The Souss Valley is shown running from the top right in a SW direction toward the
sea (between the High Atlas in the background and the Anti Atlas to our East). In the foreground is the Youssef Ben Tachfine reservoir
which is fed from the Anti Atlas. Running north from the bottom of the view (across the dam of the reservoir) is the first Anti Atlas
mountain ridge, the steeply inclined bedding planes of which are clearly visible on its Western slope and help identify the feature as
being sedimentary in origin.
SOURCE: NASA WORLD WIND (HTTP://WORLDWIND.ARC.NASA.GOV/)
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Useful web based resources in Remote Sensing
(Theory & Application)
The nature of remote sensing and image processing
means that there are a lot of resources on the internet
which look at both theory and application. A brief
overview of some of the best places to start is considered here:
Remote Sensing Core Curriculum (RSCC) [www.rs-c-c.org]. The American Society of Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) site includes resources
which cover theory and application as well as having a
number of tutorials which can be downloaded and
undertaken. Content is quite broad and though there is
little which is specific to geological remote sensing, it still
makes an excellent on-line text book.
NASA’s Remote Sensing Tutorial by Nicholas Short
[http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov]vii is another excellent educational resource which covers the history, theory and
application of remote sensing. This site has a number of
dedicated sections on applications in geology & megageomorphology. This site also has its own associated
free PC based IP software called PIT (Photo Interpretation Tool) and the site has chapters covering the
installation and use of PIT for image display & processing. PIT comes with some sample images and is a useful companion to the site. This is an award winning
introductory resource to the topic of remote sensing.
Canadian Remote Sensing Society (CRSS)
www.ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/ccrs/com/crss/crss_e.html ].
The CRSS site gives access to a number of different
types of information. From a learning resource point
of view, click on the Learning tab (www.ccrs.nrcan.
gc.ca/ccrs/learn/learn_e.html ) where you will find
the Remote Sensing Tutorial. This is another comprehensive on-line text book covering remote sensing
theory and application. The fundamentals section is
very good and there is a dedicated section on applications in geology. The site also includes a lot of information on active (radar) imaging (primarily because
of Radarsat – A Canadian government operated imaging radar). There are also teachers notes and a number of exercises which can be downloaded (for both
passive and active imaging systems). Many of these
tutorials are designed as hard copy exercises, so no IP
software is required.
The ITC Database of Satellites and Sensors
[www.itc.nl/research/products/sensordb/searchsat.asp
x]. This ITC (International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation) site is very useful
when you are researching about different remote sensing satellites and sensors. While it is not the only site of
this sort, it is arguably the best. It provides history and
technical information on each satellite and sensor as
well as links to resources about each one. Such web
based resources on satellites and sensors are always
more up to date than text books.
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26
Conclusion
In recent years NASA have emerged as a key resource
provider for those wishing to learn about and use satellite imagery. Their provision of easily readable and high
quality imagery such as the MrSID format TM & ETM
imagery coupled with the outstanding World Wind
Application and on-line remote sensing tutorial mean
that you no longer have to be an image processing
expert to use satellite imagery in teaching activities. If
access to a computing lab is problematic, hard copy
exercises can easily be generated (with MS PowerPoint
or Word) which are low cost yet valuable means of
introducing remote sensing into the class room ix.
Where access to a computing lab is possible, the amount
of good quality software, imagery and training materials means that you can teach remote sensing without
having to make any costly data, textbook or software
license purchases.
References
ITC – International Institute for Geo-Information
Science and Earth Observation (2005) Database of
Satellites and Sensors [on-line]. Available from:
www.itc.nl/ research/products/sensordb/
searchsat.aspx (Accessed on 16/11/2005).
Mather, P. (2004) Computer Processing of Remotely-Sensed
Images. Chichester: Wiley.
NASA Applied Science Directorate (2005)
Landsat Mosaic Data [on-line].
Available from: https://zulu.ssc.nasa.gov/mrsid
(Accessed on 16/11/2005).
Short, N. (2005) The Remote Sensing Tutorial [on-line].
Available from: http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov
(Accessed on 16/11/2005).
Oliver Tomlinson
Senior Lecturer in Remote Sensing & GIS
Geography, Earth, Environment & Sport (GEES)
University of Derby
Kedleston Road
Derby
DE22 1GB
i
While generically referred to as the AVHRR, there
are actually two versions of this instrument. The
now older AVHRR/2 (which is described here) was
carried on NOAA-10 - NOAA-14. The newer
AVHRR/3 as carried on the current NOAA satellites has an extra NIR channel, but is the same in
other respects.
ii You can choose any resolution between 1km and
16km.
iii If you need more recent imagery of this type, then
consider using VGT imagery. The Vegetation (or
VGT) is a 4 channel imaging system carried on the
SPOT series of satellite since 1998. The VGT collects imagery much the same as the AVHRR in
terms of swath, spectral and spatial resolution,
though the focus of the VGT project is terrestrial
rather than meteorological. Table 1 includes a summary of the VGT’s technical details for comparison
with the AVHRR. VGT imagery can be obtained
from the Free VGT Image Archive (http://free.vgt.
vito.be/) and the newest imagery is only ever 3
months old.
iv The AVHRR data is typically 16bit signed integer.
If using a PC, specify a byte order of least significant byte first – LSB (i.e. Intel rather than Motorola
byte order) and a compression type of none. While
the extension is default to .dat, the data is in BSQ
format with no header. Reference to ‘samples’ in
image size means columns. Print out the information from the download verification page, as it is
needed when importing it into IP software.
v MrSID formatted data can be read by some IP software packages, but not by many general graphics
applications. However, you can download freeware
MrSID compatible image viewers which will allow
you to view, zoom, roam and print out such
imagery. See section on free image viewing software for more details.
vi UTM – Universal Transverse Mercator is a global
planar / Cartesian co-ordinate system.
vii Users of ESRIs ArcView & ArcGIS applications
please note that these applications can read MrSid
imagery, though you may have to load the appropriate extension first.
viii An alternative URL for this site is:
http://www.sbg.ac.at/geo/idrisi/remote_sensing_t
utorial/rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/
ix
I print out imagery using the fairly humble inkjet
printer on my desk using either photographic or
bright white (chalk coated) paper. Photo paper produces superb results, but I use chalk coated where
students get to keep the prints afterwards.
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Comparison of the New GCSE Science
Specifications for their Earth Science Content
PETER KENNETT, ON BEHALF OF THE EARTH SCIENCE EDUCATION UNIT
These new specifications for the General Certificate in Secondary Education (GCSE) in science will
apply to teaching starting in September 2006, for first examination in 2007.
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
(QCA) Criteria for Science
The new proposals are based upon a revised programme of study for Science at Key Stage 4 (14 - 16 year
olds) published by QCA in 2004 (available on the QCA
website). The Programme of Study is mirrored by the
GCSE Criteria for science (QCA website). These provide for:
● GCSE Science (replacing Science, Single Award)
● GCSE Additional Science (giving the equivalent of
Science, Double Award, when taken with the above)
● GCSE Extension Units, to allow for qualification in all
3 separate sciences – Biology, Chemistry and Physics
● GCSE Applied Science (offered either as Additional
Applied Science worth one GCSE or as a Double
Award Applied Science GCSE).
The chart provided by EDEXCEL explains the relationship between these (apart from Applied Science).
There is no change to the Programmes of Study at
Key Stages 1 to 3 (for 5 - 14 year olds). The new programmes of study from QCA are divided into five categories (four in the previous version):
● How science works (replacing “Sc1”)
● Organisms and health
● Chemical and material behaviour
● Energy, electricity and radiations
● Environment, Earth and universe
How Science Works
The skills, knowledge and understanding of how sci-
ence works. The main headings are:
1. Data, evidence, theories and explanations
2. Practical and enquiry skills
3. Communication skills
4. Applications and implications of science
Earth science applications can be found for all of the
statements itemised under the above headings.
Breadth of Study
Organisms and health (largely biology)
The statement with most relevance to Earth science is:
“Variation within species can lead to evolutionary
changes and similarities and differences between
species can be measured and classified.”
Chemical and material behaviour (largely chemistry)
An Earth application could be implied from the statement, “New materials made from natural resources by
chemical reactions”.
Energy, electricity and radiations (largely physics)
Examples from the Earth could be used to exemplify
“energy transfers...”: also, “Radiations...”.
Environment, Earth and Universe
This contains the “obvious” Earth science, i.e. “The
surface and atmosphere of the Earth have changed since
the Earth’s origin and are changing at present”. Also
covered are environmental issues, “The effects of
human activity on the environment can be assessed
using living and non-living indicators”.
Specification design
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28
GCSE Science
GCSE Additional Science
Extension Units
UNIT B1
UNIT B2
UNIT B3
GCSE Biology
UNIT C1
UNIT C2
UNIT C3
GCSE Chemistry
UNIT P1
UNIT P2
UNIT P3
GCSE Physics
Earth Science Content of the New GCSE
Specifications
The following notes have been compiled by trawling
through the specifications provided by the four Awarding Bodies (that used to be called Examining Boards)
for England and Wales.
For each Body, the tables show:
In normal type – content which would normally be
regarded as earth science, quoted verbatim;
In italics – content which is arguably more marginal to earth
science, shown in summary only.
Most of the specifications show requirements at both
Foundation and Higher level, resulting in some apparent repetition seen in parts of the tables.
With the exception of the WJEC, there seems to be
little or no additional earth science in the specifications
for the separate subject GCSEs in Biology, Chemistry
and Physics.
AQA (Science A, 86 pages)
GCSE Science A and B (The specifications for Science A and Science B are identical: it is the assessment method that varies)
Part of Specification
Candidates should use their skills, knowledge Students’ skills, knowledge and understanding of how science
and understanding of how science works:
works should be set in these substantive contexts:
Biology 1b – Evolution
and Environment
to suggest reasons why scientists cannot be
certain about how life began on Earth;
Fossils provide evidence of how much (or how little) different
organisms have changed since life developed on Earth
to interpret evidence relating to evolutionary
theory;
The theory of evolution states that all species of living things have
evolved from simple life-forms which first developed more than three
billion years ago.
to suggest reasons why Darwin’s theory of
natural selection was only gradually accepted;
to identify the differences between Darwin’s
theory of evolution and conflicting theories.
Chemistry 1a –
Products from Rocks
Chemistry 1b – Oils,
Earth and Atmosphere
Waste disposal (could include landfill)
The “greenhouse effect”
Sustainable development
Limestone, metal ores and fuels – environmental, social and economic
effects of exploitation: products made from geological resources
to explain why the theory of crustal movement
(continental drift) was not generally accepted
for many years after it was proposed;
to explain why scientists cannot accurately
predict when earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions will occur;
to explain and evaluate theories of the changes
that have occurred and are occurring in the
Earth’s atmosphere.
The Earth consists of a core, mantle and a crust.
Scientists once thought that the features of the Earth’s surface were
the result of the shrinking of the crust as the Earth cooled down
following its formation.
The Earth’s crust and the upper part of the mantle are cracked into a
number of large pieces (tectonic plates). Convection currents within
the Earth’s mantle, driven by heat released by natural radioactive
processes, cause the plates to move at relative speeds of a few
centimetres per year.
The movements can be sudden and disastrous. Earthquakes and/or
volcanic eruptions occur at the boundaries between tectonic plates.
For 200 million years, the proportions of different gases in the
atmosphere have been much the same as they are today.
During the first billion years of the Earth’s existence there was intense
volcanic activity. This activity released the gases that formed the early
atmosphere and water vapour that condensed to form the oceans.
Some theories suggest that during this period, the Earth’s
atmosphere was mainly carbon dioxide and there would have been
little or no oxygen gas (like the atmospheres of Mars and Venus
today). There may have also been water vapour, and small
proportions of methane and ammonia.
Plants produced the oxygen that is now in the atmosphere.
Most of the carbon from the carbon dioxide in the air gradually
became locked up in sedimentary rocks as carbonates and fossil
fuels.
Nowadays the release of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels
increases the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Physics 1a. 1b
Heat loss (could involve plutonic v. volcanic environments)
Energy sources – coal, oil, gas, nuclear
Renewable energy, including geothermal: impact on environment
Half-life (could be related to radioisotopic dating)
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AQA (92 pages) – GCSE Additional Science
Topic
Biology B2, Chemistry
C2, Physics P2
No topics involving Earth science seem to be included.
Edexcel (180 pages total) – GCSE Science
Learning outcomes
B1a: Topic 1 –
Environment
explain that fossils provide evidence for evolution;
C1a: Topic 6 Making
Changes
Extraction of metals from ores
C1b: Topic 7 – There’s
One Earth
discuss how the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere and its temperature have varied over different time scales;
P1b: Topic 11 – Now
You See It, Now You
Don’t
Describe the similarities between longitudinal and transverse waves...including seismic waves...
discuss why Charles Darwin experienced difficulty in getting his theory of evolution through natural selection accepted
by the scientific community in the 19th century.
