This keynote presentation will provide an overview of field-based learning - an active, inquiry-based teaching and learning strategy where teaching and learning is extended beyond the classroom/laboratory walls and where students are exposed to real-world teaching and learning settings in the broader community. In field-based learning, students learn by hands-on application of course content and though direct interaction with the environment rather than solely through textbooks and lectures.

1. Dr. Patrick Blessinger
St. John’s University
HETL Association
NewYork, NewYork
Keynote Presentation:
Using Field-Based Learning to
Improve Student Engagement and
Teacher Professional Development
ICIEConference
Paris, France
July 3-6, 2018

2. Introduction
• Dr. Blessinger is an adjunct associate professor of education at St. John's
University, a math and science teacher with the NewYork State Education
Department, and chief research scientist of the International Higher
EducationTeaching and Learning Association (in consultative status with the
United Nations).
• Dr. Blessinger is the editor and author of many books and articles and he is an
educational policy analyst and contributing writer with UNESCO's Inclusive
Policy Lab, University World News,The Hechinger Report, and Higher
EducationTomorrow, among others.
• Dr. Blessinger teaches courses in education, leadership, and research
methods and he serves on doctoral dissertation committees.
• Dr. Blessinger has received several educational awards, including: Fulbright
Senior Scholar to Denmark (Department of State, USA), Governor’s
Teaching Fellow (Institute of Higher Education, University of Georgia, USA),
and National Geographic Educator.
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3. Introduction
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4. Connect with me on LinkedIn
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5. Foundations of Field-based Learning (FBL)
• This presentation will discuss why and how field-based learning can be effective
in:
• Achieving teaching aims and learning objectives.
• Integrating FBL into the curriculum to create a more dynamic and engaged learning environment.
• FBL is appropriate for any grade level – from 1st grade to doctoral studies.
• Context is important: grade level, subject matter, learning objectives, etc.
• This presentation will examine the current research findings on field-based
learning and present a case study involving "geographic learning through
ecological inquires of water ecosystems in NewYork City" to provide a real-
world example of a field-based learning project.
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6. Field-based LearningTheory, Principles, and Concepts
• FBL is:
• An active, inquiry-based teaching and learning strategy.
• A teaching and learning strategy that extends teaching and learning beyond the
classroom/laboratory walls.
• An authentic learning approach where students are exposed to real-world settings in the broader
community through direct interaction with the environment.
• A teaching and learning strategy where students learn by hands-on application of course content
and though direct interaction with the environment to complement textbooks, lectures, guided
instruction, classwork, homework, videos, virtual/augmented reality, labs, etc..
• FBL meets a range of teaching and learning goals since it provides students with an
authentic perspective of the environment that may not be accessible in other
classroom-based traditional settings
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(Lonergan, N. & Andresen, L.W (1988) Field-based education: some theoretical considerations. Higher Education Research & Development, 7 (1) 63-77.)

7. Field-based Learning Strategies and Practices
(see https://www.queensu.ca/ctl/what-we-do/teaching-and-assessment-strategies/field-based-learning)
Benefits of FBL include:
• Provides teachers with an opportunity to deliver instruction in authentic ways
• Provides teachers a way to present materials, etc that are not otherwise accessible
to students
• Provides students to role paly and to practice skills, techniques, etc that cannot be
carried out in any other way
• Stimulates higher understanding and reinforcement of previously learned
classroom material (operate towards the top of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational
goals)
• Stimulates an appreciation for the complexities of real-world environments
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(Lonergan, N. & Andresen, L.W (1988) Field-based education: some theoretical considerations. Higher Education Research & Development, 7 (1) 63-77.)

8. Field-based Learning Strategies and Practices
(see https://www.queensu.ca/ctl/what-we-do/teaching-and-assessment-strategies/field-based-learning)
Pre-Trip Planning/Activities:
• Prepare: Establish the basic narrative/descriptive elements of the material to be studied on the field study before
the trip takes place. This might be accomplished in the form of a lecture in class, or via a handout distributed
beforehand.This builds foundational knowledge that students need in the field.
• Awareness: Teach and foster an awareness of the site that will be visited.
Trip Activities:
• Engage: Encourage students to ask questions of guides and to interact with the site and its environment.
Students should be actively collected data, making observations, and journaling their experience.
• Meta-Learning: Have students think about how what they experience at the site complicates or contradicts what
they have read or discussed in class. How do professions in the field think? How do students develop these skills?
• Build Upon: Leave time for discussion on site while the issues are fresh; always follow up field studies with a
discussion in class once students have had time to reflect on their experiences.
• Illustrate: Try, where it is useful, to find new ways to teach concepts. For example, a literature or humanities class
visits a gallery or museum specializing in topics being taught.
Post-Trip Activities:
• Assess: Set assignments on what students learn on field studies: this will ensure students pay careful attention to
what they experience.
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(Lonergan, N. & Andresen, L.W (1988) Field-based education: some theoretical considerations. Higher Education Research & Development, 7 (1) 63-77.)

