Page 7 [Geology field trip] - Nordplus course report

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Gullfoss

After the Geysir area where water goes up, we visited Gullfoss where the water goes down.

Gullfoss is located in the glacial river Hvítá, and is made up by two consecutive waterfalls.

Here is the upper waterfall as seen from the top of the hill where our bus was parked.

There was a path that allowed interested visitors to go see the upper part from a closer distance. Naturally, we went there.

We were not the only ones at the location — which is hardly a surprise given the inspiring scenery.

The path ended on a ledge where the upper part of the waterfall was clearly visible.

Here is the lower waterfall as seen from the path leading to the upper part.

There was a constant mist produced by the falling water hitting the river surface below.

At the upper part of this picture, both parts of the waterfall can be seen. The mist from the lower part has formed puddles on the hillside.

The ledge where the path ended is visible in the upper left corner.

Here is another view that shows both parts of the waterfall and the mist, in video form. [video: 8 sec, 513 kB]

Fieldwork in geography

Why fieldwork?

Fieldwork is valued by many geographers as an important part of their work, and is also a key component for their enthusiasm. It is also an important part of the curriculum.

According to P.R.Smith (1987, "Outdoor education and its educational objectives". Geography 72(2): 209-16), the value of fieldwork resides in three broad categories of experience: outdoor studies, outdoor pursuits, and personal and social development.

Outdoor studies: fieldwork helps cognitive development; enables applying ideas from the classroom, testing hypotheses by empirical methods, and learning from first-hand observation.
Outdoor pursuits: fieldwork provides personal physical challenge, and aids the development of physical and practical skills, along with enhanced awareness of safety issues.
Personal and social development: fieldwork enables development of self-awareness, and awareness of the needs and skills of others in the context of working co-operatively in new environments.

Furthermore, geography specifically provides valuable historically accumulated experience in fieldwork, and thus is particularly suitable as a platform for fieldwork studies.

IT in fieldwork

What is the role of information technology in fieldwork? IT can be used at least for the following things:

Data collection: databases and spreadsheets can be used for collecting data. Also, laptops make it possible to collect data while out in the field.
Data generation: data loggers and environmental sensors can be used as data sources. This data can then be imported to classroom computers.
Data processing: because computers can handle data rapidly, the teaching/learning situation can focus on the enquiry process instead of mechanical data handling.

Reference:

Foskett, N. 1997. Teaching and learning through fieldwork. In D. Tilbury & M. Williams (eds.). Teaching and Learning Geography. London: Routledge. pp. 189-201.

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