MSc Science Communciation
Programme
Teaching in the field
N. Sivasothi a.k.a Otterman
NUS Biological Sciences
Friday, 13th February 2009
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Why are
you
here?
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Your role?
• Plan an entire course, manage others?
• Teach a group independently?
• Act as a facilitator? eg. Familiarisation
trips.
– Enhance information conveyed
– Promote a discussion
– Use your greater experience
3

Student’s role
• Learn?
• Forced to be there?
• Trying to pass the CA?
• Be entertained - learn by accident
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1. Introduction
• Why have field trips?
• Types
• The importance of an objectives
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1. Introduction
Why have field trips?
Can we not simulate?
Visualise the subject, phenomenon or
✤
situation.
Learn techniques under ‘real life’ conditions.
✤
Understand and deal with the realistic
✤
scenarios imposed by field conditions.
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Chek Jawa Transect
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Chek Jawa Transect
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Mt Imbia Swiflets
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Mudflats west of causeway,
Western Straits of Johor
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Mandai mangroves
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Johor
Sungei Mandai Besar
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Sungei Buloh Causeway Customs
Mandai mudflats
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Types of field trips and
general objectives
• (1) Recognition/Familiarisation
• See examples from theory. E. g. visit to a mangrove
ecosystem, an orchid farm or the zoo.
• (2) Techniques
• Use specific techniques and procedures subject to field
conditions, E. g. Comparison of environmental
parameters between a gap and the forest canopy.
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(3)
Experiential
learning
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Types of field trips and
general objectives
• Year 1 - Biodiversity Module (LSM1103)
• Year 3 - Ecology
• Year 3 - Evolution
• Year 3 - Life form and functions
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Importance of an objective
• E.g. Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve
• Introduction to mangrove ecosystem - walk the park
to observe flora and fauna.
• Study management methods - how former prawn
ponds are managed to encourage migratory bird
foraging and the significance of Mandai mangroves.
• Conservation - difference between a reserve and a
nature park.
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Importance of an objective
• Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
• Introduction to a rainforest ecosystem.
• Ecological mechanisms of a tropcal rainforest.
• Management - overuse by public, feeding of monkeys.
• Conservation - conflicting land use, buffer zones
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Climbing
or
learning?
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Ponds or birds?
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Ponds or birds?
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Watching
monkey or
watching
people?
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2. Preparation before the class -
the lesson plan.
• Meet at least two weeks before scheduled date.
• Limiting factors
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An achievable objective
• Scale the content down to realistically fit
• allocated time, space and
• student’s attention span
• students capability
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Recognise your student
• C = Do the minimum
• B = + Wants more
• A = ++ Analyses
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Recognise your student
• An important challenge
• The D student - resists learning
• Trick into learning
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A common, minimum objective
• All TAs convey a compulsory minimum course
content - fair for CAs.
• Anything else is a bonus/luck of the draw!
• Convey this to the student - briefing/handout.
• E.g. Suffer or enjoy there are > 60 species of mangrove, but
students only introduced to 4-5 common genera during
introductory trips.
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3. Preparation before the
class
The recce trip
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3. Preparation before the class-
The recce trip
• 3.1 Recce Trip
• Conditions at a site may vary considerably, so a recce
trip is required. E.g. DBS drain, Labrador/SBWR.
• Consult tide-tables for coastal and marine field trips -
http://tides.sivasothi.com
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3. Preparation before the class-
The recce trip
• Tides
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Sea shores
Various systems of vertical zonation of the sea shore.
Example:
• Supralittoral (=splash zone)
• Zone: > HHWST
• Always exposed, i. e. Never covered even by the highest tides.
• Littoral (= intertidal)
• zone: HHWST < Littoral > LLWST
• Daily exposure (air) and immersion (seawater), 1-2x/day.
• Sublittoral
• Below LLWST mark
• Always covered by water even during lowest tides.
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Molles, M. C. Jr., 2007. Ecology: concepts and applications, 4th edition. McGraw-Hill
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Sea shores
• Waves and tides affect distribution and abundance
of intertidal organisms.
• Semidiurnal tides: Two periods of low and high tides daily.
• Diurnal tides: Single low and high tide each day.
• Intertidal zone organisms adapted to amphibious
existence.
• Differential tolerances to periodicity of air exposure leads
to zonation of species.
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What time to do the
coastal cleanup briefing?
• Coastal cleanup = Sat 20 Sep 2008: 9am
• Must do briefing on 13 Sep 2008
• 45 mins shift per day = 6 x 45 - > 5 hour
difference
• I.e. do briefing in afternoon, 2pm
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0.3m
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Field trip yesterday
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Coastal Cleanup 2008:
Is the date suitable?
Swim?
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3. Preparation before the class-
The recce trip
• Changes to site (disappearing
habitat)
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Lim Chu Kang
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3. Preparation before the class-
The recce trip
• 3.2 Plan the route
• Limited time so smooth running. Avoid bottlenecks.
Cleaning up. TAs must cooperate. Eg. RMBR
Phylogenetic tour.
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3. Preparation before the class-
The recce trip
• 3.3 Pace the content
• Amount and sequence of information.
• 3.4 Delivery method
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3. Preparation before the class-
The recce trip
• 3.5 Transport and route
• If buses don’t turn up, who do you call?
• You lose the convoy, bus driver turns around and asks
where?
• Teaching point for students - drainage, link to lesson
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...help undergraduates
develop intellectual and
cognitive skills.
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4. During the field trip
Introduce yourself!
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4.1 Flexibility is the key.
• Adapt, and coordinate with the other TAs.
• Transport & Environment
• Students not responding because tired
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4.1 Flexibility is the key.
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Horseshoe crab rescue,
Mandai Kechil,
13 Mar 2005
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4.2 Emphasise the objective -
even to yourself!
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diversity or form?
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4.3 Give way to exciting scenes
• If a rare or exciting event does take place,
don't fight it!
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4.4 Keeping time
• Enlist help.
• Cut down content, and leave time for a few
questions and examples. Better to say less.
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4.4 Keeping time
Share resources if possible
– Share uncommon finds
– go down earlier to catch or collect and pool
resources into stations.
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4.5 Always admit when you
don't know.
• Any fool can ask a question a wise man
cannot answer!
• Illustrate the difference between
• fact,
• hypothesis,
• an educated guess and
• speculation
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4.5 Always admit when you
don't know.
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4.6 Helping students
understand: practise and
dialogue
• Have a beginning and an end - Explain
objectives, at the end, make the
connection.
• Repetition to help learn new concepts or
names.
• Let them tell you
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4.7 Do students understand?
Nodding heads mean nothing!
• Ask questions.
• Allow written responses (hand out rough paper)
• Make deliberate but obvious errors (lay traps).
• Pop quiz
• Provide a focus for qualitative field trips - eg.
Coastal assessment of Singapore, a bus journey?.
• Tests are the best motivator.
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5. After the field trip
• Mailing lists
– What you could not answer, the pool
does
– Clarification to other groups
– students began posting answers!
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6. SAFETY PREPARATIONS
• 6.1 - Recce the site
• 6.2 - Be prepared
• 6.3 - Declaration
• 6.4 - Observation
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Why are
you
here?
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Enjoy
yourselves!
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Addendum
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Singapore, c.1990
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Singapore, shore
Exposed c.1990
Sheltered shore
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Singapore, c.1990
Beach
Mangrove
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