Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences

Stuart McLelland & Lewis Holloway

Big Ideas - GEES programmes: 1. A gateway to understanding human-environment

relationships

2. Involve learning by doing with problem-framed skills development, embedded in teaching

3. Focussed on fieldwork that engages with people, places and processes, and the complexities of real world issues

4. Enhanced with digital geotechnologies to develop the research and analysis toolkits students can use

5. Driven and improved through a focus on specialist themes defined by staff research interests and academic specialisms

Pedagogy in GEES1. Focus on practice: develop key competencies and skills, alongside knowledge and understanding to use them effectively; Geography demands adaptability and flexibility - students will learn to be critical, reflexive and responsive

2. Focus on real world problems and issues in both classroom and field work. Field work core to the student experience at all levels.

3. Develop a set of core geographical skills

4. Students progress between Levels and reflexively transfer knowledge and skills between modules at the same and at different Levels

5. Focus on enhancing employability through skills and knowledges applicable to real-world problems and contexts.

Integrating fieldwork into

the curriculum

Level 4

Geography Portfolio

Trimester 1 Trimester 2

Geographies of Yorkshire and the Humber* Key GEES skills embedded in empirical investigations of the local region.

Fieldwork and Geotechnologies* A local residential field trip will be the focus for applying research skills and using geotechnologies

Introduction to Physical Geography* Introducing the key themes of physical Geography

Global Issues A module with elements of human, physical and environmental geographies, focusing on a contrasting world region

Introduction to Human Geography Introducing the key themes of human Geography

ILES module (GEES offers 1 module)

Level 5

Geography Portfolio

Trimester 1 Trimester 2

Pathway 1: Environmental Change* Frontiers in Geography Mini projects and problem solving exercises to develop research and project planning skills, leading to a dissertation design.

Pathway 2: Hazards*

Pathway 3: Geomorphology and landforms* Field modules

Choice of 5, including UK option Pathway 4: Sustainability and Development

Pathway 5: Cities and Globalisation ILES module (GEES offers 2 modules)

Pathway 6: Culture, People, Place

Level 6

Geography Portfolio

Trimester 1 Trimester 2

Dissertation There are various options for how we can approach dissertation, but there will be a total of 40 credits either as a single module or two complimentary modules.

Placement Module A* Placement Module B*

Teaching Placement Module Fieldwork B (UK field trip)

Geotechnologies A* (GIS) Geotechnologies B* (env’l modelling)

Fieldwork A Pathway 1: Environmental Change*

Fieldwork C* Pathway 2: Hazards*

Pathway 1: Environmental Change Pathway 3: Geomorphology and landforms*

Pathway 2: Hazards Pathway 4: Sustainability and Development

Pathway 3: Geomorphology and Landforms

Pathway 5: Cities and Globalisation

Pathway 4: Sustainability and Development

Pathway 6: Culture, People and Place

Pathway 5: Cities and Globalisation

Pathway 6: Culture, People, Place

Why Geotechnologies?

• Lack of knowledge of effects and effectiveness of technologies in enhancing field learning

• No App able to replace a field notebook

• Apps don't take advantage of new technology

Paper prototype UI created by Man Lam and Ryan Lay (CS MSc students/Seed Software Development)

Paper prototype UI created by Man Lam and Ryan Lay (CS MSc students/Seed Software Development)

Embedding geotechnology in the

curriculum

• Creating and testing new geotechnologies ‘in the wild’

• Agile and responsive software development with student input

• What are the effects of using geotechnologies on the learning experience?

• (How) do they enhance learning?

• Are there unintended consequences?

• How do digital tools more widely change perceptions of landscape, place, geographical features?

• How do they become involved in the production of knowledge?

Questions for discussion

1. What is the potential for geotechnologies beyond GEES (e.g. other disciplines, other universities, schools …)?

2. How do other disciplines integrate ‘real world’ problems into curriculum and pedagogy