Tuning the Field Trip: Audio-Guided Tours as a Replacement for 1-Day Excursions in Human Geography

Autor/in	Wissmann, Torsten
Titel	Tuning the Field Trip: Audio-Guided Tours as a Replacement for 1-Day Excursions in Human Geography
Quelle	In: Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 37 (2013) 4, S.595-610 (16 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0309-8265
DOI	10.1080/03098265.2013.828684
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Human Geography; Geography Instruction; Field Trips; Audiovisual Instruction; Exhibits; Experiential Learning; Travel; Instructional Materials; Maps; Workbooks; Undergraduate Students; Undergraduate Study; Questionnaires; Student Attitudes; Student Surveys; Handheld Devices; Audio Equipment; Information Dissemination; Germany + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Humangeografie; Geography education; Geography lessons; Geografieunterricht; Exkursion; Experiental learning; Erfahrungsorientiertes Lernen; Travelling; Reisen; Reise; Lehrmaterial; Lehrmittel; Unterrichtsmedien; Map; Karte; Arbeitsbuch; Grundstudium; Fragebogen; Schülerverhalten; Schülerbefragung; Audio-CD; Informationsverbreitung; Deutschland
Abstract	Educators are experiencing difficulties with 1-day field trips in human geography. Instead of teaching students how to apply theory in the field and learn to "sense" geography in everyday life, many excursions have degraded into tourist-like events where lecturers try to motivate rather passive students against a noisy urban backdrop. Although various (partly) student-led approaches have successfully addressed the issue, there are still a high number of tours that use a traditional, tutor-led model. The example of a series of three audio tours produced at Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany, shows how these conventional field trips can be transformed into audio tours that help students not only to better internalize human geographic learning content but also cultivate empirical research, creative thinking, and individuality. In this paper I provide a critical description of tutor-led field trips. Downsides are identified and contrasted with the audio-guided tours that an increasing number of museums create for their visitors. I then show, how learning from a narrator's voice instead of from a tour guide is also not only possible in the context of higher education but in many ways may be a superior learning tool. The concept of three interlinked audio tours is presented with regard to design, production, and distribution. The need of additional learning materials such as maps, posters, and workbooks to foster active learning through creative impulses and the independent use of empirical methods are discussed, before the successful implementation into the bachelor curriculum is described. I conclude by highlighting the importance of fieldwork and by recommending audio-guided tours as a productive method of active learning. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10