The Geological Society of America Special Paper 461 2009 The undergraduate geoscience fieldwork experience: Influencing/actors and implications/or learning Alison Stokes Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) Experiential Learning in Environmental and Natural Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, PIA BAA, UK Alan P. Boyle Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Liverpool, L69 3Gp, UK ABSTRACT Fieldwork has always been a crucial component of undergraduate geoscience degrees, yet our understanding of the learning processes that operate in a field envi- ronment is limited. Learning is a complex process, and there is increasing interest in the role played in this process by the atTective domain, in particular, the link between atTect (emotion and attitude) and cognition (understanding). This study investigates the impact of residential geoscience fieldwork on students' atTective responses (e.g., feelings, attitudes, motivations), and their subsequent learning outcomes. Qualita- tive and quantitative data were collected from 62 students from a single UK univer- sity undertaking a 9 d geologic mapping-training field course. Pre-field class positive atTects became strengthened, while negative feelings and attitudes were ameliorated as a result of the fieldwork. However, some aspects of the students' experience gener- ated new negative responses, while extracurricular social and cultural activities gen- erated unexpectedly positive responses. In terms of outcomes, the fieldwork enabled students to develop generic as well as subject-specific skills, e.g., teamwork, decision making, and autonomy, while engagement in social interactions both within and out- side of the field environment enabled students to develop valuable interpersonal skills. Such skills are seldom assessed as learning outcomes, but they are an important part of students' development from novice to expert geoscientists, and a vital component of the wider competences required by employers and society. INTRODUCTION Fieldwork is widely considered to be one of the most effective means of learning in the geosciences (e.g., Mond- lane and Mapani, 2002; Butler, 2008; Kelso and Brown, this volume). Most importantly, it enables students to contextual- ize knowledge and make sense of the world through hands- on interaction with their environment, and to become profi- cient in a range of subject-specific and generic transferable skills. However, general understanding of the processes by which students learn in the field is limited. Many geoscientists might argue that it is not necessary to understand the "how" of fieldwork-it should just be done. But simply taking stu- dents into the field does not mean that they will learn, nor does it guarantee that learning will be effective (Lonergan and Andresen, 1988; Kent et aI., 1997) or, for that matter, effec- tively measured. Increasing threats to fieldwork mean that geoscience departments are under growing pressure to justify its continued inclusion in the undergraduate geoscience cur- riculum (Boyle et aI., 2007), so it is important to understand Stokes, A., and Boyle, A.P., 2009, The undergraduate geoscience fieldwork experience: Influencing factors and implications for learning, in WhiLmcycr, S.1., Mogk, D.W., and Pyle, E.1., eds., Field Geology Education: Historical Perspectives and Modem Approaches: Geological Society of America Special Paper 461, p. 291-311, doi: 10.113012009.2461 (23). For permission to copy, contact editing@geosociety.org. ©2009 The Geological Society of America. All rights reserved. 291