Learning by doing: enhancing hydrology lectures with individual fieldwork projects

Abstract

Hydrology teaching deals with processes happening outside the classroom, which calls for active-learning methods to complement lectures. In a geography undergraduate course, new teaching methods and assessment were designed, in which students investigated a river of their choice by completing homework tasks and presenting their results on a poster. During a 3-year implementation process, the changes were evaluated using a combination of formal and informal student and lecturer feedback. Students mentioned that they enjoyed doing the project and that it helped their understanding of theory, their research skills, and their ability to select, organise and present information. Questionnaire results showed that, over the implementation period, students' perceived value of homework increased strongly, while their perceived value of lectures remained high. In informal feedback, students noted that they enjoyed learning about where they live, preferred doing the projects individually and seeing each other's projects, and spent more time on the coursework when assessed. When looking back in interviews, students commented that the projects had prepared them well for their dissertation and summer job. The advantage of using homework-based projects complementing lectures is the strong link between theory and practice, which could be further enhanced by discussing the homework in the lectures.

How do introductory field biology students feel? Journal reflections provide insight into student affect

“…Several studies indicate that students feel positive emotions such as enjoyment (Kern & Carpenter, 1984 ; Scott et al, 2019 ; Van Loon, 2019 ) during field‐based instruction. However, other research has found that students can also express negative emotions during field instruction such as frustration (Baum et al, 2012 ), boredom (Goulder et al, 2013 ; Orion & Hofstein, 1994 ), and even fear (Brenner et al, 2018 ).…”

A recipe for why and how to set up and sustain an experimental catchment

“…Past surveys and reviews on education in hydrology at the university level revealed that teachers may use multiple didactic techniques and approaches but visiting catchments with classes is still rare (Thompson et al, 2012; Wagener et al, 2007). Recent experiences of field work with students reported that “learning by doing” helped them to better understand the theory, to improve their skills, and to more effectively select and present information (Van Loon, 2019). Taking students to the field, where real hydrological processes occur, guiding them to visit monitoring equipment, making them perform simple measurements and data collection, asking them why certain approaches have been adopted and what could have been done differently, and leading them to observe the current and past signature of water on the landscape generate curiosity and engagement, stimulate questions, contribute to developing critical thinking thus opening enormous learning possibilities.…”

From the Mental to the Conceptual Model: The Challenge of Teaching Hydrogeology in the Field

“…While classroom lectures are typically lecturer‐centered (students are more passive), field courses invite active‐learning methods (Hakoun et al 2013; Lyon et al 2013; Van Loon 2019). Active‐learning courses are student‐centered as the instructor acts as a “facilitator” as the students “learn by doing” (Pathirana et al 2012), that is, students collect, analyze, and interpret data.…”