Integrating Virtual Fieldtrip and Role Play into Fieldwork Che-Ming Chen Department of Geography National Taiwan Normal University
Abstract Fieldtrips are often less satisfying than they should be when taking too many students into the field. An innovative fieldtrip was designed to remedy this situation by integrating a virtual fieldtrip and role play into a self-guided fieldtrip. This plan includes four modules: (1) a computer-aided instruction is provided to conduct a virtual fieldtrip prior to the actual fieldtrip; (2) students work in small groups and play different roles during the actual self-guided fieldtrip; (3) each group presents their observations and opinions in a simulated public hearing; (4) students share their experiences in a online forum and submit their group projects (PowerPoint presentation and video clips) to a Website. The actual fieldtrip is conducted around Hsinchu Fishing Harbor in north-western Taiwan where the development of the harbor causes significant coastal erosion. The 87 high school students play four roles including government officers, fishermen, residents, and environmentalists to engage this environmental issue with different perspectives. The feasibility of this fieldtrip pl a ni se va l ua t e dbys t ude nt s ’f e e dba c ka ndt het e a c he r ’ spa r t i c i pa ntobs e r va t i on during the fieldtrip and hearing. Keywords: Virtual Fieldtrip, Role Play, Self-Guided Fieldtrip, Computer-Aided Instruction
Introduction Fieldwork is considered as one of the fundamental teaching methods for the environmental education. However, most of the secondary school teachers in Taiwan never put it in action due to many problems such as large class sizes, safety concern, cost, timetable inflexibility, student misbehavior, etc. (Michie, 1998). Even if some teachers are able to overcome these problems, usually the conventional staff-led fieldtrips are not so successful because of the inefficiency of gathering and speaking to many students in the field which makes a fieldtrip like sightseeing (Kent et al, 1997; Bellan & Scheurman, 1998; Tuthill & Klemm, 2002). Some solutions have been proposed to remedy these situations. For example, many teachers conduct fieldtrips in areas around their campus to reduce the cost and difficulties with transportation. Students can also get involved into the environmental issues relevant to their everyday experience (Slater, 1993). Besides, a student-centered fieldtrip such as student-led group work and role-playing project may resolve the problems of leading a large number of students by teachers. Students can learn more skills such as group work, problem solving and critical thinking (Haigh and Gold, 1993). Although a short excursion can save many practical troubles, the resources in local areas are usually limited. For example, schools located in a landlocked country are not able to observe the coastal erosion processes in situ. Recently, many studies investigate the potential of virtual fieldtrip (VFT), using multimedia technology to implement a virtual field course through a computer (Kent, et al., 1997). It allows teachers to bring the sights and sounds of a distance place and simulate the observation and interaction with the natural environment in the classroom (Tuthill and Klemm, 2002). Fieldtrips are therefore available anytime and anywhere. In addition to using VFT as an alternative to the actual fieldtrip, VFT can be used to prepare for an upcoming fieldtrip. It helps students to identify questions before the actual visit, enhance their learning at the real site, and save a lot of field time (Bellan and Scheurman, 1998). While some studies give an insight into the design of the student-centered fieldtrip and others address the merits of VFTs for preparing the actual fieldtrip, this study tends to design a self-guided fieldtrip by integrating a VFT and role play into fieldwork. It is expected that the most educational values of a fieldtrip might be made by a well-structured fieldtrip including a VFT briefing before the fieldtrip, role-play through the fieldtrip, and a simulated public hearing as the debriefing. The objectives of this study include: ● design a self-guided fieldtrip ● evaluate the feasibility of this fieldtrip
Fieldtrip Design Based on the assumption that knowledge and social context are inter-connected, constructivism teachers create learning environments where teachers are facilitators, and students engage in problem-solving activities by themselves or in cooperation with other students (Scheurman, 1998; Solem, 2001). Some common teaching strategies have been employed to promote active participation in the learning process. These include collaborative group work, role playing, peer review, use of technology, and simulated case studies (Reed and Mitchell, 2001). In this study, the teaching strategies according to constructivism concepts are applied to design the self-guided fieldtrip (Figure 1). The ADDIE model, commonly used for multimedia-based instructional design, is used to design the procedure of the fieldtrip (Kearsley, 2000). The ADDIE is the abbreviation of “ analysis” , “ design” , “ development” ,“ implementation” , and “ evaluation” , which are five steps necessary for a well-structured fieldtrip. There are four modules in this model: (1) VFT as the briefing tool: The VFT tool here is not to create a fully virtual reality using sensors, data gloves, and head mounted displays. Instead, it is only a Website where multimedia such as hypertext, graphics, animation, panorama VR, satellite images, photographs, and maps are integrated to provide the background information of the study areas. This approach is simple an attempt to introduce students to develop some basic skills for going into the field. By providing background material, exercises, and tests on the Website, it allows interaction with the virtual environment through participation, exploration and analysis (Stainfield, et al., 2000). (2) Role-play through the fieldtrip: The role playing exercise is found to be a useful technique for enhancing students’learning (Kerr, et. al., 2003). By introducing the real-world situation to students, it allows students to express strong opinions and to discover insights from various aspects. (3) Debriefing in the simulated hearing: The use of experiential simulations not only provides the opportunities to extend students’learning after the actual fieldtrip, but also enhances their professional and marketable skill (Fletcher, 2001). Simulations create the scenario that students are required to deal with the processes, pressures, and rules ‘ for real’ . (4) Online forum: It provides the discussion board online. Before the actual fieldtrip, teachers can post environmental issues for debate and help students to understand the position of each role. It also provides a locus for feedback discussion after the fieldtrip and allows the external Internet communities to participate the discussion.
