Barriers to fieldwork in undergraduate geoscience degrees

Giles, Sam; Jackson, Christopher; Stephen, N. R.

doi:10.1038/s43017-020-0022-5

Cited by 98 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Geoscience field-based courses or trips within undergraduate degrees might be attractive to many females but to others, who may not have previously spent much time outdoors or exploring remote areas, they can be intimidating. Issues such as access to suitable field gear, which can be more difficult to find for women or worrying about access to suitable toilet facilities on a remote field day can be enough to put someone off enrolling in a course with a field component (Greene et al, 2019;Giles et al, 2020). These issues are gradually being tackled by initiatives including pooled field gear for student hire, improved student briefings before and during fieldwork, including around menstruation in the field, and opportunities for students to confidentially raise concerns.…”

Section: Undergraduate and Postgraduate Levelmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Australasia, gender is still on the agenda in geosciences

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Diversity and inclusion in the workplace optimise performance through the input of a range of perspectives and approaches that drive innovation and invention. However, gender inequity is prevalent throughout society and females remain underrepresented in geoscience careers. This study provides the current status of gender equity in geosciences throughout Australasia within the context of broader gender equity policy, frameworks and initiatives and suggests additional solutions and opportunities to improve gender equity and the retention of women in the geoscience workforce. At an individual institutional level in academia, females make up between 23 %–52 % of the total geoscience departmental or school staff in Australia, 26 %–39 % of the total staff in New Zealand, 29 % of total staff at the University of Papua New Guinea and 18 % at the University of the South Pacific. Significant gender imbalance exists at more senior levels, with disproportionately more males than females, a pattern typical of many Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) disciplines. Gender inequity is prevalent within the general membership, committee roles and in award recipients of Australasian geoscience professional associations. Within the Geological Society of Australia and Geoscience Society of New Zealand, only 4 % (n=47) and 18 % (n=161), respectively of past award recipients for national and general awards were female. All past awards considered in this study that are named in honour of a person were named in honour of a man (n=9). In recent years, women-focused networks have begun to play an invaluable role to support the retention and promotion of women in geosciences and provide a supportive mentoring environment to discuss challenges and share advice. The improved visibility of women in the geoscientific community is an ongoing issue that can in part be addressed through the development of public databases of women geoscientists. These provide a list of women geoscientists that encourages and supports the achievement of gender balance of invited talks, job shortlisting and on panels, as well as in the media. This work highlights that more must be done to actively reduce and eliminate sexual harassment and assault in university and field environments. We emphasise that particular efforts are required to make geoscience careers more inclusive and safer, through the establishment of specific codes of conduct for field trips. Shared learning of best practices from evidence-based approaches and innovative solutions will also be of value in creating positive change. Greater engagement from the wider geoscientific community, and society in general, is required for the success of gender equity initiatives. Identified solutions and opportunities must target all levels of education and career development. Additional data in future should be collected to look beyond gender to monitor and assess intersectionality. Improved efforts to understand why women leave STEM careers will help to address the “leaky pipeline” and determine the initiatives that will be most effective in creating long term sustainable change.

show abstract

Section: Undergraduate and Postgraduate Levelmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Australasia, gender is still on the agenda in geosciences

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, for some time it has been recognized that field activities can be a barrier for a subset of students that have mobility or medical limitations (De Paor and Whitmeyer, 2009;Atchison et al, 2019;Whitmeyer et al, 2020). In addition, it has become apparent that for students considering a geoscience career, fieldwork can be a deterrent for societal and economic reasons as well as due to concerns about personal safety (Clancy et al, 2014;John and Khan, 2018;Giles et al, 2020). Virtual field trips and exercises can provide alternatives to in-person fieldwork and can still address many of the pedagogic goals that instructors typically highlight for field experiences.…”

Section: Opportunities Provided By Virtual Field Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creating virtual geologic mapping exercises in a changing world

Whitmeyer

Dordevic

2020

Geosphere

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fieldwork has long been considered an essential component of geoscience research and education, with student field experiences consistently valued for their effectiveness in developing expertise in geoscience skills and cognitive abilities. However, some geoscience disciplines recently have exhibited a decreasing focus on data collection in the field. Additionally, some students have been disinclined to pursue a geoscience career if physical fieldwork is perceived as necessary for the completion of their academic degree. More recently, travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have restricted access to field locations for many students and geoscience researchers. As a result, geoscience educators are developing virtual field trips and exercises that address many of the learning objectives of traditional in-person field experiences. These virtual field trips and exercises use a variety of online and computer platforms, including web-based and desktop versions of Google Earth (GE). In this contribution, we highlight how educators can create virtual geoscience field trips and exercises using web GE, desktop GE, and a web-based tool for generating oriented geologic symbology for GE. Examples of methods and approaches for creating virtual field experiences in GE are provided for a virtual field trip that uses a web GE presentation to replicate a typical class field trip, and for a geologic mapping exercise that uses a KML file uploaded into web or desktop GE. Important differences between web and desktop GE are discussed, with consideration for which platform might be most effective for specific educational objectives. Challenges and opportunities related to virtual field trips are discussed in comparison with traditional in-person, on-location field trips. It is suggested that in a post–COVID-19 world, a combination of in-person and virtual hybrid field experiences might prove the most effective approach for producing a more inclusive and equitable learning environment, and thus strengthening the geoscience workforce.

show abstract

“…Even when in-person teaching will be possible again, hybrid or virtual materials can serve to better prepare students for in-person experiences, or they can be used as backup. Most importantly, the current challenge provides a great opportunity to change the exclusionary nature of lab and field work by reducing some of the current barriers, for example, accessibility issues, financial burdens, and harassment (Giles et al, 2020). Developing hybrid and virtual courses that accomplish the same learning outcomes as traditional courses might contribute to providing inclusive teaching in oceanography.…”

Section: Psychological Needs and Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to Teach Motivating and Hands-On Laboratory and Field Courses in a Virtual Setting

Gleßmer¹

2020

Oceanog

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Barriers to fieldwork in undergraduate geoscience degrees

Cited by 98 publications

References 5 publications

In Australasia, gender is still on the agenda in geosciences

In Australasia, gender is still on the agenda in geosciences

Creating virtual geologic mapping exercises in a changing world

How to Teach Motivating and Hands-On Laboratory and Field Courses in a Virtual Setting

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About