linking teaching and research in undergraduate physical geography papers: the role of fieldwork

Geo-Ed

Linking teaching and research in undergraduatephysical geography papers: The role of fieldwork

Ian Fuller, Martin Brook and Kat HoltGeography Programme, School of People, Environment and Planning, MasseyUniversity, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Abstract: Undergraduate teaching should be informed by research. The extent towhich this is the case and how this is best practised is the subject of this paper.Learning strategies that seek to embed research within the undergraduate pro-gramme from an introductory level are discussed. The degree of success in thesestrategies is informed by input from postgraduate students who have ‘come throughthe ranks’. Their views, obtained via a focus group, suggest that research is rigorouslyembedded at every level of the programme and is most clearly linked to teaching inresearch-based third-year papers with a strong fieldwork component.

Key words: embedded research, field-based research, fieldwork teaching, learningstrategies, teaching–research nexus.

In 1995, Brew and Boud (1995, p. 261) wrote,‘investigations of the links between teachingand research . . . have failed to establish thenature of the connection between the two or,indeed, whether there is one’. However, this isno longer the case. In 2003, Jenkins (2003, p. 2)commented, ‘what is distinctive about highereducation is that there is a close interconnec-tion between staff research and student learn-ing’ (emphasis in original). The link betweenteaching and research is fundamental in a uni-versity curriculum; without it, a key distinctiveof higher education, which enjoins staffresearch with student learning, is lost. In thelast 10 years, ostensibly in response to theshortcomings in undergraduate education,which had led to Brew and Baud’s statement in1995, there has been a move to identify,promote and strengthen the teaching–researchnexus in universities (Healey 2005; Spronken-Smith & Kingham 2009). Indeed, in NewZealand, legislation since the early 1990s

requires that teaching and research be linked:the New Zealand Education Amendment Act(1990, Section 162) defines a university aswhere ‘teaching and research are closely inter-dependent and most of their teaching is per-formed by people who are active in advancingknowledge’ (cited in Healey 2005, p. 185). Con-tractual definitions of lecturing staff in NewZealand universities require a degree ofresearch activity. Lecturing staff deemedresearch inactive have faced demotion to tutorpositions in the performance-based researchfunding world of New Zealand’s universities.

Healey (2005) summarises a variety ofapproaches to link teaching with research,including the students’ use of staff researchdata, development of appreciation of researchin the subject, development of research skills,completion of tailored assignments such as lit-erature reviews, inquiry- or problem-basedlearning and role as research assistants in staffprojects. Jenkins (2003) identified a similar

Note about authors: Ian Fuller and Martin Brook are senior lecturers in physical geography specialising influvial and glacial geomorphology, respectively; Kat Holt is lecturer in physical geography specialising inbiogeography and Quaternary environmental change.

E-mail: [email protected]

New Zealand Geographer (2010) 66, 196–202

© 2010 The AuthorsNew Zealand Geographer © 2010 New Zealand Geographical Society

doi: 10.1111/j.1745-7939.2010.01187.x

range of strategies to embed research in theundergraduate curriculum. This indicates thereare several levels at which teaching andresearch intersect. Griffiths (2004) distin-guishes between research-led, research-based,research-oriented and research-informedteaching, but Healey (2005) suggests theseterms are used loosely and interchangeably andthat they are not mutually exclusive. In thispaper, we simply refer to research-informingteaching, which we use to cover a plethora oflevels of intersection between teaching andresearch.

Fieldwork provides a medium to link teach-ing and research and is valued as such (Jameset al. 2003). James et al. (2003, p. 16) state, ‘thelinking of teaching and research in the fieldmakes both activities more relevant, in thatresearch informs and affects the teaching, andthe teaching provides a reality check and criti-cal appraisal of the research’. The centrality offieldwork to the discipline of geography(Stoddart & Adams 2004) should make theconnection between research and teaching ingeography more tangible. Fieldwork has beendemonstrated to be an effective and enjoyablelearning tool (Kern & Carpenter 1984, 1986;Fuller et al. 2003; Fletcher & Dodds 2004; Fuller2006; Scott et al. 2006). Students, however, tendto articulate the value of fieldwork in terms oftheir experience of geographical reality, knowl-edge development, skills acquisition and socialinteraction (Fuller et al. 2006) without necessar-ily recognising any role of research per se.Perhaps this reflects a poor communication onour part in terms of what exactly the studentsare doing in the field; would they recognisetheir learning in the field as being informedby research if not explicitly told? Do studentsrecognise their lecturers as researchers?

This paper examines the link between teach-ing and research in the undergraduate curricu-lum in physical geography at MasseyUniversity, a programme in which fieldworkplays an increasingly significant part as studentsprogress from first through to third year. Theextent to which fieldwork is successful in pro-viding an effective medium linking teachingand research is addressed by soliciting viewsfrom the current physical geography post-graduate community (nine students) in theprogramme.