Global warming; sustainability; useful substances from sea water & rock salt.
suggest reasons why scientists find it difficult to predict earthquakes and tsunami waves, given appropriate data;
use data about seismic waves passing through the Earth to draw conclusions about the types of materials that are
found in the planet’s interior.
EDEXCEL – GCSE Additional Science
Learning outcomes
P2: Topic 11 – Putting
Radiation to Use
Recognise that scientific conclusions, such as those from radioactive dating, often carry significant uncertainties.
Discuss the origin of the background radiation from Earth and space.
Explain that the Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field protects it from radiation from space.
P2 Topic 12 – Power of
the Atom
Describe a simple decay series starting from the daughter products of U-235.
Explain that the products of nuclear fission are radioactive and discuss the long-term possibilities for storage/disposal
of nuclear waste.
OCR – GCSE (Gateway) Science (134 pages)
Statement
P1: Energy for the
Home
Describe earthquakes as producing shock waves which can cause damage, and be detected by seismometers
describe that earthquakes produce shock waves, which can also travel inside the Earth
State that there are two types of seismic waves
● longitudinal P waves travel through both solids and liquids and travel faster than S waves;
● transverse S waves which travel through solids but not through liquids.
Describe how seismic waves transmitted through the Earth can be used to provide evidence for its structure
● P waves travel through solid and liquid rock (i.e. all layers of the Earth);
● S waves cannot travel through liquid rock (i.e. the outer core).
B2: Understanding our
Environment
State that fossils can provide evidence for living organisms from long ago.
Explain that animals and plants can change over long periods of time and that fossils provide evidence for this
Describe how the relative position of fossils in rock layers can be used to show evolutionary changes during long
periods of time.
Describe how organisms may have become fossilised:
● hard body parts (shells, bones, leaves) covered in sediment, gradual replacement by minerals;
● casts / impressions;
● preservation in amber, peat bogs, tar pits, ice.
Explain that the fossil record is incomplete:
● some body parts, particularly soft tissue, decay so do not fossilise;
● fossilisation rarely occurred;
● fossils not yet discovered.
Interpret data on the evolution of an organism such as the horse
Explain that the fossil record has been interpreted differently over time (eg creationist interpretation).
Explain that when environments change some animal and plant species survive or evolve but many become extinct.
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30
OCR – GCSE (Gateway) Science (134 pages) Continued
Statement
C2: Rocks and Metals
construction materials, including those manufactured from rocks in the Earth’s crust:
State that some rocks are used to construct buildings:
● granite, limestone and marble.
Describe that marble is much harder than limestone and that granite is harder than marble.
Explain why granite, marble and limestone have different hardnesses
● limestone is a sedimentary rock
● marble is a metamorphic rock made by the action of high pressures and temperatures on limestone
● granite is an igneous rock.
State that limestone and marble are both forms of calcium carbonate
environmental problems resulting from quarrying
C2: Rocks and Metals
Describe the structure of the Earth as a sphere with a thin rocky crust, mantle and core
State that the Earth’s core contains iron
State that the movement of tectonic plates results in volcanic activity and earthquakes
Describe the outer layer of the Earth (lithosphere) as oceanic plates under oceans and continental plates forming
continents.
Describe the lithosphere as the (relatively) cold rigid outer part of the Earth that includes the crust and the outer part of
the mantle.
Explain that tectonic plates are found on top of the mantle because they are less dense than the mantle.
Explain the problems of studying the structure of the Earth.
Describe the mantle as the zone between the crust and the core and that it is relatively cold and rigid just below the
crust but hot and non-rigid and so able to flow at greater depths.
Describe the theory of plate tectonics:
● energy transfer involving convection currents in the largely solid mantle causing the plates to move slowly;
● oceanic plates are more dense than the continental plates;
● collision between oceanic and continental plates leads to subduction and partial remelting (oceanic goes underneath
continental).
Describe in simple terms the development of the theory of plate tectonics.
Describe how molten rock can find its way to the surface through weaknesses in the crust.
Explain that magma from the mantle must have a density less than that of the crust in order to rise through it.
State that igneous rock is made when molten rock cools down.
Describe magma as molten rock beneath the surface of the Earth.
Describe lava as molten rock that erupts from a volcano.
State that some of the rock on the Earth’s surface has been formed by volcanic activity.
Describe that some volcanoes give runny lava, some give thick lava violently and catastrophically.
Explain how the size of crystals in an igneous rock is related to the rate of cooling of molten rock:
● iron-rich basalt and its coarse equivalent gabbro;
● silica-rich rhyolite and its coarse equivalent granite.
State that magma can have different compositions and that this affects the rock that forms and the type of eruption,
limited to:
● iron-rich basalt (runny and fairly ‘safe’)
● explosive silica-rich rhyolite (producing pumice and volcanic ash and bombs, sometimes with graded bedding).
Describe that some people choose to live near volcanoes because volcanic soil is very fertile.
Describe that geologists study volcanoes to be able to predict future eruptions and to reveal information about the
structure of the Earth.
Describe that geologists are now able to better predict volcanic eruptions but not with 100% certainty.
Describe how the present day atmosphere evolved:
● original atmosphere came from gases escaping from the interior of the Earth;
● photosynthesis by plants increases the percentage of oxygen until it reached today’s level.
Describe one possible theory for how the atmosphere evolved:
● degassing from the Earth’s crust;
● initial atmosphere of ammonia and carbon dioxide;
● formation of water;
● development of photosynthetic organisms;
● increase in oxygen and nitrogen levels;
● lack of reactivity of nitrogen.
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OCR – GCSE (Gateway) Science (134 pages) Continued
Statement
P2: Living for the future Describe: the shape of the Earth’s magnetic field; ...
Describe that:
● the earth is surrounded by a magnetic field;
● magnets have a north and south pole;
● the Earth’s core contains a lot of molten iron;
● a plotting compass shows the direction of a magnetic field.
OCR – GSCE (Gateway) Additional Science (136 pages)
Statement
P4: Radiation for Life
Describe background radiation and state that it is caused by radioactive substances in rocks and soil and by cosmic rays.
Recall that radioactivity can be used to date rocks.
Explain how the radioactive dating of rocks depends on the calculation of the uranium/lead ratio.
Investigate the variation of background radiation with location
Explain how the idea of half life is used to date artefacts in archaeology.
Recall that measurements from radioactive carbon can be used to find the date of old materials.
Explain how measurements of the activity of radioactive carbon can lead to an approximate age for different materials:
● the amount of carbon 14 in the air has not changed for thousands of years;
● when an object dies (e.g. wood) gaseous exchange with the air stops;
● as the carbon 14 in the wood decays the activity of the sample decreases;
● the ratio of current activity from living matter to the activity of the sample leads to a reasonably accurate date.
Describe and recognise that radioactivity decreases with time
Describe radioactive substances as decaying naturally and giving out nuclear radiation in the form of alpha, beta and
gamma.
Explain and use the concept of half life
Interpret graphical or numerical data of radioactive decay
OCR - 21st Century Science (100 pages)
Statement
P1: The Earth in the
Universe
Recall that rocks provide evidence for changes in the Earth (erosion and sedimentation, fossils, folding, radioactive
dating, craters);
understand that continents would be worn down to sea level, if mountains were not being continuously formed;
understand that the rock processes seen today can account for past changes;
understand that the Earth must be older than its oldest rocks, which are about 4 thousand million years old;
label on a given diagram of the Earth its crust, mantle and core;
recall that the Solar system was formed over very long periods from clouds of gases and dust in space, about 5
thousand million years ago;
discuss the probability and possible consequences of an asteroid colliding with the Earth, including the extinction of
the dinosaurs;
recall Wegener’s theory of continental drift and his evidence for it (geometric fit of continents and their matching fossils,
mountain chains and rocks);
understand how Wegener’s theory accounted for mountain building;
recall reasons for the rejection of Wegener’s theory by geologists of his time (movements of continents not detectable,
Wegener an outsider to the community of geologists, too big an idea from limited evidence, simpler explanations of the
same evidence);
understand that seafloor spreading is a consequence of movement of the solid mantle;
recall that seafloors spread by about 10 cm a year;
understand how seafloor spreading produces a pattern in the magnetism recorded in ocean floors, limited to reversals
of the Earth’s magnetic field and solidification of molten magma at oceanic ridges;
recall that earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain building generally occur at the edges of tectonic plates;
understand how the movement of tectonic plates causes earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain building and contributes to
the rock cycle;
recall some actions that public authorities can take to reduce damage caused by geohazards.
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OCR – 21st Century Science (100 pages) Continued
Statement
B3: Life on Earth
recall that the many different species of living things on Earth (and many species that are now extinct) evolved from very
simple living things;
recall that life on Earth began about 3500 million years ago;
understand that evidence for evolution is provided by fossils and from analysis of similarities and differences in DNA of
organisms;
P3: Radioactive Materials
understand the meaning of the term half life;
understand that radioactive elements have a wide range of half life values;
carry out simple calculations involving half lives;
OCR – 21st Century Additional Science (84 pages)
Statement
C5: Chemicals of the
Natural Environment
recall that the earth’s lithosphere (rigid outer layer of the Earth made up of the crust and the part of the mantle just
below it) is made up of a mixture of minerals;
recall that silicon, oxygen and aluminium are very abundant elements in the crust;
be able to interpret data about the abundance of elements in rocks;
recall that much of the silicon and oxygen is present in the Earth’s crust as the compound silicon dioxide;
recall the properties of silicon dioxide ( e.g. hardness, melting point, conductivity and solubility in water);
explain the properties of silicon dioxide in terms of a giant structure of atoms held together by strong covalent bonding...
understand that silicon dioxide is found as quartz in granite, and is the main constituent of sandstone;
understand that some minerals are valuable gemstones because of their rarity, hardness and appearance;
Metals from ores
Welsh Board – GCSE Science (87 pages total) – WJEC Table X
Statement
B1: Topic 3 Evolution
Examine evidence and interpret data about how organisms and species have changed over time. Suggest reasons why
species may become extinct.
Discuss the controversy surrounding the acceptance of the theory (i.e. Darwin’s theory of evolution).
C1 Topic 3: Using
chemical reactions to
make new materials
Useful products from raw materials from the earth, sea and air
C1 Topic 6: The
production and use of
fuels
Environmental impact of burning fossil fuels
C1: Topic 7 Evolution
investigate data on the composition of the atmosphere over geological time in order to draw conclusions about the
and maintenance of the changes in composition that have taken place.
atmosphere
be aware of the accepted explanations for the origin of the atmosphere and the changes that have occurred over
geological time.
Global warming
C1: Topic 8 Geological
Processes
a) use the development of the theory of continental drift to display their understanding that observations, through
creative thought, lead to an idea to explain them but the explanation may not be accepted until sufficient evidence
exists, as follows:
● In 1915, Alfred Wegener suggested that the Earth’s continents were once joined and had moved apart to their present
positions;
● He based his idea on the close fit of coastlines, and the similar patterns of rocks and fossils, of continents separated
by large oceans;
● He was unable to convincingly explain how the continents could move;
● The current theory of plate tectonics became widely accepted in the 1960’s, by which time other scientists had found
evidence to show that it is the Earth’s plates that move and that they do so as a result of convection currents in the mantle.
b) use evidence about the location of earthquakes and volcanoes to appreciate that the Earth’s lithosphere is
composed of a number of large pieces called plates, which are moving very slowly, and know that this movement drives
the rock cycle.
c) know that rocks can be:
● formed where tectonic plates move apart and magma rises to fill the gap producing new igneous rock
● deformed and/or recycled where tectonic plates move towards each other, driving down the denser plate which may
melt to form magma that on cooling forms igneous rock
P1 Topic 4:Energy,
temperature & the
transfer of heat energy
Transfer of heat energy
33
www.esta-uk.org
WJEC - GCSE Additional Science
Statement
P2 Topic 1: Radioactive
Emissions
Be aware of the dangers associated with radon in the home and use secondary sources to investigate the geographical
distribution of radon affected houses, and the measures that can be taken against radon
P2 Topic 2: The Half
Life of Radioactive
Materials
Radioactive decay simulations and calculations
WJEC - GCSE Chemistry (Separate Subject)
Statement
C3 Topic 4: Limestone
Uses of limestone and social, economic and environmental effects of limestone quarrying
WJEC - GCSE Physics (Separate Subject)
Statement
P3 Topic 5: Seismic
waves
Understand the properties of seismic P-waves, S-waves and surface waves, in terms of their nature, speed and ability to
penetrate different materials
Select and use the equation; Speed = Distance/time in the context of seismic waves
Interpret the information on simplified seismic records, including the lag time and the presence or not of S-waves to
reveal information about the location of an earthquake
Know how the study of seismic records, including the identification of an S-wave shadow zone, has enabled geophysicists to investigate the structure of the Earth, leading to a model of a solid mantle and a liquid core
The contrast between the Bodies is perhaps most marked in the sections dealing with Plate Tectonics, summarised
from the above tables in the table on page 35.
