Degrees of field experience

Field Studies Council centres have much to offer staff and students in higher education, particularly as bases for field courses but also for research facilities. The centres provide combinations of local experience, available habitats, published background material, laboratory and library facilities allowing pursuit of 'Field Studies' in the widest interpretation.     

The Integrative Learning Value of Field Courses

The integrative learning ethos pervades modern higher education. Broadly speaking, this aims to produce well-rounded, adaptable graduates suited to a range of working environments. In a more narrow sense it should produce students that are able to make connections across learning experiences and achieve learning at the highest cognitive level. Our study made use of field courses, which are uniquely placed to offer students integrative learning experiences. Although cognitive gains for students on field courses have been demonstrated previously, this study investigated whether students appreciate the integrative learning gains that students may achieve and applied these findings to the design of a new field course. This course specifically targeted integrative learning outcomes that we subsequently assessed. We found undergraduate students surveyed across three departments at the University of Nottingham recognised that field courses facilitated integrative learning in both the narrow and broad sense. Importantly, students themselves realised the integrative learning gains associated with attending a field course. We found this was also true for the newly designed field course. Overall, we found that field courses offer valuable integrative learning gains, and that these are recognised and appreciated by students. These findings provide strong support for continued offering and increased provision of field course modules in the sciences.     

Formative fieldwork: the age of the sixth form course

Two hundred and fifty-eight thousand A-level students have attended one-week field courses at Field Studies Council Residential Centres during the past 30 years. Biology courses have had a strongly ecological basis throughout, with an emphasis on the study of the whole environment. Only in recent years have financial constraints forced the organization to restructure academically-desirable programmes in favour of overtly syllabus-orientated curricula. There have, however, been but trivial changes in the pattern of work. The emphasis of the field course is based firmly on the students' own field and laboratory observations. Staff are facilitators not dictators.     

The GTPB training programme in Portugal

The Gulbenkian Training Programme in Bioinformatics has been offering hands-on training courses in Oeiras, PT for more than a decade. This article is a review of its functional organization and evolution. We aim to share our experience with people considering setting-up similar training facilities elsewhere. More than 1600 course attendees, so far, have attended our courses. Their experiences have helped us to know how to satisfy their training requirements and what is feasible with very limited resources.     

A comparative study between outcomes of an in‐person versus online introductory field course

The COVID‐19 pandemic has disrupted many standard approaches to STEM education. Particularly impacted were field courses, which rely on specific natural spaces often accessed through shared vehicles. As in‐person field courses have been found to be particularly impactful for undergraduate student success in the sciences, we aimed to compare and understand what factors may have been lost or gained during the conversion of an introductory field course to an online format. Using a mixed methods approach comparing data from online and in‐person field‐course offerings, we found that while community building was lost in the online format, online participants reported increased self‐efficacy in research and observation skills and connection to their local space. The online field course additionally provided positive mental health breaks for students who described the time outside as a much‐needed respite. We maintain that through intentional design, online field courses can provide participants with similar outcomes to in‐person field courses.     

高等院校环境科学专业实验课程体系的建设与思考

实验教学效果直接影响本科生实践能力的培养,建立一套科学合理的适合环境科学专业本科生的实验课程体系意义重大。文中主要介绍了厦门大学环境科学专业以系统性、综合性、模块化的方式建立了一套“基础→专业→综合”的实验课程体系。在加大实验室建设投入,加强实验室管理等软硬件设施配套的情况下,实验课程体系不断完善,培养的学生能够满足人才培养的目标和社会需求。本文通过阐述该实验课程体系的建立、完善及成效,以期为相关院校提供借鉴。     

Circadian rhythms have insignificant effects on plant gas exchange under field conditions

Circadian rhythms in photosynthesis and stomatal conductance have been widely observed, but their possible adaptive significance is unknown. To determine whether such rhythms have a significant effect on the daily courses of carbon gain and/or water loss under field conditions, we obtained laboratory data on circadian rhythms in gas exchange of Saururus cernuus L., a wetland perennial. Using these data we modified a widely used mathematical model of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance by introducing the observed circadian‐rhythmic variation into the maximum rates of electron transport and carboxylation. We measured photosynthesis and stomatal conductance hourly on the same species growing naturally in the field and compared measured daily courses of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance with daily courses calculated using the model as originally formulated and also as modified to include circadian rhythms. The model fit the field data only slightly better when rhythms were included: the rhythms accounted for only about 1% of the observed daily carbon gain. Thus, these rhythms probably do not affect photosynthesis and stomatal conductance in the field.     