Embedding research in theundergraduate curriculum

In redesigning the undergraduate physicalgeography curriculum over the last five years,we have sought to embed research in our teach-ing at every level:

First yearResearch is embedded within the physicalgeography undergraduate curriculum at anearly stage.The first year Introduction to Physi-cal Geography paper (121) includes an essaytutorial and assignment. As part of this assess-ment, students are required to include at leastthree primary references for an essay plan andare encouraged (and shown how) to useliterature-based search engines such as GoogleScholar and Science Direct. Students are thenexpected to incorporate 10 references in theirfinal essay. This introduces students to primaryresearch material at level 1 and thus, begins todevelop an appreciation of research in thesubject. Essays are therefore informed not onlyby standard first-year textbooks but also byprimary research literature, albeit usually at arelatively superficial level. In the lecture pro-gramme, we will also make ready use of photosfrom our own research sites to illustrate land-forms and processes being studied. However, towhat extent comments to this effect register isdebatable.

Fieldwork at this level is minimal, comprisinga day’s ‘Cook’s Tour’ of the Manawatu (Fig. 1).Reference is generally not made to researchthat may have taken place at sites visited. Someoblique references, however, are made in somecases. For example, coring a local swamp wherea brief and elementary commentary on the useof a D-section corer is provided with referenceto typical results (published).

Second yearFurther appreciation of research in the subjectis fostered by a requirement for students toengage at a higher level with primary researchliterature in their second-year study. In suchpapers as Rivers and Slopes (222), Climatechange and Natural Hazards (223), Biogeogra-phy (224) and Glaciers and Glaciation (225),this engagement occurs primarily via writtenassignments. As a provider of distance educa-

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tion in New Zealand, Massey University makessubstantial study guides available to both extra-mural and internal students. These guides ofteninclude either a list of readings or the materialto be read itself. This provides an opportunityto direct students to relevant and recentresearch literature to develop their subjectunderstanding. Often, specific readings will betagged to lectures or lecture blocks. Assign-ments require more overt and specific litera-ture engagement and review. In addition, somepapers begin to develop research skills, such asmapping glacial geomorphology or surveying ariver channel as part of practical work requiredfor assessment (Fig. 2). Fieldwork thusbecomes a means of equipping students withselected research skills. Furthermore, a morefocused ‘Cook’s Tour’ daytrip in the regionassociated with Rivers and Slopes (222) beginsto draw out research findings at sites visited aspart of the fieldtrip commentary, including thepersonal research of staff conducted at selectedsites. Additionally, a daytrip for Glaciers andGlaciation (225) visits three sites of glacial geo-morphic significance around Mt Ruapehu. This

fieldtrip gives students the opportunity to applythe diagnostic skills developed in class to a fieldanalysis and interpretation of unconsolidateddebris ridges from a range of process origins.This is also linked in to previous publishedresearch at this location.

Third yearPapers taught at level 300 are, without excep-tion, strongly informed by research. Thesepapers fit with Griffiths’ (2004) definitions ofthe following: (i) ‘research-led’ teaching, in thesense that the content is directly based on spe-cialist research interests of teaching staff;(ii) research-oriented teaching, in the sense thatattention is given to inquiry skills and theprocess of knowledge generation; (iii) research-based teaching, in the sense that the papers arestructured around or include inquiry-basedactivity; and (iv) research-informed teachingsince they draw on systematic inquiry into thelearning process.

River Dynamics (327) includes substantialcontent derived from the lecturer’s own per-sonal research as well as engaging students

Figure 1 First-year class at Foxton beach on a fieldtrip designed to reinforce student learning of landformsand processes introduced at 100 level. Lecturers are perceived as ‘teachers’ at this level and have a clearinstructional role. Note the varying levels of engagement among the student group!

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critically with research literature via a reflectivejournal and involving them with primarydata collection in fieldwork at a site that hasbeen personally researched (see Fuller &Hutchinson 2007). Laboratory work alsodevelops inquiry skills and generates first-hand

knowledge of GIS (Geographical InformationSystems) usage.Assessments are thus groundedin inquiry-based learning (IBL).

Quaternary Biogeography (320) draws onthe lecturer’s own research and is structuredaround inquiry involving environmental

Figure 2 Second-year field class measuring river channel cross-section. The lecturer is more of a facilitatorhere as students take on more responsibility and are more deeply engaged (pun intended).



reconstruction from a lake core. The studentsare immersed in the practical side of researchby actively participating in all stages of apalaeovegetation reconstruction includingextraction of a core in the field, lab-based sam-pling, sample processing and microscopeanalysis of pollen. The results are then inter-preted and critically evaluated in context withother published research. Students are alsointroduced to specialised software (Tilia) usedby researchers in this field in construction ofpollen diagrams.