Conclusion
The statements in the revised National Curriculum for
Science for Key Stage 4 may have become shorter, but
the amount of paper needed to express the requirements in terms of GCSE qualifications seems to have
multiplied considerably!
It would appear that the Earth science opportunities
for delivering “How science works” have been
enhanced, with frequent references to Darwin and
Wegener, and the ways in which their theories were
expounded and tested. An Earth science specialist
working in a school should have a great opportunity to
offer technical help to the science department in these
respects.
There are clearly huge differences in the amount of
Earth science included by the different specifications.
Although teachers are at liberty to develop each specification as much as they wish, there is always a tendency
for those who are reluctant to cover the Earth science to
teach the absolute minimum. There is thus a need to
choose one’s specification carefully, and again, for Earth
science teachers to make their voice heard in their science departments.
Although fieldwork does not seem to be expressly
mentioned in any of the specifications, it is clearly
encouraged in “How science works”, as part of data
gathering, and at the very least, students should be
encouraged to look out of the window (officially!) and
observe what is going on around them. The 2006 ASE
Conference tried to encourage “Science out of doors”
www.esta-uk.org
34
and hopefully Earth science teachers will be keen to
spread the word.
References
This exercise was initiated following the receipt of a
summary of the specifications prepared by Ruth
Richards, which helpfully paved the way.
The QCA website contains:
Briefing papers about the revised Science curriculum
– www.qca.org.uk/science
Programme of Study for Science –
http://www.qca.org.uk/10340.htm
Science Criteria – http://www.qca.org.uk/11881.html
The specifications are available from each of the
Awarding Bodies, on paper or as downloadable pdf
files. Their websites are as follows:
Assessment and Qualifications Alliance:
www.aqa.org.uk
EDEXCEL Foundation: www.edexcel.org.uk
Oxford, Cambridge and RSA: www.ocr.org.uk
Welsh Joint Education Committee: www.wjec.co.uk
Peter Kennett
Plate tectonics in the new GCSE Specifications 2007/8
Awarding Body
Topic
OCR:
(Gateway)
OCR:
(21st C)
AQA:
WJEC:
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Crust, mantle, core
Plate = crust + upper mantle
Lithosphere named as such
Plate density & subduction
Convection in mantle
Heat from radioactive decay
Partial melting of subducting plate
Rising of lower density magma
Volcanoes – contrasts in lava type
X
X
X
X
X
(X)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
(X)
X
Plate margins and volcanoes &
earthquakes
X
X
X
P and S seismic waves –
characteristics
X
Continental drift theory
X
X
X (Ph)
X
X
(X)
(X)
X
X
X
X
Wegener named & debate at time
Sea-floor spreading
Magnetic patterns at oceanic ridges
Plate tectonics and the rock cycle
X
X (Ph)
Shrinking apple theory
Rate of plate movement
X
X (Ph)
Surface seismic waves
Earth’s magnetic field
X
X
Prediction of volcanoes and
earthquakes
Evidence of Earth’s interior from P & S
waves
EDEXCEL
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Beware! Some Awarding Bodies put Plate Tectonics in “Physics”, others
in “Chemistry”. All Awarding Bodies cover evolution. None mention
geographical isolation of species as a result of plate tectonics, but it is
an important part of the story.
X
X
X
No detailed survey of the Applied Specifications was undertaken, but a
quick review showed that several of them do bring in some Earth
science, mostly recapitulating the content of the GCSE Science
Specifications tabulated above.
x = topic covered
(x) = topic touched on only
(Ph) = covered in Physics (separate subject only)
35
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Training Scientists or Teaching Science?
Update 2
ALAN RICHARDSON
In less than 18 months many of us will be facing the prospect of selecting and introducing a new
A level specification to our Geology students. I was therefore glad to find Cathie and Mike Brookes
keeping alive the debate about the future direction of the qualification in the last edition of TES.
t the time I wrote some first suggestions for the
structure and content of a new specification, the
process of drafting the new QCA subject criteria had not begun and the only information available
was that we were likely to be limited to four modules.
While the proposals were written up by me, they were
the result of the deliberations of an ESTA working
party, and while I may have added some embellishments of my own, I did not diverge significantly from
the consensus views of the group. For those of you
unfamiliar with the articles, the proposals may be simply summarised thus: the AS course should establish
the global geological context through the interpretation
of geological evidence for Earth structure and plate tectonics, and should then focus on the skills (practical and
intellectual), knowledge and understanding that would
equip the average 17 year-old AS student to record and
interpret a wide range of exposures in England and
Wales at an appropriate level. The second year should
then build on these foundations, developing topics, to a
level commensurate with the cognitive skills expected
of an 18 year old A2 student, and applying them to a
number of optional themes.
Talking to current teachers of either of the extant
specifications, one theme repeatedly surfaces: in order
to make sense of some AS topics, elements of A2 have
to be introduced in the first year, as fundamental topics
are split between the specifications for the two years.
The AS is already overloaded with factual content, and
all too often, the cultivation of understanding must give
way to coverage of content.
While Cathie and Mike Brookes assert that any part
of the current WJEC AS/A specification can be
addressed through my suggested ‘ODST’ approach
(wherein O = Observation: collection and recording of
data; D = Deduction: analysis and interpretation of
data; S = Synthesis: producing a model to account for
the observations and deductions; T = Testing, by predicting the outcome of further observations), this is
only universally possible if the A level course is delivered as a two-year course assessed by terminal examination. If the modular approach is followed, the
conceptual background and the evidence for many phenomena described in the AS course have to be postponed until they are mandated by A2 modules. When
ocean crust structure is lodged in a second year WJEC
option module, models of MOR magma chambers are
A
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36
a compulsory A2 topic, and sea-floor spreading a first
year topic, it is difficult to start with the evidence and
follow through to synthesis. Conversely, the collecting
of textural and mineralogical data from clastic sedimentary rocks must seem arcane to AS students when they
have to wait until A2 for a discussion of the factors that
influence maturity. However, this pales into insignificance against the OCR scheme in which Petrology is an
A2 module, but the applied unit Economic and Environmental Geology is AS.
The ESTA working party suggested that one of the
AS modules in a new specification (our so-called Local
Themes) be devoted to mineralogy, igneous processes
and petrology, surface processes and sedimentary
petrology, the basics of metamorphism (sufficient to
understand the overall picture of the rock cycle), and
introductory structural geology. It was not intended
that this simply be a reworking of the current content of
the WJEC AS level (or for that matter the OCR specification). Rather, it was intended that by placing applied
geology (in the form of the current WJEC Unit 3: Geology and the Human Environment, or the economic geology of the OCR) in the second year, igneous and
sedimentary topics could be more thoroughly developed in the first year, incorporating those aspects currently dealt with at A2.
I am criticised for only listing the ‘topic/knowledgebased content’, and failing to describe the ‘basic toolkit’
that lies at the centre of my philosophy. The article was
not intended to be a draft specification: the intention
was to flag up to the examination boards some of the
issues that a growing number of teachers and lecturers
would like the specification writers to address when
they begin their planning. It was hoped that there was a
shared understanding as to what skills were expected of
an A level student by the end of a full A level course, and
that the division of topics between AS and A2 could be
rearranged in such a way as to develop those skills at an
earlier date.
Similarly, when it comes to issues of assessment, the
working party were aware that some criteria were likely
to change in the light of government policy and QCA
guidelines, but it didn’t seem unreasonable for us to
comment on the content, sequencing and philosophy,
in the hope that those with the necessary experience
and expertise could marry these up with the relevant
criteria as they were published. If we had held back
until they were available, there would not have been time for
this productive debate. However, if the examination board to
which I subscribe published ‘Replies to the Joint Standing
Committee’ in response to the comments of exam centres, as
other boards still seem to do, fellow professionals would find
a wealth of commentary on recent assessments. Unfortunately such comments are dealt with on a one to one basis and
never feed in to wider debate.
While I think there is still a role for objective questions
(multiple choice, multiple completion, assertion/reason) in
sampling knowledge and understanding across the specification, I recognise they take a long time to write. The current
style of questions, each with a well-developed incline of difficulty, while not covering such a wide breadth of topics, can
discriminate well, provided the specification is sufficiently
unambiguous to ensure that examiners and teachers interpret
it in the same way. When practical exams were of three hours
duration, they offered the examiners an opportunity to fairly
sample a student’s understanding of a wide range of topics.
Since external constraints shortened all exams, the scope of
the practical has been greatly reduced. The changes imposed
on the length of exams also modified one important variable
that often passes unnoticed: the scoring rate. In the three
hour exams of the 1990s students had to score at a rate of one
mark every 1.8 minutes. In the current WJEC GL1 exams,
the rate is one mark every minute. Whatever system of assessment we move towards, I would like to see students given a
little more time to think about their responses.
Many may disagree, but I do not think coursework investigations are appropriate at AS. I would hope that by the end
of the AS year students would be in a position to undertake
a set investigation, but by then it is too late as their work
must be assessed and delivered to the boards by early in
May. With large group sizes in AS, scant resources and students only in the process of grasping the basics of the subject, teachers often find themselves teaching outside the
specification to address the requirements of a specific investigation. Surely it is better to use the first year to engender
skills that have wide applicability, and then develop and
apply them in the second year.
The working party had no specific information as to the
future of coursework, apart from the general notion that the
government was moving away from it. Our suggested A2
options (in the proposed Module 4 – Application) were discussed against that backdrop. I am confident that it was the
unspoken consensus of the group, that we all aspire to equipping students with the skills to document and interpret exposures with both confidence and competence, and that field
work is the only way to achieve that. The option modules we
suggested (A – Geological Evolution of Britain; B - Modern Geological Processes; C – Geological Hazards; D – Economic Geology,
and a personal retrospective suggestion: E – Earth Systems and
Environmental Change) were identified as routes by which the
accumulated understanding of the first three modules could
be applied to a choice of topics that would suit the full range
of expertise, training and interests of the incredibly diverse
group of professionals who deliver A level Geology courses. I
would hope that the delivery of any one of them would
include significant time in the field. If coursework is preserved, the way in which it affects these suggestions will
depend on whether it is one of two A2 modules or one of
three. Until we know more it would seem pointless to modify our suggestions, except to say that for such a small cohort
of students, it may be difficult for one board to offer such a
wide range of options. Cathie and Mike ask whether the
module title ‘Application’ is intended to imply ‘application of
knowledge, understanding and skills... applied to a ‘new’
topic’ (as in Options A and B), or ‘application of geological
information to ‘wider world’ issues’ (as in Options C and D).
Similar options coexist in the current WJEC specification,
and I am not sure where the distinction lies. In all four
options existing knowledge, understanding and skills would
be applied in the context of the module, and new knowledge
would be added. The possible objections cited were:
● The option modules would constitute so much of the A2
as to undermine comparability of standards of achievement between students.
Under the current WJEC specification 30% of the A2 marks
come from an infinite variety of Personal Investigations, and
a further 40% from two units (‘Themes’) chosen from four
options. So at present, under the WJEC specification, A2 students only gain 30% of their marks from identical assessments. It would be no less with the proposed options.
● The content of A2 would be very narrow with only one of
these themes (options) completed.
One simple answer would be to require two to be selected as
at present. However, since to my knowledge Geology is not a
pre-requisite for any undergraduate course, I would have
thought that the factual content of the context in which students were trained to apply the geological skills and knowledge gained in the first three modules was of less importance
than the ability of the teacher to make the process both challenging and interesting. If the teacher has a passion for a particular field of Geology, this seems to be the arena in which to
exploit it in inspiring students.
Cathie and Mike ask whether ‘volcanic and earthquake
hazards’ could be incorporated into the working party’s
Global Themes AS module. In order to understand the evidence for Earth structure, students must first understand
seismic wave propagation, and clearly seismic evidence is key
to understanding tectonic activity. My opinion is that students should learn about recent volcanic activity to provide
models for the interpretation of past volcanic activity, and
should understand the links between tectonic processes,
magma types and styles of eruption. These things should be
in the AS course. However, I have current students who have
covered the effects of volcanoes and earthquakes on human
societies at school, and then do it again in second year A level
Geography. Even though earthquakes and volcanoes are popular topics, many students baulk at the prospect of reworking
the human aspects again. Geologists do not decide where settlements are going to be built, neither do they design hazard
resistant buildings. I see their role as advising the planners
and engineers, and in order to do so, they need detailed
37
www.esta-uk.org
knowledge and thorough understanding of rocks and
geological processes. Under the current WJEC specification, much of the applied Geology in Geology and the
Human Environment has to be taught on the back of necessarily superficial geological knowledge.
