Role and Importance of Fieldwork in Learning Geography Research Paper

Role and Importance of Fieldwork in Learning Geography - Research Paper Example One way of achieving the goal is by engaging children in fieldwork activities frequently. In teaching practical lessons the first-hand experience plays a vital role as it makes learning more interesting to students while also enabling students to acquire certain vital skills that may not be easily acquired in the classroom setting. During fieldworks students basically, collect, analyze and present data. In geography, fieldwork plays a vital role in helping students to learn about the environment, places and human behavior. Several constraints have however come in the way of primary school teachers seeking to engage their students in geographical fieldwork. Some of these include unavailability of time throughout the academic year, non-availability of insurance policies to cover students and their teachers on fieldwork missions, lack of resources for carrying out fieldwork activities and pessimism from parents or school administrations regarding such exercises among other reasons. This paper seeks to analyze the role and importance of fieldwork in primary education, and more especially in learning geography. There has never been, in the past, so much talk about biodiversity, sustainability and citizenship as it is today. It can, therefore, be confidently said that it is very important for citizens to appreciate at a tender age the value of the environment and understand how the great ecological dilemmas that face the world are scientifically related to it. In fact, according to Professor May of Oxford, â€Å"it is in the field†¦ where acting locally becomes thinking globally† (May, Richardson and Banks, 1993, pp2-5).