Fieldtrip in Action This self-guided fieldtrip was further evaluated by conducting an actual fieldtrip with the participation of 1 high school teacher and 87 11th-grade high school students. (1) Participants The students in this study are good at using computer and Internet. Only 1 of the 87 students did not have Internet access at home. Most of them (over 70%) have broadband network at home and almost all of them (over 90%) love Internet. The digit divide is out of concern in this study. The high school teacher of these students has teaching experience for 10 years. She conducts fieldtrips in the geography course once a year, and she is interested in improving the fieldtrip design by the participation of this study. (2) Study Area The study area is located around Hsinchu Fishing Harbor in north-western Taiwan. The environmental issues of this area include significant coastal erosion and the waste pollution of landfills because the jetties of the harbor trap the river sediments from the north. The distance from the high school to the study site is 16.7 km. The area of the study site is around 4 by 5 km. The accessibility is so high that students can go the study site by bus and then travel around this area by bicycle. (3) Briefing The VFT, a multimedia Website, was developed as the briefing tool to make sure that everyone understands the basics of jetty effect, longshore drift, coastal erosion, and their individual roles. Several local news in the past are used to introduce the background information of the environmental issues. The stakeholders of these issues include government officers, fishermen, residents, and environmentalists. The positions of each stakeholder were analyzed to help students move into their roles. An interactive map was provided to show the study area, the travel route, and each role’ s stops. Students can click on each stop to investigate the environmental issues by browsing the virtual reality of the study site presented by multimedia such as 360-degree VR, animations, pictures, satellite images, graphics, etc. Students were asked to answer the questions embedded in each stop in order to get a better sense of the place. (4) Pretest The researcher, the high school teacher, and 5 voluntary students conducted a pretest fieldtrip to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of this self-guided trip.
Some problems were found during this test run. For example, a few stops were canceled to make sure that students could finish their fieldwork before sunset. More annotations were added into the interactive map in the Website and the learning sheet to precisely direct students to each stop. (5) Action The students were grouped into 12 teams. Each team consists of 7-8 students and plays one role. Besides, each team member was assigned to work as team leader (1), recorders (2), photographers (2), or reporters (2-3). Students entered the study site without the company of their teacher. A learning sheet consisting of guidelines of the trip, maps of the study site, and questions to be answered in the field was provided. Each team leader had to bring a cell phone to keep in touch with their teacher in case of a sudden emergency. The role of the teacher was a participant observer instead of a tour guide or an expert in the field trip. (6) Feedback The members of each team discussed their fieldtrip findings after the fieldtrip. An issue analysis sheet was provided to help them identify each role’ s position and propose the solution of the environmental problems before the simulated public hearing. Students also used the “ extended readings”in the VFT, which are hyperlinks to the professional websites regarding the environmental issues of the study area, to find more evidences to support their arguments. The reporters of each team presented their group findings and shared their thoughts with other team members in the simulated public hearing. The controversies aroused in the simulated public hearing were also posted in the “ online forum“section in the VFT to provide opportunities for further discussion.