The suggestion that the bulk of metamorphic
petrology be pushed back to the second year was not
my own, but I quickly embraced it. The reasoning was
not that it was ‘considered more difficult’ (the level of
difficulty is, after all, determined by the complexity of
the questions set by the examiners). Metamorphic
rocks are formed by the alteration of igneous or sedimentary rocks, so students have to understand the latter groups first, before they can interpret the changes
resulting from metamorphism. If we are going to
move all aspects of igneous and sedimentary petrology
into the AS modules, they can only be accommodated
by moving something out. Most AS field work is done
by means of day trips: the bulk of residential field
courses are offered to A2 students. Since the majority
of exposures in England and Wales are of igneous or
sedimentary rocks (or if they are metamorphic, of
such low grade that they can still be interpreted in
terms of their igneous or sedimentary origins), centres
would not be compromised in their ability to offer
students field visits to localities at which they could
apply the compulsory elements of their AS training.
For A2 students lucky enough to be offered more
exotic destinations, encompassing metamorphic terrains, a more detailed knowledge of metamorphism
becomes appropriate. It should be borne in mind that
some basics of metamorphism would have to remain
in the AS year to complete the rock cycle and to
explain alteration adjacent to intrusions.
The responses from HE were elicited by e-mailing
the original article and simply inviting comments. I
approached a few academics who I knew personally, and
then blanketed all those staff I thought likely to be
involved in undergraduate teaching in a very limited
number of Earth Science departments. Existing specifications were not circulated. I am unable to answer
Cathie and Mike’s other questions, but rather than seeing the comments as a backward-looking criticism of
existing specifications, I would rather we look at them
as a set of criteria that we should seek to fulfill through
those students who do complete an A level Geology
course offered under any specification.
Extinction or evolution? I say evolution every time,
but please can we have punctuated equilibrium rather
than excruciating gradualism? However, this may all
become academic, unless the QCA firmly embraces a
set of criteria that allows petrology to be accommodated
in the first year and applied geology in the second.
Whatever directions the two boards take in the
development of their respective specifications, we must
hope that on this occasion we receive them both in sufficient time to decide which one to opt for before we
have to start teaching the course.
Alan Richardson
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Breaking Through New Frontiers in Science Teaching
CLARE ELSLEY
The Science Learning Centres network has been up and running for just over a year, and has received tremendous
feedback from the teachers and technicians who have attended its courses.
he network is a £51 million collaborative initiative by the Department
for Education and Skills and the
Wellcome Trust with an ambitious agenda
– to inject inspiration and innovation into
science teaching to help those working in
the sector become world leaders in science education by 2015.
The network, which is made up of nine
regional centres and a national centre,
provides professional development
opportunities across all areas of science
education, from primary to post-16. The
network’s key aim is to support teachers
and technicians in the delivery of exciting,
relevant, cutting edge science teaching to
ensure students are equipped with the
knowledge and understanding they need,
both as scientists and citizens of the
future. Reinvigorating and reconnecting
teachers with their subjects is high on the
agenda. Many teachers are drawn to science by the excitement of its potential but
within the everyday practicalities of teaching it can be difficult for them to keep up
with developments at the forefront of science and find the time to translate these
into lessons that meet curriculum and
timetable demands.
The regional centres run a range of
courses in Earth sciences. There are
courses aimed at particular stages of the
curriculum, for example “Teaching Rocks
and Soils at KS2 Using Your Environment”, which is being run by the Science
Learning Centre North East in March and
“Dynamic Earth: Practical Approaches to
Earth Science at KS4” which is being run
by the Science Learning Centre South
West in July. Others are more general and
bring together a wider age range, such as
“Teaching the Dynamic Earth: Earth
Processes and the Rock Cycle” which is
being run by the Science Learning Centre
West Midlands in March and is aimed at all
secondary level teachers. It’s early days for
many of these courses, which are running
for the first time this year.
When taken “on the road”, that is,
offered as either part of a bespoke package
T
for a particular school, or offered for
INSET days these sorts of courses have
been well received by those teaching in the
earth science arena. “Teachers have been
very receptive to our courses,” says Caron
Staley, Centre Co-ordinator at the Science
Learning Centre South West. “But we do
have some difficulty in filling booked
courses which require teachers to take time
out of school. Unfortunately it’s the same
across all subject areas as schools are finding it difficult to release their staff for professional training.” Despite the barriers to
teachers taking up professional development opportunities, most of those that
have taken time out would agree that the
investment is worth it.
“I was attracted to the course because I
teach AS level on my own,” says one
teacher who attended a course aimed at
those new to teaching A and AS level Biology. “But I now have a better knowledge
and more positive approach to practical
work. We’ve done some successful experiments and that’s what students want or
they lose interest very quickly. I’ll definitely be coming to more courses and will
persuade other staff to come.”
The development of the network has
been ongoing since late 2004 and is now
complete. The most recent centre to open
is the National Centre in York, which
welcomed its first cohort in November
2005. The National Centre co-ordinates
the network and offers longer, more indepth residential courses to support those
offered by the regional Centres. Each of
the Centres is closely involved in working
with teachers and organisations in their
region to meet the needs and aspirations
of the science education community, and
courses offered are continually monitored
to ensure they are fulfilling those needs.
With input from heads, teachers, technicians and classroom assistants, the Science Learning Centres aim to be more
than deliverers of professional development. They are a focus for science educators and provide a hub for teachers to
share methods, test new ideas and access a
wide range of resources all designed to
support syllabus demands and national
education strategies.
Clare Elsley
Director, Campuspr Ltd
For more information about the Centres, courses running in your area and discount
incentives available to you, please see www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk or contact
your local centre directly:
National Science Learning Centre
Email [email protected]
Tel: 01904 328300
Science Learning Centre West Midlands
Tel: 01782 584429
Science Learning Centre North East
Tel: 0191 370 6200
Science Learning Centre East of England
Tel: +44 (0)1992 503498
Science Learning Centre North West
Tel: 0161 247 2944
Science Learning Centre London
Tel: 020 7612 6325
Science Learning Centre Yorkshire and
the Humber
Email: [email protected].
Tel: 0114 225 4891
Science Learning Centre South East
Tel: 023 8059 8810
Science Learning Centre East Midlands
Tel: 0116 252 3771
Science Learning Centre South West
Tel: 0845 345 3344
39
www.esta-uk.org
Field-based Learning: A Review of
Published Approaches and Strategies
VICTORIA BUCK
“If facilitated appropriately, fieldwork provides an invaluable opportunity for students to develop
many skills both ‘generic’ and geological”, King (1998)
Introduction
In September 2003 an overhaul of AS and A2 GCE Geology course at York College was proposed: the primary
objective was the development and instigation of a fully
self-taught effective program of field work that would
ultimately lead to improved field and laboratory based
synoptic practical coursework module results. In addition, it was also intended that some minor delivery problems, which were highlighted during observation of
teaching and learning (OTL), would be addressed:
namely that of unreasonable expectations being placed
on students in terms of psycho-motor and cognitive
skills learning. In order to proactively turn what could
have been identified as a potentially negative student
learning experience into a positive one for an often
highly differentiated group, an investigation of fieldwork
teaching approaches and strategies was undertaken.
There is a wealth of available literature pertaining to
the positive contribution fieldwork has to affective learning (social and self development) in the compulsory education sector (Key stages 3 & 4 (Foskett and Nundy
2001)). However, published research on the actual
approaches and strategies in post compulsory education
(Further and Higher Education) field based teaching is
not quite so easy to obtain and as such this review is presented as a starting point for newly qualified teachers and
postgraduate students who may be embarking upon field
based learning as a provider for the first time. It does not
claim to be exhanustive, indeed it is focused around the
proceedings of a Learning and Teaching Skills Network
(LTSN) conference in the Geography, Environmental
and Earth Sciences division (GEES). Many of the papers
are centred on inaugural university fieldwork (i.e. first
year undergraduate), but given similarity of the learning
aims and outcomes between A Level fieldwork and first
year undergraduates this was not thought to be a problem
and indeed provided useful material that could be used in
planning possible improvements to A2 fieldwork in
preparation for university.
Observations during field sessions carried out by
York College AS/A2 geography students at the Field
Studies Council Centre, Blencathra, Cumbria (2002,
2003), together with informal discussion groups and
questionnaires from both Geography and Geology students provided valuable insights into possible improvements. Two main findings, centred on the students
inability to integrate the fieldwork into specification
topics both before and after the field excursion and the
www.esta-uk.org
40
students’ perspective on the traditional ‘boring’ and
potentially useless ‘Cook’s Tour’ approach.
Review of Literature
The positive benefits of field based learning in the form
of ‘fieldwork’ have been praised from a variety of angles
for some time. As early as 1956, Bloom was citing ‘the
acquisition of higher orders of thinking’ (in King 2001)
whilst more recently Lonergan and Andresen (1988, in
King 2001) expounded the ‘uniqueness’ of the experience as promoting originality, holism and integration in
the learning forum. Nundy and Foskett (2001) go further and provide a persuasive argument in the form of a
positive correlation between cognitive scores and value
of self for groups of compulsory sector learners who
had a significant component of field based learning in
the spatial sciences, specifically geography. To many,
however it is simply accepted that field-based learning
is a ‘good thing’ because of the unusual and distinctive
nature of the learning ‘episode’. However, without
careful selection of the approach and teaching strategies
there is a danger that A, and especially AS, Level students (usually 16 - 18 year olds) will fail to transfer the
learning from one entity to another due to the learning
experience being ‘too distinctive’ (McPartland & Harvey 1987). This then results in the failure to integrate
effectively the unique insights that come from fieldwork
into the examination responses. Paradoxically, in the
same article McPartland and Harvey (1987) also suggest
that fieldwork is not distinctive enough, and that frequently fieldwork aims only to reinforce theory studied
in the classroom with no new insights for learners thus
leading to the loss of a range of valuable learning opportunities. Hawley (1996) notes that there is ‘no automatic osmosis of information from the field into the
students’ heads’. More importantly, Hawley notes that
familiar classroom techniques do not necessarily prove
effective to extract maximum benefit in a field setting
(Hawley 1996).
It is, therefore, clear from the available literature that
there are two closely allied factors involved in effective
field-based teaching: the first is the approach to the teaching
experience, the second is the choice of teaching strategies employed.
Fieldwork: the Approach
It is worth noting here that within the literature there
appears to be some variability in the terminology used
in discussing the theory of teaching and learning in the
field. Various authors appear to use the terms ‘fieldwork
approach’ and ‘fieldwork type’ interchangeably. For the
purposes of this work, approach and type have been
assimilated under ‘approach’ where approach can be
more easily understood as the framework within which
each learning experience, whether field or class based,
will sit. Hawley (1998) suggests that the choice of
approach will be influenced by a range of internal and
external factors acting upon both parties, i.e. the learner
and provider, and the environment in which the learning will take place, and lists the following as needing
consideration:
● the educational philosophy of the individual leader
and the department;
● the learning aims and objectives of the fieldwork;
● the knowledge, experience and intuition of the
leader/teacher/provider;
● the experience and learning needs of the learners;
● and, the nature of the field location(s).
When planning an approach to fieldwork, tutors are
essentially selecting from a ‘tool kit’ of activities each of
which take different forms and require differing levels of
student/staff involvement. Kent et al, (1997) describe the
nature of activity in the field as ‘falling somewhere on the
two continua’ of observation or participation, and dependency or autonomy. Clearly, this is not exclusive to fieldbased learning having been established in class-based
pedagogy (Robert in Kent et al, 1996). However, it is
important that the selected range of activities allow for
fluidity of approach due to the highly dynamic nature of
the field laboratory. Irrespective of the range of vocabulary used by different researchers it is essentially staff/student ratio of dependency or participation that is used as
the basis of most classification systems and which has
been used by Bland et al, (1996) to identify three broad
fieldwork genres illustrated in Figure 1.
Teacher as Expert
The ‘Cook’s Tour’ (Hawley 1996; King 1998;) aka ‘Category A’ (Thompson 1974); ‘Illustrative’ (Compiani
and Carneiro in Hawley 1998); ‘Look & See’ (Bland et
al, 1996), or ‘The Field Excursion’ (Job in Kent et al,
1996) all have the distinctive characteristics of being
learner passive, factual, knowledge prescriptive, observation orientated, and generally non participatory by
learners. This approach is usually characterised by a
large number of localities where explanations are certain, definite, and with specific emphasis on learners
‘acquiring’ knowledge/information through learner
activities such as listening; drawing, photographing,
noting, and generally ‘eye-balling’ i.e. seeing as much
variety as possible. Thompson (1974) notes that this
approach is one of hastily widening knowledge, whilst
Hawley (1996) notes educational limitations including
‘inappropriate use [and spelling due to not hearing
properly] of geological terminology’ and learner use of
complex theoretical descriptions without evidence of
reasoning or independent observations, thought or
judgement. Referring directly to geographical fieldwork, Job (in Kent et al 1996) points out that it is easy to
criticise past strategies from a present-day pedagogic
standpoint and that there are positive aspects to what is
now considered a ‘traditional’ or outdated approach
summarised as ‘acquiring the skills to ‘read’ and interpret a landscape in its wholeness and thereby to grasp
something of the essence of ‘place’’.