9. Field-based Learning basics
(See https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/teaching-outside-the-classroom/)
• FBL involves working in the field and making observations, taking samples of
objects, structures, processes and phenomena, using the human senses and
technology to apply existing knowledge, gather data, and draw conclusions, and
generate new knowledge.
• Use rubrics, standards, and learning objectives to guide and assess learning.
• FBL activities typically include (and may last a few hours to several days/months):
• Field trips
• Field courses
• Field camps
• Field investigations
• International education
• May go by other names or be part of broader academic programs like study abroad, internships
(structured work placements), service learning (apply knowledge to real-life problem solving),
practicums (practical application of studied theory), and experiential learning (direct encounter
with what’s being studied).
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10. Field-based Learning Basics
see https://serc.carleton.edu/research_on_learning/synthesis/field_resources.html
• FBL is place-based teaching and learning.
• FBL is learning by doing.
• Students learn from direct experience in their field of study.
• FBL experiences should be interdisciplinary and integrated.
• FBL activities have been part of programs and careers in geology, ecology,
environmental sciences, and archeology (Manduca & Carpenter, 2006).
• May be used in any discipline or profession – not just for the sciences.
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Manduca, C. and J. R. Carpenter (2006). " 06). Special issue on "Teaching in the Field." Journal of Geoscience Education.

11. Field-based Learning Basics
see https://fieldstudies.org/2015/10/first-impressions-of-field-based-teaching-and-learning/
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Healey, M. & Jenkins, A. (2009). Developing Undergraduate Research and Inquiry. Higher Education Academy. Heslington, York, UK.
Four ways to connect teaching with the research in FBL:

12. Expanding field-based learning opportunities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMBNwQSiuQU

13. Field-based Learning Case:
National Geographic Educator Certification Program
• This program is a form of professional development for teachers
• PHASE 1: CertificationWorkshop
• The Phase 1 workshop is rooted in NationalGeographic’s Learning Framework.The
Learning Framework is built around attitudes, skills, and knowledge sets that
encourage students to think like explorers.
• PHASE 2: Classroom Activities
• In Phase 2, you should complete two classroom activities that draw upon your
knowledge of the NationalGeographic Learning Framework (introduced in Phase 1).
• PHASE 3: Capstone Project
• Your capstone project should tell the story of your students’ learning in a visual and
creative way.We want to know how your chosen activities reflects the attitudes, skills,
and knowledge of the NationalGeographic Learning Framework—and how it fits in
with your personal identity, values, or philosophy as a teacher.
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See https://www.nationalgeographic.org/education/programs/educator-certification

14. Field-based Learning Case:
National Geographic Educator Certification Program
• National Geographic Learning Framework
• ATTITUDES:
• CURIOUS, RESPONSIBLE, AND EMPOWERED
• SKILLS:
• OBSERVE,COMMUNICATE, COLLABORATE, PROBLEM-SOLVING
• KNOWLEDGE:
• THE HUMAN PLANET, OUR CHANGING PLANET,WILDLIFE
• CREATE A JOURNALTO KEEPTRACK OF ALL PROGRESS AND ACTIVITIES
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(See https://www.nationalgeographic.org/education/learningframework/ )
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RN5zhx8Zm-fqlFp5YyLXrmOndgZSkgrT_Nwt6AA5EsA/edit

