Materials for Life (M4L)

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Unravelling the geographical palimpsest through fieldwork: discovering a sense of place

Fieldwork enables students to gain a greater understanding of the people and places that they encounter. Urban areas are popular destinations for fieldwork because they present a landscape that is in a continual state of change. Yet, as this article indicates, the past is ever present in the urban landscape as each place can be regarded as a palimpsest, where layers of history, geography, culture and politics co-exist. Through active participation in fieldwork, students have the potential to unravel this palimpsest and discover a deeper sense of that place. The example used here reflects upon urban fieldwork in Barcelona as experienced by a group of undergraduate students who, as they carry out and reflect upon their field work, benefit from gaining a sense of place informed by a range of geographical processes and meanings. The article concludes with a series of suggestions for those embarking on fieldwork and wishing to unravel the geographical palimpsest

Gaining a “sense of place”: students’ affective experiences of place leading to transformative learning on international fieldwork

This paper reveals the extent to which undergraduate students demonstrate transformative learning whilst on international fieldwork in Barcelona, Spain. Groups of students create a series of discrete active learning situations that allow them and their peers to engage more fully with their locale and in turn experience a deeper understanding of “place”. Reflective field trip notebooks are used to capture the experiences of students. Results show that through the use of the affective domain (Krathwohl’s taxonomy) and applying cyclic experiential learning (Kolb) combined with critical reflection (Mezirow), students demonstrate progression and, in some cases, regression along Krathwohl’s taxonomy

Understanding emotional geographies experienced during international fieldwork leading to effective learning and teaching strategies

The benefits and challenges of international fieldwork are well rehearsed. However, understandings of students’ affective experiences on fieldwork are less well developed (Boyle et al., 2007). In particular, little examination has been given to how tutors can respond to the affective and emotional geographies (Pile, 2005) that arise on international fieldwork (Glass, 2014) which also affect perceptions of ‘place’ (Urry, 2005). Simm & Marvell (2015) examine how the learning and teaching strategies employed can prompt both positive and negative responses when participating in international fieldwork which may enhance or hinder students’ engagement and performance. Using the innovative strategy of student-led teaching of peers (Marvell et al., 2013), this paper examines how, firstly, the emotional geographies on international fieldwork can be identified and, secondly, how tutors can respond with appropriate learning and teaching strategies in order to enhance the fieldwork experience of students in terms of their personal and scholarly development. Based on field trips to Barcelona, Spain, we analyse a range of media from video and oral interviews, and field diaries to evaluations and reflective essays in order to reveal students’ perceptions, views and emotions of participating in international fieldwork. Most revealing are the themes and issues raised by more ‘immediate’ reflection undertaken in-the-field compared to the more ‘refined’ and considered reflexivity done after the fieldtrip. Such understandings of the emotional geographies can enable appropriate learning and teaching strategies to be employed. The paper concludes with suggestions on how to enhance student’s experiences and engagement during international fieldwork through critical reflectivity as well as making better use of under-utilised aspects such as transit-time between destinations

Emotional geographies experienced during international fieldwork: an evaluation of teaching and learning strategies for reflective assessment

The benefits and challenges of international fieldwork are well rehearsed. However, understanding of students’ affective experiences during fieldwork is less well developed. Little examination has been given to how tutors respond to the affective and emotional geographies that arise during international fieldwork which also affect perceptions of “place”. Using the innovative strategy of student-led teaching of peers, this paper examines how, firstly, the emotional geographies on international fieldwork can be identified and, secondly, how tutors can respond with appropriate teaching and learning strategies to enhance the fieldwork experience of students in terms of their personal and scholarly development. Based on field courses to Barcelona, Spain, we analyse a range of media from video and oral interviews, field notebooks and reflective essays to reveal students’ perceptions and emotions of participating in international fieldwork. Most revealing are the themes and issues raised by more “immediate” reflection undertaken in-the-field compared to the more “refined” and considered reflexivity completed after the fieldtrip. Such understandings of the emotional geographies can enable appropriate teaching and learning strategies to be employed

Applying pedagogies to wicked problems in geography

This paper will introduce the idea of ‘wicked’ or ‘messy’ problems, and review the latest ideas on how it can be integrated into curricula and facilitated into our teaching. We will discuss how the approach fits in with the recent trend towards inter-disciplinary collaboration between university departments, and the stimulation of imaginations, creativity and critical thinking. We will briefly critique the opportunities and challenges of teaching ‘wicked’ or ‘messy’ problems, considering issues such as: facilitating of students working in small, multi- or transdisciplinary teams; using multiple methodologies in teaching; using effective learning and teaching approaches; and the practicalities of translating research into effective teaching. Finally, we ask whether communities of practice will naturally evolve, and what role geographers have to play in such developments

A review of the surgical conversion rate and independent management of spinal extended scope practitioners in a secondary care setting

INTRODUCTION Spinal orthopaedic triage aims to reduce unnecessary referrals to surgical consultants, thereby reducing waiting times to be seen by a surgeon and to surgical intervention. This paper presents an evaluation of a spinal orthopaedic triage service in the third largest spinal unit in the UK. METHODS A retrospective service evaluation spanning 2012 to 2014 was undertaken by members of the extended scope practitioner (ESP) team to evaluate the ESPs’ ability to manage patient care independently and triage surgical referrals appropriately. Data collected included rates of independent management, referral rates for surgical consideration and conversion to surgery. Patient satisfaction rates were evaluated retrospectively from questionnaires given to 5% of discharged patients. RESULTS A total of 2,651 patients were seen. The vast majority (92%) of all referrals seen by ESPs were managed independently. Only 8% required either a discussion with a surgeon to confirm management or for surgical review. Of the latter, 81% were considered to be suitable surgical referrals. A 99% satisfaction rate was reported by discharged patients. CONCLUSIONS ESP services in a specialist spinal service are effective in managing spinal conditions conservatively and identifying surgical candidates appropriately. Further research is needed to confirm ESPs’ diagnostic accuracy, patient outcomes and cost effectiveness

Augmented screwdrivers can increase the performance of orthopaedic surgeons compared with use of normal screwdrivers

Orthopaedic screws insertion can be trivialised as a simple procedure, however it is frequently performed poorly. Limited work exists defining how well surgeons insert screws or whether augmented screwdrivers can aid surgeons to reduce stripping rates and optimise tightness. We aimed to establish the performance of surgeons inserting screws and whether this be improved with screwdriver augmentation. 302 orthopaedic surgeons tightened 10 non-locking screws to what they determined to be optimum tightness into artificial bone sheets. The confidence in the screw purchase was given (1–10). A further 10 screws were tightened, using an augmented screwdriver that indicated when a predetermined optimum tightness was reached. The tightness for unstripped insertions under normal conditions and with the augmented screwdriver were 81% (95% CI 79–82%)(n = 1275) and 70% (95% CI 69–72%)(n = 2577) (p < 0.001). The stripping rates were 58% (95% CI 54–61%) and 15% (95% CI 12–17%) respectively (p < 0.001). The confidences when using the normal and augmented screwdrivers respectively were 7.2 and 7.1 in unstripped insertions and 6.2 and 6.5 in stripped insertions. Performance improved with an augmented screwdriver, both in reduced stripping rates and greater accuracy in detecting stripping. Augmenting screwdrivers to indicate optimum tightness offer potentially enormous clinical benefits by improving screw fixation