Teacher as Provider
Hawley’s ‘Investigative’ approach (1996), Thompson’s
categories B and C (1974), Compiani and Carneiro’s
Training and Motivating excursions (in Hawley 1998);
and Bland et al’s (1996) Investigation, all list active seeking and operation of instruments and scientific apparatus
as defining characteristics. Additionally, the use of a limited number of well chosen localities where learners can
substantiate and develop theories and the techniques of
the measuring process is highlighted as being a particular
advantage of this approach. The ratio of teacher learner
activity would be hovering around 50:50 where the
responsibility for learning shifts to and from each party
throughout the learning episode and in response to
internal and external factors, i.e. providing new instruments/equipment, correcting technical skills or bringing
learners ‘back on task’ following a distraction. Learner
activities are essentially skills-orientated (psycho-motor
and cognitive) including observing; measuring; and,
hypothesis testing (even where the hypothesis is preprovided by the teacher). The learning episode is essentially participatory and activity-based, but there is no
abdication of responsibility by either party.
Teacher as Guide
More generally known as the ‘Enquiry’ approach
(Bland et al, 1996), this group also, rather confusingly,
Figure 1
The broad
classification of
fieldwork genres
based on the ratio
of staff/learner
input and type of
activity (adapted
from Kent et al,
1996 and Kent et
al, 1997).
AUTONOMY
TEACHER AS
GUIDE
DEPENDENT
TEACHER AS
PROVIDER
TEACHER LED
OBSERVATION
PARTICIPATION
41
www.esta-uk.org
includes Compiani and Carneiro’s ‘Investigating’ and
‘Inducing’ excursions (in King 1998) and Thompson’s
category D (1974). The emphasis is on the teacher as
guide or facilitator with the ratio of teacher learner
activity heavily weighted towards the learner but variable depending upon learner age group and environment. The number of localities covered in any one day
is reduced down usually to just one or two good
‘learner’ sites as opposed to numerous complex ‘type’
sites. The characteristics of this approach are interactive
learner centred, learner led, interpretative, evaluative,
discovery-based activities. Essentially wholly participatory in accordance with learner age and experience and,
crucially, open ended to allow links to post field learning. Activities that encourage initial hypothesis formulation and testing with problem solving and
decision-making should feature heavily perhaps with a
prior (virtual?) feasibility study. Clearly, this type of
approach requires meticulous teacher planning and
careful selection of teaching strategies as without such,
there could be a natural tendency to abdicate responsibilities or revert back to a teacher led approach in which
the quieter learner can hide passively in a learning
episode that is frequently dominated by the ‘pushier’
often more vocal learners.
As noted above, the approach to teaching is the
framework within which the learning episode takes
place and it is reasonable to conclude that the approach
adopted for any field trip should be informed by the
learning aims, objectives and outcomes of each particular group. Objectives should be stated in terms of what
students should be able to do at the end of the fieldwork
that they could not do at the beginning (Thompson
1982). Using this straightforward premise, it can be said
that no single fieldwork approach is universally ‘right’
or ‘wrong’, simply preferable for a given group of learners at a given stage in their course or educational career.
Neither should there be any barriers to mobility within
the fieldwork, such that a field course could comprise
elements from each approach, again depending upon
the learning objectives not just of the field course, but
also of each particular day or activity. For example a
purely enquiry-based approach may be unsuitable for a
group that has no prior experience of the field, i.e. the
initial maiden excursion of the GCSE/AS geology
course. Maximum learning benefit in terms of learning
outcomes might better be served with the first half of
this one day field trip as a teacher led ‘Cook’s Tour’ type
approach where the students observe the diversity of
the geological or natural environment and actively listen to the ‘stories’ that can be excised from the evidence
(Richardson 2005). It is perhaps important to note that
it is the choice of an effective teaching strategy that will
be of paramount importance in this instance as
extended verbal exposition is sure to enhance student
daydreaming. The second half of the day can then
progress into a more investigative approach, going back
over the sites that were used in the first half of the day
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42
with the learners provided with specific ‘tasks’ or activities that will positively reinforce through self discovery
the information that has already been outlined in the
initial ‘Cook’s Tour’. Again the teaching strategy should
be carefully selected to meet the needs of the learners
and the locality within which they are operating.
In summary, it can be said that fieldwork, whether a
short visit or longer residential, should comprise of a
number of teaching approaches matched closely to the
learning aims, objectives and outcomes for each group
of learners. Within this context it is essential to link the
fieldwork with class-based learning approaches both
before and after the event, thus giving fieldwork an
integral place in the progression of learning within the
course as a whole.
Fieldwork: Teaching Strategies
As noted above, familiar classroom techniques do not
necessarily prove effective in extracting maximum benefit in a field setting (Hawley 1996). Therefore, as with
approach, it is important to consider the teaching strategies in terms of the learners within the group and select
those which will meet the learning objectives and aims
for the day (or half day) in terms of providing the maximum learning opportunities for the entire range of
learners (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
Act 2001 (SENDA) and the Gifted and Talented not
withstanding).
Cox & Harper (2000) tabulate Minton’s list of teaching strategies as grading from those with total teacher
control through to those with total learner control.
They highlight that the passing over of ‘control’ from
teacher to learner should not be used (by the teacher or
learner) as an abdication of duty or responsibility for
either teaching or learning. Further, they emphasise
that the learners experience and psychological safety is
at ‘all times’ the responsibility of the tutor and should
be paramount in planning of sessions. Therefore, it is
imperative that the most effective teaching strategy, in
terms of learning outcomes, should be selected for each
specific teaching context, including field based learning. However, it is also essential that the teacher is comfortable with the strategies selected and that to seek a
rigid formulaic ‘right’ approach is erroneous, in so
much as this will not take into account the range of differentiation of learners within any given group or the
ability of the tutor in effective delivery. The teacher
should, therefore, be not only comfortable with the
strategies selected, but also strive for a range that will
arouse interest, maintain attention and ‘work best’ for
the diversity of learners that they will encounter.
Thompson (1974) lists six possible teaching strategies for the field including lecturette, question and
answer, through making notes and sketches from
observations to investigation following detailed
instructions. Again, there is some confusion over the
terms approach and actual teaching methods used.
However, the selections of teaching strategies such as
those listed by Minton 1974 (in Cox & Harper 2001:
49) should be inherently linked to the cumulative
objectives of the fieldwork. Again there is no reason to
pre-select a ‘cocktail’ of strategies then stick rigidly to
these throughout – it may be that even after planning a
session a switch would be necessary if the strategy chosen was not providing the learning objective that would
ultimately meet the educational aims.
What is certain is that the long periods of verbal
exposition is least liked by learners at any point in their
educational/academic career. To choose to talk at length
and require that learners actively ‘listen’ would indeed
defeat the objective of the fieldwork in terms of experiential learning (this is not entirely associated to cold wet
conditions, sun and heat has the same effect). However,
mixing small chunks of verbal exposition, with the correct intonations and actions, can be used effectively to
convey instructions and important safety information.
Sequential questions are better written in field sheets
and work books as methods of guiding students to a
meaningful conclusion (Gill, in King 1998) – again this
is preferable to verbal exposition as students move at
different speeds in the field and to force a new concept
when the ground work is incomplete can – and will –
lose students thus acting as a strong demotivator.
Clearly, the time available is not endless and learners (of
any age) need to be kept ‘on task’ especially as the field
can offer so many more distractions.
“The selection of the strategy should not only relate to the learning aims and objectives but should contain group work, demonstration, one to one through the use of resource based learning
such as work books’
(Gill, in King 1998).
York College Field-based Learning
In light of the literature review and the learner feedback
a new sequence of field-based learning and delivery has
been adopted at York College where the fluidity of
staff/learner ratio of dependency or participation
directly relates to the ability of the group. The number
of field-based learning days adopted is in line with the
recommendations of the WJEC GCE Geology Specification and in consideration of the overall cost to learners, especially where learners are also taking other
subjects, such as geography, which have a fee paying
residential component to the course. In the AS year,
learners have three one day excursions to local sites (i.e.
within 2 hours drive of the centre), in the A2 year learners have a long techniques based residential (6 days) and
a shorter coursework based residential (3 days) both
based at the Field Studies Council Centre Blencathra, at
Threlkeld, Cumbria.
Throughout the course the sequence moves from
predominantly teacher-led, learner dependent and primarily observational in the inaugural AS day trip
(within the first three weeks of students taking up the
new subject), to primarily learner participatory, semi-
autonomous, with teacher as guide and health and
safety official in the A2 coursework excursion which is
the last field excursion prior to the summative assessments of the course. It should be highlighted that a full
enquiry approach at this level is only adopted in the
final assessed coursework element, but that the learners
are being ‘trained’ in this approach and techniques necessary for active learning from the outset in the inaugural session.
Within this dynamic approach in terms of tutor –
learner input a relatively standardised format of a discrete ‘mini’ project/investigation is adopted for all field
based activities. All learners, irrespective of the level, go
through the same process of initial hypotheses building
or question formulation (spring boards) and final conclusion and discussion (nets). The free flying, – hopefully exciting discovery section – is the experiential
learning element and should be primarily student activity based, with doing and reflecting playing an
enhanced part. In the field teachers act as guides and
‘technical assistants’ to ensure that enough data is collected to provide a useful analysis, conclusion and evaluation. Given the range of abilities within a group and,
to allow for differentiation, the teacher should move
fluidly through a range of strategies whilst the learner is
on task – demonstration or instructions might need to
be duplicated for those who a) did not hear properly the
first time, b) did not understand in the first run
through, or c) have a lower confidence level and simply
need assurance. Instructions and safety briefs are normally delivered through verbal exposition in the field,
and are supported with printed materials prior to the
field visit. Tutors need to be aware of ‘drifting’ which in
my experience comes directly after lunch, and which
may require intervention to bring learners back on task.
Using this approach and format, cognitive skills are
taught along side psycho-motor with small group work
data collection (teams of three) to allow for self discovery to resolve problems. Prior teaching of the topics in
class based environments (with verbal exposition and
resource based activities) provide the primary spring
boards for the field work and post fieldwork consolidation in the form of class based question and answer sessions, possibly using past exam materials, and use of the
‘mini’ projects format for the basis of the exam board
assessed coursework module using the data collected
provides the nets to fully integrate the learning into the
specification delivery.
In summary, positive influence of fieldwork upon
learner understanding and skills training can and
should be used where emphasis is placed on affective
(i.e. learning related to attitudes and values) and
enquiry or discovery based learning. The approaches
and strategies noted from the York College experiences
are not new, and are not written up as an exemplar for
all field based learning, rather as an example of how
field based learning must be dynamic in approach and
fluid in delivery in order to ensure that learners remain
43
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engaged and able to embed their experiences into the
overall specification delivery. Learning objectives need
to be predetermined, with learning outcomes clearly
identified via a series of tasks that are both achievable
and effective in terms of data collection.
Acknowledgements
This work is the result of ongoing discussions with a
number of teachers from a number of disciplines at
York College and specifically Alan Richardson at Halesowen College. Additional comments on the original
draft were gratefully received from Chris King and
Peter Kennett.
Victoria Buck
References
Bland, K. et al, (1996) Fieldwork, pp 165 - 175 in Bailey,
P. & Fox, P. (eds) Geography Teachers’ Handbook, Sheffield
: The Geographical Association
Kent, A. et al, (1996) Geography in Education: viewpoints on
Teaching and Learning Cambridge University Press.
Cambridge.
Kent, et al, (1997) Fieldwork in Geography Teaching: a
critical review of the literature and approaches. Journal
of Geography in Higher Education, 21, (3), 313 - 332.
King, H. (1998) ed. UK Geosciences Fieldwork Symposium: Proceedings.
Nundy, S. & Foskett, N. (2001) Raising achievement
through the environment: The case for fieldwork & field centres.
National Association of Field Studies Officers
(NAFSO).
McPartland, M. & Harvey, P. (1987) A Question of
fieldwork. Teaching Geography 12 (4). 162 - 164.
Bloor, M. & Lahiff, A. (2000) Perspectives on Learning
Greenwich, London Greenwich University Press.
National Association of Field Studies Operators
www.nafso.org.uk.
Cox, A. & Harper, H. (2000) Planning Teaching and
Assessing Learning. Greenwich, London Greenwich
University Press.
Richardson, A. (2005) Training scientists or teaching
about science? Teaching Earth Sciences; Journal of the Earth
Science Teachers Association 30.3: 20-24.
