2. This presentation gives a brief overview of Fielding‟s
work on the „student voice‟
The approach is analysed by drawing on open ended
questionnaires and reflective diaries completed by
first (aged 18-19) and second year(aged 19-20)
students on fieldtrips in Scotland and Spain
A case study is also given in which students in a
Spanish village were given flipcams to record their
student voices.
Ideas as to how this approach could be developed are
considered
3. Fielding (1999) maintained that the central
feature of collegiality was the willing acceptance
of obligations to contribute to the advancement
of the professional learning community.
He saw the key feature of collegiality as a
commitment to professional equality in which the
voices of students, parents and the community
had an increased resonance and legitimacy.
4. Fielding‟s „radical or inclusive collegiality‟ of education saw
education as a communal practice which had three strands:
1.Teachers should learn from and with each other
2. ” Teaching is primarily a personal not a technical activity and at
the heart of an educative encounter there is a mutuality of
learning between the teacher and the student” (Fielding 1999:21)
Students would enter the collegiums as partners in the learning
process and on occasions as teachers of teachers.
3. Education in a democracy also embraces parents and other
members of the community as well as teachers and students.
8. Flipcams were used as an experimental method on the
second year Spanish field trip to enable students to
work on an individualistic basis to both capture and
construct their own learning about a particular village
in which they were staying.
9.
10. The fieldtrip includes a visit to three separate areas
comprising a stay in Malaga for three days, a stay in
one of three villages in the Alpujarras, Yegen, Valor
and Laroles and a day in Granada so that the students
are exposed to a diversity of geographical
environments.
The assessment of the field trip is divided into three
parts; background research into the Alpujarran
environment, a report on the Malaga project and a
village workshop.
12. On arriving at the Alpujarran village of Yegen students
were given a flipcam in pairs and asked to record their
impressions of the fieldtrip, the impressions of Spain,
Malaga and the villages.
It was the intention that they should impart their
discovery about the places and that they should learn a
skill namely of using the flipcam both to record their
ideas and edit their footage.
13. The films covered a number of differing approaches.
Students L, S and M gave their first impressions of
the village with student L showing how different both
the village and Spain generally were from his
preconceptions.
Students S and D talked about their feelings for the
places that they visited and discussed their feelings
for fieldwork. This was a more personal account and
gave a vivid account of fieldwork and what
Higgitt(1996)calls „inter alia‟ objectives of the respect
and knowledge of other places.
14.
15. Student G took the flipcam home at the end of the trip
and edited it on his own software adding music too.
He has both linked his experiences with prior
knowledge and has used his experience in the village to
connect „theoretical concepts‟ with real world
scenarios as well as his respect for the environment
and the development of values associated with the
environment
16.
17. The flipcams do have much potential for fieldwork use
Flipcams can contribute to producing an innovative
learning environment. This draws on McEwen‟s 1996:38
suggestion of “to reinforce fieldwork as a dynamic
learning environment”
They can contribute to individualistic student centred
learning, with students constructing new and
meaningful knowledge for themselves.
18. Students using flipcams can produce deep learning,
experiential learning, active learning and constructivist
learning experiences.
Students used the flipcams in developing intellectual
objectives (Higgitt 1996) linking experience with
previous knowledge and using experiences to connect
theoretical concepts with real world scenarios. They
use critical skills in selecting their material for the
filming.
19. The use of the flipcams led to a more immediate
understanding of concepts visually.
The use of the vibrant visual images gave students a
new way of looking at features in the field.
It helped prepare the students for an engagement with
the field, it provided a means by which the students
could familiarise themselves with the village.
The use of the flipcams appealed to visual learners.
20. Students used the flipcams in developing technical
objectives (Higgitt 1996).
Students developed technical skills and enjoyed the use
of the new technology.
The flipcams were used in 2010 and 2011 and on both
occasions they were very popular. Two students in 2011
mentioned them in their course
reviews, one finding that he had learnt a new skill and
the other finding it fun to use.
21. Students used the flipcams in developing personal
objectives (Higgitt 1996) with students D and S
discussing the new relationships they made in the field.
Students were able to develop their reflexive feelings
for fieldwork as well as personal transferable skills.
Using the flipcams improved the students‟ self
confidence.
22. Students used the flipcams in developing what Higgitt
(Higgitt 1996) calls inter alia objectives.
Through their flipcam work they showed a respect and
knowledge of place, a respect for the environment and
a development of values associated with the
environment.
23. Flipcams were used to enable the students to connect
with and reflect upon place.
Initially it had been envisaged that the use of flipcams
would be an individualistic endeavour particularly with
the focus on capturing an individual‟s feelings about
place.
The use of flipcams has also been seen to work
successfully in terms of small group work and they
could be used by small groups to present problem
based learning
24. The use of flipcams produces a new
learning environment which can be seen as a more
immediate way of bringing the field into the
classroom.
