GeoActivity Types in APHG: Field Study

“Geographers learn through the soles of their feet; fieldwork is what geographers have always done!” (McEwen 1996, 379). Geography educators regard fieldwork as an integral and powerful component of the geography curriculum (Fuller, Rawlinson, and Bevan 2000; Oost, De Vries, and Van der Schee 2011; Rice and Bulman 2001). Fieldwork, also called field study, is composed of knowledge-building activities, where students can construct and process knowledge (Hoefer and Harris, 2001), which includes field teaching, field trips, field research, and field camp (Dando and Wiedel 1971). Field study is a set of learning activities in “any area or zone within a subject where supervised learning can take place via first-hand experience, outside the constraints of the four-walls classroom setting” (Lonergan and Andresen 1988, 64). Field experience can elicit students’ awe and wonder about places and people and stimulate students to think beyond everyday knowledge through real experiences (Lambert and Reiss 2016). Prior research has emphasized that field study is an effective teaching tool to improve the understanding of core geographic concepts and field sites, as well as to develop inquiry skills and foster camaraderie and collaboration among students (Hupy 2011; Kent, Gilbertson, and Hunt 1997; Lee 2020). Rice and Bulman (2001), while designing field study integrated into Advanced Placement Human Geography (APHG) courses, suggested that field study can be conducted in three interrelated and progressive approaches: observation, investigation, and inquiry (Bland et al. 1996). Observation includes teacher-led activities that promote field study with looking, seeing, and listening skills through guided tours or field demonstrations. Investigation and inquiry are more student-directed field study through examination, measurement, or hypothesis testing. Along with these three approaches, Rice and Bulman (2001) also emphasized that teachers should consider the knowledge and skill levels of students and the alignment between the curriculum and geographical concepts addressed in the field study. This paper introduces four local field studies designed and conducted by two APHG teachers (Table 1). All of these activities were designed for ninth-graders taking APHG courses. Both teachers implement multiple instances of field study in different units of the APHG curriculum throughout the academic year (e.g., two times in each semester). The four activities were selected to introduce a variety of local field studies across different APHG topics and spatial scales. The aim of the field studies was to encourage students to experience the real world and apply APHG knowledge in their daily lives. Our students are natural geographers, and field study can show the real connection and application of what they learn with the real world. The local field studies help students develop geographical and critical perspectives and understanding how the world works. The four field study examples will show how local field study can be conducted and intertwined with the APHG curriculum.