Field Studies Council www/field-studies-council.org
Thompson, D. B. (1974) Types of Geological Fieldwork in Relation to Objectives of Teaching Science.
Geology, 6, 52 - 61.
Gould, M. & Lahiff, A. (2001) Equality, Participation, &
Inclusive Learning. Greenwich, London Greenwich University Press.
Groves, B. (1989) A survey of GCSE geology teachers
and their attitudes to fieldwork. Teaching Earth Sciences;
Journal of the Earth Science Teachers Association 14.2: 46- 50.
Hall, L. & Marsh, K. (2000) Professionalism, Polices & Values. Greenwich, London Greenwich University Press.
www.esta-uk.org
Hawley, D. (1996) Changing Approaches to teaching
Earth-science fieldwork: pp 243-253 in Stow, D. A. V &
McCall, G. H. J (eds) Geoscience Education and training in
Schools, Universities, for industry and Public Awareness Rotterdam: A.A Balkema.
44
Thompson, D. B. (1982) On discerning the purposes of
Geological Fieldwork. Geology Teaching, 7 (2), 59 - 65.
Web, E. et al, (2001) Teaching Your Specialism Study Guide
Greenwich University. Greenwich. London.
York, P. G. (1992) Fieldwork in Class Teaching Earth Sciences: Journal of the Earth Sciences Association 17.4: 143 - 144.
News and Views
UKRIGS Education Project
Update – Earth Science On-site
Work on the Project continues apace, with
the help of local RIGS Groups and ESTA
members. We still need people with
knowledge of specific sites to help with
the writing and to look over drafts as the
work progresses. Expenses are paid!
Progress on 2005-06 Sites:
1. South Elmsall Quarry SSSI, nr
Doncaster, West Yorkshire.
This is in the Magnesian Limestone,
Permian. It shows reef structures in the
dolomitic limestone. Teaching materials
for Key Stage 4 [Upper Secondary/
GCSE] level are expected to be on the
website in early March. No KS 2 or 3
materials are planned for this site.
2. Dryhill Picnic Site RIGS, nr
Sevenoaks, Kent.
This is in the Hythe Beds, Lower
Greensand, Cretaceous. It has gently
folded hard limestones [Kentish rag] and
soft sandstones [hassock]. Teaching
materials for KS 3 and 4 are expected to
be on the website by the end of March.
KS 2 materials are being trialled.
3. Ercall Quarries SSSI, Telford,
Shropshire.
The features of this extensive site include
the unconformity between Precambrian
igneous rocks and Cambrian marine
sediments, with later intrusions and
faults. Teaching materials for KS 3 and 4
are expected to be on the website in
April. KS 2 materials are being written.
4. Barrow Hill RIGS, Dudley, West
Midlands.
This is a dolerite intrusion into Coal
Measures. It shows columnar jointing
and contact with overlying sedimentary
rocks. Teaching materials for KS 3 and
KS 2 are being written. No KS4
materials are planned.
Sites planned for 2006-07:
The last two sites have not yet been
assessed by members of the Project team.
5. Tedbury Camp Quarry RIGS and
Vallis Vale SSSI, Frome, Somerset.
Both quarries show the angular
unconformity between the Carboniferous
Limestone and Inferior Oolite, with the
eroded platform extensively burrowed by
worms. Teaching materials are planned
for KS 2 3 & 4, based mainly on Tedbury.
It is hoped to have some materials for this
site ready for the visit by delegates from
the ESTA Conference, on 17th
September 2006.
6. Wood Farm Quarry RIGS, adjacent to
Ryton Pools Country Park RIGS,
Bubbenhall, Warwickshire.
A Quaternary channel fill in the
Baginton gravels – Baginton sands –
Thrussington Till sequence is exposed
and is being conserved. Teaching
materials - levels undecided.
7. Mosedale Quarry RIGS and School
House Quarry, Mungrisedale, Penrith,
Cumbria.
Mosedale Quarry is in the Carrock Fell
Gabbro. School House Quarry is in the
Loweswater Flags [Skiddaw Formation]
with dolerite dykes. Teaching materials –
levels undecided.
8. Meldon Aplite Quarries SSSI,
Okehampton, Devon.
The 20m dyke of aplite has
metamorphosed the Carboniferous
rocks. There is a wide variety of rock and
mineral types present. Teaching materials
– levels undecided.
Acknowledgement:
The UKRIGS Education Project is
funded by Defra’s Aggregates Levy
Sustainability Fund (ALSF),
administered by English Nature.
John R Reynolds,
Alan Cutler,
Rick Ramsdale – Education Officer,
UKRIGS Education
contact: [email protected]
UKRIGS website:
www.ukrigs.org.uk Click on Education.
The Biggest and the Baddest
A team from the Civic Natural History Museum in Milan has
a team from Beijing Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and
revealed what may be the biggest and the baddest dinosaur, so
Palaeoanthropology, who were working in the fossil-rich
far. Until 10 years ago, Tyrannosaurus rex was thought to be the
Junggar basin, in NW China. Two specimens were found,
largest meat-eating dinosaur at 42ft. This was followed by the
each with the distinctive tyrannosaur traits and with a crest on
discovery of the Gigantosaurus, another meat-eater measuring
the skull.
in at 45ft. Now, the even larger Spinosaurus at 56ft, has been
From an article by Julie Wheldon in the Daily Mail 9 Feb 2006
discovered in Milan, by a team re-examining fossils found by
45
www.esta-uk.org
News and Views
ESRC Research Studentship in Geoscience
Education
The research will be carried out in the
context of the UNESCO World Heritage
Site (Jurassic Coast) and will be of interest
to teachers and other educationalists in
the fields of geography or geoscience education, depending on the project’s agreed
focus. The student will work alongside
myself, local schools and other organisations in formal, non-formal and informal
education (notably the Jurassic Coast
Education Working Group, Science
Working Group and the various schools
and field study centres along the Jurassic
Coast) to carry out the investigation, to be
selected from the list below. As necessary,
the student may also liaise with UK and
international colleagues, for example, in
the International Geoscience Education
Organisation.
The research focus will be negotiated
with the successful applicant and will be
selected from the following, although
there is scope for combining several of
these into a single topic. Each is given as
a research field, with one example of an
appropriate research question.
1. Perceptions and misconceptions of
geological (deep) time, linking with
my current research within and
beyond the Jurassic Coast.
● What are the perceptions of deep
time held by Jurassic Coast visitors,
of all ages, and how can Jurassic
Coast phenomena be used to
enhance an understanding of
deep time?
2. Visitors’ perceptions of Jurassic Coast
www.esta-uk.org
46
natural phenomena: going well
beyond geological time.
● How do visitors and potential
Jurassic Coast visitors perceive the
range of natural phenomena in
relation to their own lives?
3. Public/children’s understanding of the
Jurassic Coast designation, its natural
features and geological and
geomorphological history.
● What is the current level of
scientific understanding held by
Jurassic Coast visitors in relation to
its geological and geomorphological
histories and what are the
implications of this for Jurassic
Coast managers and educators?
4. Efficacy of interpretation strategies on
the Jurassic Coast: a major
opportunity to work on some rapidlydeveloping strategies.
● How effective are current Jurassic
Coast interpretation strategies in
achieving their stated aims and how
can those strategies be improved?
5. The impact of visitors – including
possible increases in visitor numbers –
on the Jurassic Coast and the
implications that these have for
sustainable development.
● What have been the major impacts
of UNESCO designation and what
are the likely future impacts if
visitor numbers increase?
6. The nature and meaning of children’s
interests, within or beyond
geoscience, and their relevance for
teaching and learning.
● How can children’s individual and
situational interests be enhanced
through activities based on Jurassic
Coast phenomena and what can
we learn about interest theory by
developing and evaluating such
activities?
It is likely that geological time or
children’s geoscience interests will figure
in the research focus, building on work
done at Exeter and elsewhere in these
two fields in recent years, within and
beyond Jurassic Coast schools. This
research is set to expand after an
international workshop to be held in
Exeter in June 2006. This will lead to a
3-year international study of geological
time perception, with the UK element
including the Jurassic Coast as a key
context. The student would have the
benefits of participating in a large
international project investigating the
nature and implications of existing deep
time perceptions for a range of sectors of
society, with potential implications for
educators and policy-makers.
For further details of this ESRC
Research Studentship in geography or
geoscience education, please contact:
Dr Roger Trend
Senior Lecturer in Education
University of Exeter
Tel: 01392 264768
The Earth Lab is opening for
school groups and families
The Earth Lab at the Natural History
Museum was opened in 1998 for
amateur geologists and local groups to
use as a drop-in centre. Recent changes
have meant that schools groups can now
book to use the laboratory which is fitted
with microscopes, reference books,
computer databases and reference
specimens see (www.nhm.ac.uk).
You may wish to use the Earth lab to
identify your own specimens, or if you
prefer, do contact the experts for their
advice. Both the Mineralogy Department
and the Palaeontology Department have
Enquiries Officers, and specimen
identification for the general public (up
to 10 specimens) is free - though there
may be a cost if the identification needs a
significant amount of staff time. Contact
Peter Tandy 020 7942 5482 in the
Mineralogy Department, or email
[email protected] for a fossil
enquiry.
From an article by Diana Clements in GA,
the magazine of the Geologists’ Association
Learning in the ‘Outdoor Classroom’
Results from a study funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), the
Countryside Agency, and the Farming and Countryside in Education (FACE) have
been published in a report which is available on the Growing Schools website
www.teachernet.gov.uk/growingschools/support/detail.cfm?id=25. The main reasons
for schools using the ‘outdoor classroom’ were grouped under five headings:
● The intrinsic value of the experience;
● The actual outdoor context;
● The opportunities to use teaching approaches that complement education in the
classroom;
● The opportunity to integrate a range of ideas;
● The learning itself.
Benefits for teachers and pupils are outlined and suggestions on how outdoor
learning can be integrated with the school curriculum. The importance of ‘outdoor
learning’ will be well known and appreciated by most Earth scientists, though often
it is lack of understanding and support from colleagues and employers that restricts
teachers from taking pupils out of the classroom. Check out the website, maybe
the report will support your argument for increasing or re-instating field trips and
outdoor learning in your school.
Ed
New Orleans Poll
In December, Geotimes asked its readers: What do you think is the most significant
Earth science news story of the year (2005)? The results were as follows:
Climate change . . . . . . . . . . . . .34%
Hurricane Katrina . . . . . . . . . . .29%
Kashmir earthquake . . . . . . . . . .21%
High energy prices . . . . . . . . . . .15%
Space shuttle launch . . . . . . . . .1%
Geotimes online polls can be seen on www.geotimes.org
Ed
Ecton to come
alive again!
All the many members of ESTA who
have fond memories of exciting times
spent at Ecton, up the hill and down
the historic copper mine, will be
delighted to hear of the progress now
being made to re-starting educational
courses. Ecton Hill Field Studies
Association is looking to training
some new tutors as well as bringing
several of our old-stagers back into
harness! This will take time, and it is
likely that courses for A level
students will re-start in 2007. A new
administrative structure needs to be
put in place, with booking system
and contact point.
Look out for a longer article in a
future issue of TES which will give
more information.
Alastair Fleming
[email protected]
Gifted and
talented in
science
The National Academy for Gifted
and Talented Youth (NAGTY) ‘has set
up a series of think-tanks in order to
explore subject-specific issues and
ways of maximising opportunities for
students who show particular aptitude
and ability in specific subject
disciplines’ – i.e. one or more
sciences. If you would like to know
more about these plans, wish to
contribute to the discussion or share
ideas for working with more able
students, please contact
[email protected]. If you are not yet a
member of ASE, do check out their
website www.ase.org.uk and join up.
Ed
47
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News and Views
The National Trust Guardianship Scheme
Have you thought of applying for a
National Trust Guardian Scheme for
your school?
The Guardianship programme is an
expanding network of both primary and
secondary schools working with a
particular National Trust property. The
programme was launched more than 15
years ago and continues to go from
strength to strength.
Guardianship schools develop a close,
mutually beneficial relationship with
their local National Trust site. They
work with staff to develop an active and
imaginative programme to bring the
national curriculum alive.
In particular schools gain first hand
experience of environmental and
conservation work, while having lots of
fun along the way.
Guardianships allow students to:
● Undertake a range of practical activities
that support the national curriculum.
● Be involved in environmental and
conservation work.
● Explore their ‘local environment’ and
make full use of their local National
Trust site.
● Build awareness, interest and responsibility for their environment.
See www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/
w-chl/w-schools/w-schools-guardian
ships.htm for more details.
Ed
Use your camera and encourage your students to use theirs
Visions of Science is a photographic awards scheme organised
by Novartis Pharmaceuticals to encourage ongoing discussion
about science.