Two entirely field-based papers are taught atlevel 300. For Fieldwork:Alpine Physical Geog-raphy (303), students complete two researchprojects based on original field data collection,analysis and write-up. They also present theirresearch in the field at a mini-seminar usingPowerPoint, simulating another part of theresearch process. Applied Field Geomorphol-ogy (304) utilises recent published research atselected sites in a tour of the Hikurangi Marginand discusses the application of the researchfindings in a management context. Whileovertly applied, assessments and field visits arewholly informed by published research under-taken at each site visited. Students also make

their own observations of landforms and pro-cesses and link these to the relevant publishedresearch literature (Fig. 3).

Student perceptions

Clearly, we believe that research is deeplyembedded in our undergraduate curriculum.What is not clear, however, is the extent towhich this belief matches with students’ per-ceptions and which of the approaches identifiedearlier are, in their views, most effective atlinking research and teaching. Furthermore,how effective is fieldwork in cementing thoselinks between teaching and research? Toaddress this, the current cohort of nine post-graduate students (PhD, Masters and Honours)was asked two questions: ‘to what extent do youthink research is embedded in the undergradu-ate papers we teach?’ and ‘to what extent yourundergraduate experiences of any research(e.g. case study material, fieldtrips, assignments)helped inform your decision to pursue post-graduate study?’. Each member of this studentcohort studied at undergraduate level in physi-cal geography at Massey and ‘came through theranks’ of the geography programme. Their

Figure 3 Student research at Fox Glacier (303). Students fully engaged in technical data acquisition as partof field-based research projects. They take responsibility for their own measurements.

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answers were provided over afternoon tea at aninformal brainstorming/focus group session.

The students identified the way their percep-tions of lecturing staff changed over the courseof their study, from teachers in their first year toresearchers at third year as they grew in theirappreciation of research within the subject.This perception of lecturers as active research-ers was facilitated by incorporation of the lec-turers’ own research in their teaching andespecially through the third-year fieldworkpapers where fieldwork plays a substantial part.These research inputs made the research ‘real’,‘accessible’ and ‘achievable’. In particular, thestudents took on the role of informing the lec-turing staff, especially through presentation oftheir research findings through mini-seminars(PowerPoint presentations). The students wereinitially daunted at the prospect of giving a15-minute PowerPoint to lecturing staff andclassmates on their findings but gained confi-dence in these exercises and realised thatresearch is, in fact, achievable, which, in turn,strongly influenced these students’ decision tocontinue their study as graduate students.

Discussion and conclusions

Our findings affirm Edwards’ (2003, p. 20) com-ments, ‘research and teaching may be success-fully linked to the mutual benefit of bothacademic staff and students . . . this is particu-larly relevant where fieldwork is involved. Staffresearch that is fed into teaching may stimulatestudent research, which, in turn, feeds back intostaff research and teaching, and so on’. Studentresearch has been stimulated by efforts toembed research in the curriculum and engagestudents with research using fieldwork: 2009represented the largest cohort of postgraduatestudents in the programme in over 10 years.Honours and Masters students are workingalongside staff on research projects and PhDstudents are being supervised by the lecturerswho have taught and mentored them inresearch through their undergraduate career.The calibre of these students is also exceptional– two are pursuing PhD projects funded by theTertiary Education Commission Bright FutureTop Achiever Doctoral Scholarship, one is aSasakawa scholar and the other two holdMassey Vice-Chancellor doctoral scholarships

(the highest internal scholarship awarded bythe University). We believe our approachembedding research in our undergraduate pro-gramme and our strong fieldwork emphasis hashelped in generating these high-quality schol-ars and has, by their own admission, contrib-uted to their decision to pursue postgraduatestudy.

A question remains as to the extent to whichresearch-based fieldwork has contributed tothe intellectual development and depth oflearning. Fuller (2006), however, argues thatdepth of learning is facilitated by fieldwork;furthermore, effective student learning in termsof depth and understanding is most likely fromresearch contexts where students are activelyengaged (Healey 2005). With this in mind, ourapproach to fieldwork sought to do just thatand we also found that our students were inagreement. Spronken-Smith and Kingham(2009) suggest that one way of strengtheningthe link between teaching and research is to useIBL, which involves students actively engagingin the research process of knowledge creation.This approach sees lecturers in a facilitatorrather than in an instructor role. Adoption ofthis approach in delivery of a ‘Field ResearchMethods’ course at Otago was designed tofoster staff and student research and fieldteaching (Spronken-Smith & Hilton 2009). Webelieve we are seeing similar results at Massey,with strengthened teaching–research linksusing field-based IBL and staff facilitatingstudent progress. It is, however, important toacknowledge that our assessment of studentperceptions in this paper is limited to the top-achieving students. We also acknowledge theneed to investigate this topic further, in waysthat incorporate a broader spectrum of thestudent cohort. As such, this is a work inprogress.

Acknowledgement

We thank the 2009 cohort of postgraduatestudents in physical geography for theircontributions.

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linking teaching and research in undergraduate physical geography papers: the role of fieldwork

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