15. Field-based Learning Case:
National Geographic Educator Certification Program
Viewing the world from an interdisciplinary and integrated perspective
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16. Field-based Learning Case:
National Geographic Educator Certification Program
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17. Field-based Learning Case:
National Geographic Educator Certification Program
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18. Field-based Learning Case:
National Geographic Educator Certification Program
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19. Field-based Learning Case
National Geographic Capstone Project Rubric
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20. Field-based Learning Case
National Geographic Capstone Project
• PHASE 3 CAPSTONE
• You should also choose either Activity 1 or Activity 2 as your “capstone
activity.” For your capstone activity, you will be asked to submit the following
additional items as part of your multimedia reflection form.
• A lesson plan, in accordance with a Nat Geo template on NatGeoEd.org/Certification
• 2-6 photographs of student work
• A video that tells the story of your students’ learning in a visual and creative way.
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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RN5zhx8Zm-fqlFp5YyLXrmOndgZSkgrT_Nwt6AA5EsA/edit

21. Field-based Learning Case
National Geographic Capstone Project: Online Community
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22. Field-based Learning Case
National Geographic Capstone Project: Lesson Plan
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23. Field-based Learning Case
National Geographic Capstone Project
https://blog.education.nationalgeographic.org/2017/08/22/educator-spotlight-finding-nature-in-the-city/
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24. Field-based Learning Case
National Geographic Capstone Project
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25. UpcomingWorkshops on FBL
• Workshop W17 from 8:00 am to 10:00 am on July 5
• Workshop W32 from 8:00 am to 10:00 am on July 6
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Resources for Field-Based Learning
(see https://teaching.usask.ca/articles/field-based-learning.php)
Articles and Books
Curtis, D. 2001. Project-based learning: Real-world issues motivate students. Retrieved April 1, 2013 from Edutopia
at http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-student-motivation.
Gross Davis, B. 1993. Fieldwork. In Tools for teaching (pp.166-174). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Jarvis, C. 2010. Supporting experiential field-based learning: Interfaces and archives. Journal for Excellence inTeaching and
Learning, 1. Retrieved April 1, 2013 from https://physics.le.ac.uk/journals/index.php/jetl/article/view/246.
Lisowski, M. and Disinger, J.F. 1991. The effect of field-based instruction on student understandings of ecological concepts. Journal
of Environmental Education, 23(1): 19-23.
Lonergan, N. and Andresen, L.W. 1988. Field-based education: Some theoretical considerations. Higher Education Research &
Development: 7(1): 63-77.
Kozar, J.M. and Marcketti, S.B. 2008. Utilizing field-based instruction as an effective teaching strategy. College Student Journal,
42(2): 305-311.
Nicholson, D.T. 2011. Embedding research in a field-based module through peer review and assessment for learning. Journal of
Geography in Higher Education, 35(4): 529-549.
Websites
Field-based learning. n.d. Bringing Research on Learning to the Geosciences, SERC, the Science Education Resource Center at
Carleton College. Retrieved April 1, 2013 from http://serc.carleton.edu/research_on_learning/synthesis/field.html.
Field-based learning. n.d. Centre forTeaching and Learning, Queen’s University. Retrieved April 1, 2013
from http://www.queensu.ca/ctl/resources/topicspecific/fieldbased.html.
Instructional strategies online. 2004-2009. What is experiential learning? Saskatoon Public Schools. Retrieved March 1, 2013
from http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/experi.html.

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Resources for Field-Based Learning
(see https://www.queensu.ca/ctl/what-we-do/teaching-and-assessment-strategies/field-based-learning)
Articles and Books
Adams, A., Davies, S., Collins, T., & Rogers, Y. (2010). Out there and in here: design for blended scientific inquiry learning.
In: 17th Association for Learning Technology Conference ALT-C 2010 -, 07–09 Sep 2010, Nottingham, UK.
Atchinson, C. L., & Feig, A. D. (2011). Theoretical perspectives on constructing experience through alternative field-based
learning environments for students with mobility impairments. In, A. D. Feig & A. Stokes (Eds), Qualitative Inquiry in
Geoscience Education Research (Special Paper 474). Boulder, CO: The Geological Society of America Inc.
Bogo, Marion (2010). Achieving competence in social work through field education. University of Toronto Press.
Caprano, M. M., Caprano, R. M., Helfeldt, J. (2010). Do differing types of field experiences make a difference in teacher
candidates' perceived level of competence?. Teacher Education Quarterly, 37, 131-154.
Nicholson, D. T. (2011). Embedding research in a field-based module through peer review and assessment for
learning. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 35 (4). doi: 10.1080/03098265.2011.552104
Websites
Research in the Geosciences
Field-based coursework for business students