So, what is a Vision of Science? To the judges of the
Awards, a Vision of Science is an attention-grabbing image
that gives new insight into the world of science and the
workings of nature. It may show something never seen
before, it may explain a scientific phenomenon, it may
illustrate scientific data or it may simply be an image that
shows the beauty of science. The panel of judges includes
scientists, photographers and picture editors.
Visions of Science is organised by Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
The Daily Telegraph is the key media partner. The category
prize money of £7,000, together with support and advice
comes from the Science Photo Library. Special awards this year
have been sponsored by the Institute of Physics, the BMJ,
Science Learning Centres and Kodak Ltd.
Details of the 2006 Novartis and The Daily Telegraph Visions of
Science Photographic Awards will soon be available on the website
www.visions-of-science.co.uk
Evolution and/or intelligent design in the
US curriculum
‘A Pennsylvania (US) judge ruled (20
December 2005) that the Dover Area
School District’s science curriculum ,
which required the presentation of
intelligent design (ID) – the belief that
the complexity of life is evidence that a
superior intellect must have designed it
– as an alternative to evolution, is
unconstitutional.’
The Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover trial
began on 26 September, after parents
sued the school district, which had
required teachers to read a statement
about ID prior to discussions of
evolution in high school biology
classes. This was the first federal case
www.esta-uk.org
48
to challenge ID and it failed. Judge
John E Jones III ruled in favour of the
plaintiffs, saying that intelligent
design is a religious idea and not a
science, stating that ‘We find that
while ID arguments may be true, a
proposition on which the court takes
no position, ID is not science’. He
also said that Dover Area School
District teachers may not ‘disparage
the scientific theory of evolution’ and
may not ‘refer to a religious,
alternative theory known as ID’.
Part of the argument against ID,
was that ID was simply a new label
for creationism. The book Of Pandas
and People was given as an example of
this. Following a ruling by the
Supreme Court in 1987 that creation
science could not be taught in public
schools, all occurrences of the word
‘creationism’ in Of Pandas and People
were replaced with ‘intelligent
design’. Two weeks after the
judgement, Dover schoolboard
members voted to officially remove
ID from its curricula.
From an article by Kathryn Hansen
in Geotimes (published by the
American Geological Institute),
February 2006 pp 8-10.
Saved by ‘sand’ poured into the
wounds
‘The material, called QuikClot, which is
issued routinely to police officers in
Hillsborough county, Florida, was
developed for the US military to cut
down the number of soldiers who bleed
to death on the battlefield. More than 85
per cent of soldiers killed in action die
within an hour of being wounded.
Improved haemorrhage control “could
probably save 20 per cent of the soldiers
who are killed in action”, says Hasan
Alam, a trauma surgeon at Massachusetts
General Hospital in Boston.’
‘The porous mineral powder is poured
into the wound, where pores quickly
absorb water, which concentrates the
blood’s clotting factors and so speeds up
clotting. QuikClot releases heat when
positively charged calcium ions in its
pores react with water molecules. The
safety problem in the way of QuikClot’s
wider use arises because of the large
amount of heat the material releases when
it absorbs water, sometimes enough to
cause second-degree burns. In the face of
a life-threatening injury, this may be a
price worth paying.’ Another company, ‘is
building on this work to develop new
materials to control bleeding during
surgery. For a material to be most
effective it must have a large surface area
like QuikClot, and since calcium acts as a
cofactor in many clotting reactions some
calcium ions must be present.’
‘The team’s new material, a bioactive
glass made of silica and calcium, has
larger pores than QuikClot and a
different consistency. Its large surface
area, and efficiency in releasing calcium
ions, makes it clot blood even faster. The
large pores allow bigger molecules, such
as enzymes found in the blood’s clotting
cascade, to be incorporated in the
material and released into the wound,
which could further improve clotting.
Unlike QuikClot, which is hard to
make in anything but powder form, the
bioglass can be squeezed out of a
syringe, like a paste, which would be
easier to apply during surgery. Bioglass
can also be left in the body after surgery,
where it will eventually be absorbed –
unlike the QuikClot particles, which
have to be removed from the wound
after bleeding has stopped, a fiddly and
time-consuming process. Meanwhile
Z-Medica is hoping that its new, safer
version of QuikClot will be taken up not
only by surgeons and emergency crews,
but also by individuals. “Ultimately, we
hope everybody will have a first-aid kit
with a pack in their car,” says Huey.’
From New Scientist Print Edition, for the full
article see www.newscientist.com/article/
mg18925435.800-saved-by-sand-pouredinto-the-wounds.html
article by Jessica Marshall 16 March 2006
Google Mars
Following on from Google Earth and Google Moon, there will soon be Google
Mars. Detailed maps have been made from images taken by NASA’s orbiting
satellites Mars Odessey and Mars Global Surveyor which will be available, along with
locations of NASA rovers Spirit and Opportunity. You will also be able to check
out the estimated spot where the British lander Beagle 2 was lost.
From an article by Oliver Stallwood in Metro 15 March 2006
EARLY NOTICE – ESTA Annual Conference
15-17th September 2006 – Bristol
Dinosaurs have
growth rings
The bones of Plateosaurus engelhardti
had growth rings similar to those of
trees, with increased growth during
times of plenty, when climates were
favourable and food abundant, and
less during less favourable times.
Modern cold-blooded reptiles do
the same.
From an article by Sander and Klein in
Science, 16 December 2005.
London Outdoor
Science
If you are teaching in the London
boroughs of Camden, Hackney,
Islington, Tower Hamlets or
Newham and are interested in the
development of fieldwork in key
stage 4 science teaching or would
like help in your school, contact:
Melissa Glackin, the London
Outdoor Science project officer at
[email protected].
CO2 levels hit 30
million year high
Carbon dioxide levels in the
atmosphere rose last year atone of
the fastest rates ever recorded. They
climbed to 381 parts per million
(ppm) – 100 ppm above the average
in the pre-industrial age. The new
figures were produced by the US
national Oceanic and Atmosphere
Administration, which warned that
carbon dioxide levels were rising at
twice the rate of 30 years ago. Sir
David King, the Government’s Chief
Scientific Adviser said “That’s higher
than we’ve been for over a million
years, possibly 30 million years.
Mankind is changing the climate”.
See www.noaa.gov
49
www.esta-uk.org
News and Views
Prehistoric Life
Celebrations
Check out the latest on the BBC website
which may be helpful when teaching
about evolution, extinction and
prehistoric life. There is a fun game for
children (and adults) called ‘Fakes and
Mistakes – Can you spot a fake?’ – you
can take a photo quiz where you try to
spot prehistoric fakes and mistakes
amongst legitimate finds or suggest your
pupils have a go, maybe even set it as
part of a homework assignment. Related
links include:
● Making fossils – where you can ‘see
how a flesh and blood creature can turn
into a fossil’
● Baryonyx mystery – ‘have you got the
palaeontology skills to uncover the
truth?’
● Who dung it? – ‘can you match the
poop with the poopetrator?’
The Annual General
Apart from the language (aimed at the
youngster?), the only downside is that
you will need the Flash 6 or above plugin to play this game, but this is free and
can be downloaded from the website.
See www.bbc.co.uk/sn/prehistoric_life
Ed
www.esta-uk.org
50
Women in
Geoconservation
Meeting of the Association
of UKRIGS Groups on
23rd September is to be
followed by a field trip as
part of the Wren’s Nest 50th
Anniversary Celebrations.
See www.ukrigs.org.uk
The History of Geology Group of the
Geological Society of London is
organising a conference on the History
of Geoconservation to take place in
London in November. Cynthia Burek
has been working on the role of
women in the history of geological
work and would like to ask two
questions: Do you think women
played a significant role in the history
of Geoconservation? If so, can you
think of any examples?
Please contact Cynthia at
[email protected].
EARLY NOTICE
ESTA Annual Conference
15-17th September 2006 – Bristol
Reviews
Teach yourself Geology. David A. Rothery Hodder & Stoughton 2003. ISBN 0-340-86753-1 paperback. £8.99. 261pp.
This book is one of a ‘teach yourself ’
series of books. Consequently it is
constrained in style by the editors of the
‘teach yourself ’ series. This style can be
quite annoying, particularly the use of
initial lower case letters for formal
names. This is rather disappointing for a
series whose purpose is the education of
the general public. However, the layout
of the book makes it easy to follow.
The book is organised into chapters
that may be read independently and in
any order. Each chapter is preceded by a
very brief summary to make easy access
to whatever is being sought. The
chapters cover a range of broad subjects
including: the structure and composition
of the earth; earthquakes; tectonics;
volcanoes; igneous intrusions;
metamorphism; erosion and transport;
deposition of sedimentary rocks;
deformation; physical resources; fossils;
earth history; planetary geology; and
fieldwork. There are also appendices on
mineral identification and rock
classification and an extensive glossary.
This series of books are not really for
academic use in schools and higher
education establishments, but rather for
the general public, and it is well suited to
that purpose in terms of price and
accessibility; it is inexpensive and easy to
read and follow. However, for someone
taking an interest in geology through
becoming interested in rocks it lacks a
certain amount of detail. The emphasis
in this book is rather global in
perspective: there is a lot of detail on the
structure of the earth, tectonics etc., but
it is a bit thin when it comes to
classifying and identifying rocks.
That said it is a good investment for
any taking up an interest in geology;
however, I feel it is not really aimed at
being a school text book.
Charlie Bendall
Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences
University of Wales Aberystyth
Mesozoic and Tertiary Fossil Mammals and Birds of Great Britain. M.J. Benton, E. Cook and J.J. Hooker.
JNCC 2006. ISBN 1-86107-480-8 £55.
Mammals and birds are one of the most
conspicuous parts of the modern fauna,
but in evolutionary terms, they are
relative newcomers to life on Earth.
Nevertheless, we know that these groups
have a long geological history in Britain,
because our fossil record provides rare
remains of ancient mammals and birds,
which have helped us to understand
their evolution and the environments in
which they lived. Our mammal
ancestors – the early mammals –
originated in the Triassic Period, part of
the Mesozoic Era, over 225 million years
(Ma) ago, and the first birds arose in the
Jurassic Period, over 150 Ma. A new
book, published by JNCC, charts the
evolution of early mammals and birds, as
represented by the sites in Britain that
have yielded important fossils. Mesozoic
and Tertiary Fossil Mammals and Birds of
Great Britain is volume number 32 in the
Geological Conservation Review Series,
which describes Britain’s finest
geological sites. It will be followed by a
book on Pleistocene vertebrates (‘Ice
Age’ faunas, such as mammoths and
woolly rhinos) this year.
By registering a pre-publication order with
JNCC’s distributors, a saving of up to 20%
can be made on forthcoming GCR titles – for
details, and ordering information, contact
NHBS Ltd www.nhbs.com
Involving People in Geodiversity. JNCC and English Nature. Free booklet
The booklet provides a summary of the
discussions and conclusions of a two-day
workshop held to mark the end of the
conference, organised by English Nature,
Dorset County Council and JNCC.
The workshop addressed ways of
promoting geodiversity and geological
conservation, and provided delegates
with the opportunity to share their
experiences through the presentation and
discussion of case studies and examples,
and to recommend successful strategies
to involve people in geodiversity.
The importance of geodiversity and its
benefits to people are often overlooked.
Not only does geodiversity offer practical
benefits, through the provision of
resources and materials such as coal, iron
and building stone, it also shapes the
landscape, influencing the habitats and
species surrounding us and creating
scenery and geological attractions.
Geodiversity has an educational value,
allowing us to understand the evolution
and history of the planet, and to interpret
present and future processes by
reconstructing the past. It also has a
cultural role to play, via its inspiration to
art, and in providing a sense of place and
identity for local communities.
The case studies and discussions
demonstrated that much innovation is
being used to interest and involve people
in geodiversity, and that the audience can
include everybody, from the general
public, children, families, schools and
local communities, to land owners, hotel
managers, local councillors and
politicians.
Copies of the booklet can be obtained by
contacting [email protected], and
further information can be found at:
www.geoconservation.com/ehwh/
conference/ipg.htm
Contact file: Emma Durham GCR
Production Editor
Tel: +44 (0) 1733 866908
51
www.esta-uk.org
ESTA Diary
MAY
6 & 7 May
Rock’n’Gem Show
Alexandra Palace, Wood Green, London
Contact: www.rockngem.co.uk
13 May
Rockwatch Fieldtrip to explore the Geology of
Warwickshire
Contact: www.rockwatch.org.uk
18 & 19 May
Teaching Practical Geology
Inset course for ‘A’ Level Geology teachers
University of Liverpool
Contact: [email protected]
JUNE
3 & 4 June
Rock’n’Gem Show
Kempton Park Racecourse,
Staines Road East (A308),
Sunbury on Thames, West London
10 & 11 June
Rock’n’Gem Show
Norfolk Showground,
Costtessy,
Norwich (off A 47)
17 June
Fieldtrip: Fossils of the Middle Jurassic
Northamptonshire/Buckinghamshire borders
JUNE
17 & 18 June
Rock’n’Gem Show
Newcastle Racecourse,
High Gosforth Park,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
JULY
1 July
Fieldtrip to Wren’s Nest Nature Reserve and
Canal Boat trip
Near Dudley, West Midlands
ESTA A-Level Workshop 2006 – 13th May 2006
Location – Keele University (depending on “epicentre” of delegates)
Outcomes – Discussion and production of materials on:
● ‘Selling A level Geology to the Senior Management Team’
● ‘How can we sell Geology in our school/college more effectively?
