Flatford Mill trip for student geography teachers

Student teachers on our Secondary Geography PGCE travelled to Suffolk for a residential fieldtrip at Flatford Mill.

The annual event is designed so the students gain practical training on how to deliver field work to all age groups to meet the exam specifications of GCSE and A level, and how we can support students to have a better understanding of geography.

During the trip the student teachers practiced different field work techniques, developed an understanding of sense of place and their group-work skills. The trip also enabled them to develop strong friendship links to help them become a ‘geography community’ so they can support each other during their PGCE year.

The student teachers arrived on a Friday afternoon and dived straight in to developing different fieldwork techniques to help them understand the local area, such as field sketches. Using a variety of field work equipment, they designed their own fieldwork investigations aimed at KS3 pupils with the aim of developing a sense of excitement, awe and wonder of the world around them.

The activity was called the bucket challenge and designed to help the student teachers to approach field work creatively whilst understanding the barriers and benefits of fieldwork..

Each group were given a bucket of equipment and asked to create an investigation rooted in geography linked to the KS3 curriculum . Trainees were then asked to apply their ideas to a sequence of work and present back to the group.

The students next travelled to Bildeston River Site where they were tasked to design fieldwork (including a risk assessment) that will allow their pupils to answer paper 3 GCSE questions. They were given a set of questions to help them think about fieldwork requirements, resources, objectives and teaching strategies to facilitate the pupils’ experience and meet the GCSE specifications

They also took part in a deconstruction of A Level place representation day where they were shown the sense of place day which is used with Non-examined Assessment (NEA) groups at Flatford. The aim was to conduct innovative and exciting methods (away from the normal questionnaires or pedestrian counts) such as emotional mapping and smell/sound audits, to collect information about this place.

Geography PGCE course leader Sharon Reilly said: “The Flatford Mill residential field trip is one of the highlights of the Geography PGCE year.

“It provides the student teachers with a fantastic hands-on start to their course and helps them gain confidence before they spend time in school.”

Comments from the student teachers included:

“Great experience learnt loads”

“Really enjoyed it”

“Good to get to know the other trainees”

Find out how you can become a teacher with the University of Brighton.