A Field-Based Technique for Teaching about Habitat Fragmentation and Edge Effects

The Challenges and Rewards of Introducing Field Trips Into a Large Introductory Geography Class

“…We feel that the structure of the field trips is highly applicable, and easily adaptable, to a wide variety of geography courses and institutional settings. As other have reported of their projects (Rydant et al 2010;Resler andKolivras 2009, Krakowka 2012), our field activities are scalable to different class sizes and different course material. Designed for students with little or no field experience, our field trips can serve as a template for other introductory courses and for geography courses that draw students from diverse academic backgrounds (De Bres and Coomansingh 2006).…”

“…Each site provided the students with the opportunity to experience a different environment, for example, different ethnic neighborhoods, different forest environments, or different stages along a river course, to allow each student to gather a variety of data and to place their fieldwork in a larger context. Providing students with different sites was crucial to facilitate deeper learning by allowing student to recognize environments as complex and diverse, but also interrelated (Morgan 2000;Elwood 2004;Resler and Kolivras 2009). Most field activities in geography tend to be either physical-or human-oriented (Hoalst-Pullen and Gatrell 2011) but the structure of our course allowed students to gain experience in both and to place their work in larger context of human-environment interaction.…”

The use of campus based field teaching to provide an authentic experience to all students

“…RGS, 2016). Fieldwork has been shown to be an effective pedagogic strategy (Boyle et al, 2007;Fuller, Edmondson, France, Higgitt, & Ratinen, 2006;Maskall & Stokes, 2009;Resler and Kolivras, 2009;Stokes, Magnier, & Weaver, 2011;Krakowka 2012;Wilson, Leydon, & Wincentak, 2017) providing not just field skills, but increasing the employability of students (Andrews, Kneale, Sougnez, Stewart, & Stott, 2003) and for attracting and retaining students (Mauchline, Peacock, & Park, 2013). It is also important way to link theory to practice (Scott, Fuller, & Gaskin, 2006).…”

Colorado’s Millennial Generation: Youth Perceptions and Experiences of Nature

“…The Audubon Bird Count and Storm Drain Stencil projects provide prime examples of citizen science, a concept and practice receiving a great deal of attention in the fields of both active learning and geographic education (Wheeler 1985;Kent 2000;Pawson and Teather 2002;Jennings and Huber 2003;Resler and Kolivras 2009). Indeed, evidence shows that while park visitation is down, the park service and other institutions are receiving more and more interest from young people who wish to participate in structured citizen science programs.…”