Geographic visualisation: lessons for learning and teaching

Abstract

This paper outlines a pedagogic project funded by the former GEES Learning and Teaching Development Fund, exploring students' attitudes to, and learning through, visualisation as a method of assessment in a core undergraduate geography module. Student expectations and experiences of this assessment, together with reflections on learning and teaching methods more widely, were investigated using participatory appraisal, and follow-up face-to-face feedback. Student perceptions of visualisation as assessment mixed an uncertainty about what was expected, with a sense that visual work might be comparatively 'easier'. Responses after the assessment recognised the difficulty of the method, the focus on data and the ability to address complex topics. Students also compared their experiences with visualisation to other assessment methods, with many finding the visual approach stimulating and effective for their learning, and module marks were higher than in previous years. We have retained the assessment in the module and extended some of the lessons, especially the use of show-and-tell critique sessions for formative feedback, to other modules.