Floods, Floodplains, and Fluvial Studies

Type: Paper Session

Time: 11/7/2020 03:30 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) to 4:45 PM

Session Description and Agenda

Special Paper Session: Floods, Floodplains, and Fluvial Studies

1) Getting your feet wet: Strategies for implementing field-based stream research in large undergraduate classes

2) Variations in the Water Quality of Tributary Streams within the Cache River Watershed in Eastern Arkansas

3) Drivers for vegetation recovery on point bars – modeling and mapping vegetation regrowth in the mid-Apalachicola River, Florida

4) Origin Hypothesis for North Carolina Outer Banks Barrier Islands, Capes, and Coastal Plain Surface Hydrology Patterns

5) Insights from Paired Profiles of a Disturbed Coastal Plain River

Getting your feet wet: Strategies for implementing field-based stream research in large undergraduate classes

Session: Floods, Floodplains, and Fluvial Studies
Type: Paper Session

Abstract

Experiential education is a high-impact pedagogical practice that is increasingly encouraged by many universities. In physical geography classes, doing fieldwork with students on local streams is an obvious way to provide a hands-on experience that enriches learning. Just like with any classroom activity, instructors should plan and design student fieldwork to meet specific learning objectives. As an alternative to one-off visits to a local stream to demonstrate field methods, the educational effectiveness of fieldwork can be maximized by incorporating semester-long field-based student research projects into the course design. This approach has several benefits: 1) Students learn how the collection of environmental data through fieldwork contributes to the construction of geographic knowledge, by giving them the opportunity to conduct research to answer a specific question. 2) Through repeated practice, students become competent in specific field techniques that can be an asset to them in their future careers. 3) Students also gain valuable “soft” skills, such as teamwork, leadership, and communication. 4) Through careful project design and partnering with local community groups, students can experience the additional high-impact practice of service learning. I will discuss strategies for implementing field-based student research projects based on my experience with an undergraduate course in Fall 2019 (26 students) and Fall 2020 (11 students), focusing on the project design, outcomes, and potential barriers and how to overcome them. Implementing this type of project into physical geography course design allows for the development of long-term programs that integrate student learning, stream research, and community outreach.

Authors