Abstract
Abstract. The restrictions implemented to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020 and 2021 have forced university-level educators from around the world to seek alternatives to the residential physical field trips that constitute a fundamental pillar of Geoscience programmes. The field-mapping course for second-year Geology BSc students from Cardiff University was replaced with a virtual mapping course set in the same area as previous years, the Esla Nappe (Cantabrian Zone, NW Spain). The course was designed with the aim of providing the students with the same methodology employed in physical mapping, including such skills as gathering discrete data at stops located along five daily itineraries. Data included bedding attitude, outcrop descriptions with a certain degree of ambiguity, photographs and/or sketches, panoramic photos, and fossil images. Data were provided to the students through georeferenced KMZ files in Google Earth. Students were asked to keep a field notebook, define lithological units of mappable scale, identify large structures such as thrust faults and folds with the aid of age estimations from fossils, construct a geological map on a hard-copy topographic map, draw a stratigraphic column and cross sections, and plot the data in a stereonet to perform structural analysis. The exercise allowed for successful training of diverse geological field skills. In light of the assessment of reports and student surveys, a series of improvements for the future is considered. Though incapable of replacing a physical field course, the virtual exercise could be used in preparation for the residential field trip.
Highlights
Fieldwork has traditionally been an integral part of Geoscience teaching programmes and of Geology in particular (Compton, 1958; Boyle et al, 2007; Butler, 2008; Mogk and Goodwin, 2012)
In this paper we present a virtual fieldwork course, the Esla Mapping Project, designed during the spring of 2020 for second-year Geology BSc students of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences of Cardiff University
The results reported in this contribution largely refer to the 2019/2020 version of the Esla Mapping Project, which has been slightly improved during the second 2020/2021 run
Summary
Fieldwork has traditionally been an integral part of Geoscience teaching programmes and of Geology in particular (Compton, 1958; Boyle et al, 2007; Butler, 2008; Mogk and Goodwin, 2012). Fieldwork has traditionally involved different pedagogical methods Among these methods, one of the most traditional consists of delivering a lecture in a specific location in the field while students take notes, observe the explained phenomenon and attempt to memorise it. One of the most traditional consists of delivering a lecture in a specific location in the field while students take notes, observe the explained phenomenon and attempt to memorise it This generates an enhanced passive learning environment where the students may gain knowledge thanks solely to the lecturer’s expertise. It is well known among the cognitive science community that the knowledge gained through passive learning is more superficial than that gained through active learning, where students are involved in the learning process through
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