● ‘What can I do with my A level Geology – Career implications’
● ‘Workable A level laboratory investigations’
● ‘Specification review – consultation on draft criteria’
Cost: Funded by ESTA and open to all ESTA members
If you would like to be involved contact the project leader – Pete Loader. Email: [email protected]
ESTA Course and Conference 2006
Will be held in the Earth Science Department at Bristol University on 15-17 September 2006.
www.esta-uk.org
52
THEMATIC TRAILS
These guides are full of serious explanation, yet challenge us to question and interpret what we see.
The reader is encouraged to observe, enquire and participate in a trail of discovery. Each trail is an
information resource suitable for teachers to translate into field tasks appropriate to a wide range of ages.
LANDSCAPES
CITYSCAPES
GEOLOGY AT HARTLAND QUAY
Alan Childs & Chris Cornford
BRISTOL, HERITAGE IN STONE
Eileen Stonebridge
In a short cliff-foot walk, along the beach at Hartland Quay, visitors are provided with a
straightforward explanation of the dramatically folded local rocks and their history.
Alternate pages provide a deeper commentary on aspects of the geology and in
particular provide reference notes for students examining the variety of structures
exhibited in this exceptionally clear location. A5. 40 pages. 47 figs.
ISBN 0-948444-12-6 Thematic Trails 1989.
£2.40
The walk explores the rich diversity of stones that make up the fabric of the City of
Bristol. The expectation is that as the building stones become familiar, so comes the
satisfaction of being able to identify common stones and their origin, perhaps before
turning to the text for reassurance. A5. 40 pages. 60 figs.
ISBN 0948444-36-3 Thematic Trails 1999.
£2.40
THE CLIFFS OF HARTLAND QUAY
Peter Keene
On a cliff-top walk following the Heritage Coast footpath to the south from Hartland
Quay, coastal waterfalls, valley shapes and the form of the cliffs are all used to
reconstruct a sequence of events related to spectacular coastal erosion along this coast.
A5. 40 pages. 24 figs.
£2.40
LYN IN FLOOD, Watersmeet to Lynmouth
P. Keene & D. Elsom
A riverside walk from Watersmeet on Exmoor, follows the East Lyn downstream to
Lynmouth and the sea. The variety of physical states of the East Lyn river is explained
including spate and the catastrophic floods of 1952. A5. 48 pages. 36 figs.
£2.40
THE CLIFFS OF SAUNTON
Peter Keene and Chris Cornford
“If you really want explanations served up to you... then go elsewhere, but if you want
to learn, by self-assessment if you like, start here. Ideally you should go there, to
Saunton Sands, but it’s not absolutely necessary. The booklet is so cleverly done that
you can learn much without leaving your armchair. Not that we are encouraging such
sloth, you understand.” (Geology Today). A5. 44 pages. 30 figs.
ISBN 0-048444-24-X Thematic Trails 1995.
£2.40
BATH IN STONE a guide to the city’s building stones
Elizabeth Devon, John Parkins, David Workman
Compiled by the Bath Geological Society, the architectural heritage of Bath is explored,
blending the recognition of building stones and the history of the city. A very useful
walking guide both for visiting school parties, geologists and the interested nonspecialist visitor. A5. 48 pages. 36 illustrations.
ISBN 0948444-38-X Thematic Trails 2001.
£2.40
GLOUCESTER IN STONE, a city walk – Joe McCall
This booklet was compiled by the Gloucestershire RIGS Group as an introduction to
the geology of the city. Four compass-point streets radiate from Gloucester city centre.
The first short walk, Eastgate Street, is, in essence a mental tool-kit for identifying
some local common building stones and their history - a skill which can then be applied
to any of the three following compass direction walks.
A5. 40 pages. 39 illustrations.
ISBN 0948444-37-1 Thematic Trails 1999.
£2.40
GEOLOGY AND THE BUILDINGS OF OXFORD
Paul Jenkins
The walk is likened to a visit to an open air museum. Attention is drawn to the variety
of building materials used in the fabric of the city. Their suitability, durability,
susceptibility to pollution and weathering, maintenance and replacement is discussed.
£2.40
SNOWDON IN THE ICE AGE
Kenneth Addison
EXETER IN STONE, AN URBAN GEOLOGY
Jane Dove
Ken Addison interprets the evidence left by successive glaciers around Snowdon
(the last of which melted only 10,000 years ago) in a way which brings together the
serious student of the Quaternary Ice Age and the interested inquisitive visitor.
ISBN 0-9511175-4-8 Addison Landscape Publications. 1988.
£3.60
“Directed at ‘the curious visitor and interested non-specialists’, Thematic Trails Trust
publications incorporate and translate professional knowledge from the academic
literature to which members of the general public don’t have ready access....Exeter in
Stone is a fine addition to the ever-expanding list of booklets on the building stones of
British towns and cities.” (Geology Today). A5. 44 pages. 24 illustrations.
£2.40
THE ICE AGE IN CWM IDWAL
Kenneth Addison
GUIDE TO THE BUILDING STONES OF HUDDERSFIELD
The Ice Age invested Cwm Idwal with a landscape whose combination of glaciological,
geological and floristic elements is unsurpassed in mountain Britain. Cwm Idwal is
readily accessible on good paths within a few minutes walk of the A5 route through
Snowdonia. A5. 21pages. 16 figs.
ISBN 0-9511175-4-8 A. L. P. 1988.
£3.60
THE ICE AGE IN Y GLYDERAU AND NANT FFRANCON
Ice, in the last main glaciation, carved a glacial highway through the heart of Snowdonia
so boldly as to ensure that Nant Ffrancon is amongst the best known natural landmarks
in Britain. The phenomenon is explained in a way that is understandable to both
specialist and visitor. A5. 30 pages. 21 figs.
ISBN 0-9511175-3-X A.L.P. 1988.
£3.60
ROCKS & LANDSCAPE OF ALSTON MOOR
geological walks in the Nent Valley. Barry Webb & Brian Young (Ed. Eric Skipsey). On
two walks in the North Pennines landscape, the authors unravel clues about how
today’s rocks, fossils and landscape were formed and how men have exploited the
geological riches of Alston Moor.’ A5. 28 pages, 40 figs.
Cumbria Riggs 2002.
£2.00
Two walks in central Huddersfield examine decorative polished building stones that
have been brought into Huddersfield from many parts of the world to enhance the
commercial and public buildings of the city. Huddersfield Geology Group.
£2.00
COASTAL EROSION AND MANAGEMENT
WESTWARD HO! AGAINST THE SEA
Peter Keene
This ‘case study’ examines the history of coastal erosion at Westward Ho! and the
many strategies for coastal defence adopted and discarded over the last 150 years.
£2.40
DAWLISH WARREN AND THE SEA
Peter Sims
Within living memory Dawlish Warren in South Devon has dramatically changed its
shape several times. A shoreline walk explains the nature and history of dynamic coastal
change and its implications for both short-term and long-term coastal management.
ISBN 0-948444-13-4 Thematic Trails 1988-98.
£2.40
These titles are selected from over 100 guides published or marketed by the educational charity Thematic Trails.
For a free catalogue e-mail [email protected]
(Tel:01865-820522 Fax: 01865-820522) or visit our web site: www. thematic-trails.org
Address ORDERS to THEMATIC TRAILS, 7 Norwood Avenue, Kingston Bagpuize, Oxon OX13 5AD.
Use an educational address and quote your ESTA membership number to qualify for a 15% educational discount.
Orders for five or more items are post free. Thematic Trails is registered charity No. 801188.
53
www.esta-uk.org
ADVERTISING IN “TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES”
THE MAGAZINE OF THE EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION
The readership consists of dedicated Earth science
teachers in:● Primary schools
● Secondary schools
● Departments of Earth sciences, geography and
geology in colleges and universities.
teaching
EARTH
SCIENCES
Teaching Earth Sciences is the only UK magazine that
specialises in the teaching of Earth Sciences.
It is published quarterly. Advertising in the magazine
is offered at competitive rates as follows:
Magazine of
the
EARTH SCIEN
CE
TEACHERS’
ASSOCIATION
Volume 30
● Number 3,
2005
● ISSN 0957
-8005
www.esta-uk.o
rg
1. PAGE ADVERTISING
1 ISSUE
2 ISSUES
Full A4 Page
£120
£200
Half page
£75
£140
The price to include type setting if necessary
3 ISSUES
£275
£180
4 ISSUES
£340
£210
2. INSERTS
These are charged at £100 per issue for sheets up to A4 size. For inserts larger than
A4 please contact the Advertising Officer (see p3 for details). Upon confirmation,
please send inserts to:
FAO: Mike Greene, ABC Printers, Lugg View Industrial Estate,
Moreton-on-Lugg, Herefordshire HR4 8DP
REQUESTS TO ADVERTISE
Your request for advertising space should be sent to the Advertising Officer at
the address on p3. Your request should indicate the volume(s) and issues in which
you wish to advertise. (The next available issue is volume TES 31.3 copy deadline 21
May for publication July/August 2006)
You should include your advertisement copy (or copy of insert) and state any
additional requirements.
An invoice and voucher copy will be sent to you upon publication.
www.esta-uk.org
54
ESTA TEACHING MATERIALS
These materials include teacher notes and worksheets and they are copyright free for classroom use.
Enquiries and orders to [email protected]
PRIMARY
Useful as part of Literacy and Numeracy Hour, with themes that can be developed further in KS2 Science
Working with Soil
This new resource includes a booklet, Waldorf the Worm, relating the story
of a family of worms, together with supporting activities and worksheets.
Working with Rocks
This pack contains Christina’s Story, which tells the tale of a marble gravestone,
together with supporting activities and worksheets. Sixteen full colour postcards
depicting common building and ornamental stones are also included.
£6.00 + p&p
Workin
g
With
Soil
£6.00 + p&p
Conten
ts
● The
Map .
......
● Informa
...
tion .
● How
...... ..........
to
......
● Science Use the Work . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .inside cover
. . . .pages
● Literacy Activities and Sheets . . . .
..
● Numera Activities and Work Sheets . . . . . . . .page 1 - 3
Work Sheets . . . . . . .
4
cy Activitie
. .pages - 6
s and Work
...
7
Sheets . . . . . .pages - 16
17 - 26
......
This pack
.pages
27 - 30
was written
and develop
ed by membe
rs of the
ESTA Primary
Author
s
orm
f the W
Waldor
Commi
ttee.
NEW
KEY STAGE 3
Devised to introduce Earth science to pupils as part of the Science & Geography Curriculum
Hidden changes in the Earth: an introduction to metamorphism (2001)
Magma: an introduction to igneous processes (2002)
£2.00 + p&p
£2.00 + p&p
The Dynamic Rock Cycle is a comprehensive teaching pack, full of interesting activities and experiments. It
addresses weathering, erosion, transportation, deposition, compaction and cementation, plus selected igneous
and metamorphic processes. The pack forms the basis of the workshops offered by the Earth Science Education
Unit. It is freely downloadable from their website (www.earthscienceeducation.com)
KEY STAGE 4
Investigating the Science of the Earth: practical activities for KS4 and beyond
SoE1: Changes to the atmosphere (1995)
SoE2: Earth’s structure and plate tectonics (1996)
SoE3: Rock formation and deformation (1998)
£2.50 + p&p
£2.50 + p&p
£2.50 + p&p
The Plate Tectonics Interactive and Investigating the Changing Earth and Atmosphere focus on GCSE
Science syllabuses. These packs underpin the Earth Science Education Unit workshops and are freely
downloadable from their website (www.earthscienceeducation.com)
PRACTICAL KITS
High quality specimens representing real value-for-money. For further details contact [email protected]
Fossils:
Rocks:
Twelve representative replica fossils and data sheet in boxed set
Reference Kit comprising 15 large samples, with worksheets and notes
Class Kit with 6 sets of 15 medium-size samples, with worksheets and notes
£17.00 + p&p
£20.00 + p&p
£60.00 + p&p
WALL MAPS
Geological maps of the UK and the World. For further details contact [email protected]
Ordnance Survey United Kingdom Geology Wall Map (1:1million, flat or folded)
Open University/Esso World Geology Map (1:30million, flat or folded)
£4.00 + p&p
£6.50 + p&p
All kits supplied plus postage at cost. Enquiries to [email protected]
55
www.esta-uk.org

31.2 - Earth Science Teachers` Association

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