Evaluation The feasibility of the self-guided fieldtrip was evaluated in three ways. First, students’feedback was elicited through a detailed questionnaire and a focus-group discussion. Secondly, the participant high school teacher’ s was interviewed with open-ended questions about the strengths, benefits, or shortcomings of this fieldtrip. Thirdly, the overall assessment of this fieldtrip plan was made based on the evaluations from the participant teacher and the students. (1) Benefits A majority of students suggest that the VFT tool could help them to prepare for the actual fieldtrip (80%), and they consider that the satellite images and animations
could make them better understand the cause-and-effect relationship between the jetties and the coastal erosion (70%). There is strong agreement that students are capable of conducting a self-guided fieldtrip without the company of teachers (70%), and even stronger agreement that a self-guided fieldtrip allows them to have greater flexibility of learning (80%). The simulated public hearing provides an insight into stakeholder concerns and allows students to experience the stakeholders’point of view (70%). Most students agree that the role-play and the public hearing help them to communicate and negotiate with other people (80%). The participant high school teacher suggests that the self-guided fieldtrip could save the troubles of speaking to many students in the field. She also found that this fieldtrip could enhance students’learning in terms of the self-guided approach. (2) Shortcomings A particular weakness of the VFT is its complexity. Several students mentioned that they did not explore throughout the VFT Website. They suggested teachers had better lead them through the Website. A few students responded that it was quite slow to download the 360-degree VR in the webpages by using the free dial-up Internet services. They may have to use the computers and broadband networks of other team members. Many students found the most difficult part of the fieldtrip was to interview the locals because they could not speak the native language. Each team should assign at least one student capable of speaking the native language. In terms of the simulated public hearing, many students commented that they did not know the exact procedure of a hearing. Teachers may have to interrupt their discussion and play a more active role. The participant teacher pointed out that the process of this fieldtrip was more complicated than the conventional staff-led fieldtrip. It may take too much time and effort to develop a multimedia Website at first. She suggested that a media lab could be established in the school to meet the needs of developing e-learning materials requested by teachers.
Conclusions The self-guided fieldtrip produced numerous benefits. It improved understanding of the process of coastal erosion caused by jetty effect and the respective roles of stakeholders. It enhanced negotiation skills and confidence to debate. Furthermore, students experienced the fun of being a “ geographer” . It should be noted that successful preparation of the self-guided fieldtrip in this case requires a VFT tool. Teachers may lack of the technical skills to develop a
multimedia Website, but the benefits are certainly worth the effort to learn when the Website is once built and then used repeatedly. Moreover, teachers could share the VFTs built by other participant teachers from the remote places. In this way, the teaching and learning resources will no longer be limited in the local areas.
References Bellan, J. M., and Scheurman, G., (1998). Actual and virtual reality: making the most of field trips, Social Education, 62(1): 35-40. Fletcher, S. (2001). Using stakeholder decision-making simulation to teach integrated coastal management, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 25(3): 367-378. Haigh, M. J. and Gold, J. R. (1993). The problems with fieldwork: a group-based approach towards integrating fieldwork into the undergraduate curriculum, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 17(1): 21-32. Kearsley, G. (2000). Online education: Learning and teaching in cyberspace, Wadsworth: Thomson Learning. Kent, M., Gilbertson, D. D., and Hunt, C. O., (1997). Fieldwork in geography teaching: a critical review of the literature and approaches, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 21(3): 313-332. Kerr, D., Troth, A., and Pickering, A. (2003). The use of role-playing to help students understand information systems case studies, Journal of Information Systems Education, 14(2): 167-171. Michie, M. (1998). Factors influencing secondary science teachers to organize and conduct field trips, Australian Science Teacher’ s Journal, 44(4): 43-50. Slater, T. P. (1993). Locality-based studies and the Enterprise Initiative, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 17(1): 47-56. Reed, M. and Mitchell, B. (2001). Using information technologies for collaborative learning in geography: a case study from Canada, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 25(3): 321-339. Scheurman, G. (1998). From behaviorist to constructivist teaching, Social Education, 62(1): 6-9. Solem, M. N. (2001). A scoring guide for assessing issues-based geographic inquiry on the World Wide Web, Journal of Geography, 100(2): 87-94. Stainfield, J., Fisher, P., Ford, B., and Solem, M. (2000). International virtual field trips: a new direction? Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 24(2): 255-262. Tuthill, G., and Klemm, E. B., (2002). Virtual field trips: alternatives to actual field trips, International Journal of Instructional Media, 29(4): 453-468.
Analysis
Audience
Study Area
Course Objectives
Design Teaching Strategies Development
VFT Tool
Learning Guide
Pretest Self-Learning via VFT
Briefing Implementation Self-Guided Fieldtrip
Debriefing Discussion Evaluation
Figure 1. The procedure of the self-guided fieldtrip
Task
