Issues and trends in higher education biology fieldwork

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Issues and trends in higher education biology
fieldwork

• Debbie Smith

British Ecological Society
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Background

• This article describes the findings of a two-day
  Higher Education focus conference on the status
  of fieldwork in undergraduate courses
• Not only are students shying from classes like
  zoology (strong fieldwork history), but classes
  like biology ( strong fieldwork potential) are
  becoming more focused on lab settings

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• Look at the difference in the ENERGY flowing
  through the systems

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The Importance of Fieldwork in Ecology

• Quote from http//www.uq.edu.au/education/docs/gr
  aduate-certificate/tboggon_Assign1.pdf

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The Role of Fieldwork in Learning

• Quote from http//www.uq.edu.au/education/docs/gr
  aduate-certificate/tboggon_Assign1.pdf

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Current Status of fieldwork

• Overall increase of 13 in terms of enrollment in
  Biological Science courses taken (undergraduate
  level).
• Genetics and Medicine labs are very contained,
  whole organism biology in general on the
  decline
• Overall, 65 fieldwork of ten years ago

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Background

• This article describes the findings of a two-day
  Higher Education focus conference on the status
  of fieldwork in undergraduate courses
• Not only are students shying from classes like
  zoology (strong fieldwork history), but classes
  like biology ( strong fieldwork potential) are
  becoming more focused on lab settings

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Even worse for Environmental Science

• Down 28.5 enrollment
• Biochemistry, Biology, Forestry and Ecology also
  down
• UP 15
• Zoology (exception), Genetics, Dentistry, Medicine

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(No Transcript)
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PULLS/PUSHES

• PULLS (BENEFITS OF FIELDWORK)
• More intense and focused learning
• Chance to develop student/teacher learning
  relationships
• Develop teamwork skills
• PUSHES (REPROCUTIONS OF FIELDWORK)
• Expensive (gone to abroad studying in England)
• Unwillingness of staff to accept due to threat of
  lawsuit
• Expense and lack of funding from University
• Schedule must unify the academic year

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Future action and Suggestions

• Offer more overseas trips (requires funding)
• Inter-disciplinary approaches (always room for
  additional projects of study in the field)
• Inter-institutional approaches
• 10 criteria for improvement (interesting trend
  perhaps established by the Omora project?)