Geography PGCE field work

After returning to university in February, and successfully completing their first phase of school-based training, our secondary Geography PGCE trainees were set the task of planning, running and delivering a piece of field work in the local area for Pupil premium pupils at five of our partnership schools.

The session was part of a two-week programme packed with inputs and workshops around professGeography PGCE field workional and education studies where trainees are able to reflect on their progress so far and explore more complex areas of the curriculum and teaching.

As part of the activity, trainees had to plan and design a piece of fieldwork in local areas such as The Amex Stadium, Stammer Park, the University of Brighton and University of Sussex campuses, Falmer village, Moulescomb and the South Downs.

The work had to be linked to GCSE specifications, taking into consideration skills development, evaluating techniques, quantitative and qualitative and types of resources, as well as thinking about timing, risk assessment, rooming, context of learning, statistical analysis, and geographical information systems.

Prior to the field work trainees also needed to take into consideration general logistics such as planning for any eventualities, ensuring they had emergency contacts and first aid if needed. They were expected to organise rooms and equipment and had to schedule in time for lunch stops and breaks as well as most importantly, make sure the day was enjoyable for everyone.

Afterwards, trainees were asked to evaluate the success of their field work, reflecting on feedback from the pupils.

Course leader Sharon Riley said “The field work was really successful, and the schools involved were really pleased with the geographical learning. The trainees learnt how to plan, run and evaluate a field work in a safe environment.

They used their lesson planning skills to understand how to learn outside and developed their geographical knowledge of the local areas and applied their communication and group work skills to run an effective piece of field work. All of the field work was relevant to the schools exam board and the trainees planed the field work based on the exam board and the needs of the GCSE exam paper”.