Next‐generation field courses: Integrating Open Science and online learning

As Open Science practices become more commonplace, there is a need for the next generation of scientists to be well versed in these aspects of scientific research. Yet, many training opportunities for early career researchers (ECRs) could better emphasize or integrate Open Science elements. Field courses provide opportunities for ECRs to apply theoretical knowledge, practice new methodological approaches, and gain an appreciation for the challenges of real‐life research, and could provide an excellent platform for integrating training in Open Science practices. Our recent experience, as primarily ECRs engaged in a field course interrupted by COVID‐19, led us to reflect on the potential to enhance learning outcomes in field courses by integrating Open Science practices and online learning components. Specifically, we highlight the opportunity for field courses to align teaching activities with the recent developments and trends in how we conduct research, including training in: publishing registered reports, collecting data using standardized methods, adopting high‐quality data documentation, managing data through reproducible workflows, and sharing and publishing data through appropriate channels. We also discuss how field courses can use online tools to optimize time in the field, develop open access resources, and cultivate collaborations. By integrating these elements, we suggest that the next generation of field courses will offer excellent arenas for participants to adopt Open Science practices.     

免疫学技术在细胞生物学教学中的应用

免疫学技术在细胞生物学理论与实验课程中具有重要的应用价值,两者的有机结合能使细胞生物学课程教学更丰富形象,有利于教学质量的提高。目前,免疫学技术普遍只停留于细胞生物学理论课本知识教授中,在对学生开展的细胞实验操作课程中应用较少。如能将免疫荧光标记、流式细胞术等相关技术引入到实验教程中,不仅能使细胞实验结果更形象生动,更能拓宽学生知识领域与实验技能,有利于其综合能力的培养。     

Medical planning for a major event: the Pope's visit to Coventry Airport, 30 May 1982.

The five-hour day visit by the Pope to Coventry Airport on 30 May 1982 required a major exercise in medical planning. First- and second-line first-aid facilities were provided by the British Red Cross Society and the St John Ambulance Association. Hospital facilities were provided in a 30-bed Territorial Army field hospital. The visit attracted a crowd of 350,000; 1424 casualties were seen at first-aid stations and 152 at the field hospital. Twenty patients required transfer to NHS hospitals for further treatment, and one woman died. Most ailments experienced were headaches and effects of heat, blisters, and abdominal symptoms. The field hospital treated a wide range of conditions including cardiac conditions, fractures, premature labour, and acute abdominal emergencies.     

Test facility for human exposure to AC and DC magnetic fields

For more than a decade, Midwest Research Institute (MRI) has investigated the effects of exposure to 60 Hz electric and magnetic fields (EMF) on human physiology, performance, and biochemistry. This accumulated experience, new research directions, and limited resources made it important to design more comprehensive and operationally cost-effective exposure facilities. Here we describe the new, integrated laboratory exposure test facilities recently constructed at MRI and present data on relevant characteristics of the exposure systems. Concentric coil systems were developed to generate uniform magnetic fields within the three new exposure rooms, with rapid cancellation of the field to ambient levels in the rest of the laboratory. Control systems are fully automated, computer-based, and independent. These provide the operational flexibility needed to present fields of different magnitudes, frequencies, and polarization. The local geomagnetic field can be modulated and/or canceled, and both AC and DC fields can be presented in various combinations. Capabilities for conducting double-blind experiments with true active-sham exposure conditions were implemented using bifilar windings and applying current flow in the opposite direction for each wire in a pair. The new facilities provide a comprehensive capability for laboratory-based human research on the potential effects of exposure to AC and DC magnetic fields.     

广东地区公园绿地海绵设施植物应用研究

在对广州、深圳和珠海公园普遍踏查的基础上,选取9个海绵设施应用较多的公园作为调查样地,针对应用的海绵设施类型、结构、规模、植物景观等进行实地调查分析。结果表明,公园绿地应用较多的海绵设施类型以植草沟、雨水花园和旱溪为主;海绵设施应用的植物有87种,隶属49科79属,以禾本科、豆科种类居多;海绵设施不同种植区域选择植物时应根据积水情况综合考虑植物的耐涝性;从海绵设施应用的植物种类及配置景观来看,雨水花园和旱溪最为丰富;最后,针对公园绿地海绵设施应用普遍存在的问题,分别从植物选择、景观配置及后期维护等方面提出建议。     

Field courses narrow demographic achievement gaps in ecology and evolutionary biology

Disparities remain in the representation of marginalized students in STEM. Classroom‐based experiential learning opportunities can increase student confidence and academic success; however, the effectiveness of extending learning to outdoor settings is unknown. Our objectives were to examine (a) demographic gaps in ecology and evolutionary biology (EEB) major completion, college graduation, and GPAs for students who did and did not enroll in field courses, (b) whether under‐represented demographic groups were less likely to enroll in field courses, and (c) whether under‐represented demographic groups were more likely to feel increased competency in science‐related tasks (hereafter, self‐efficacy) after participating in field courses. We compared the relationships among academic success measures and demographic data (race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, first‐generation, and gender) for UC Santa Cruz undergraduate students admitted between 2008 and 2019 who participated in field courses (N = 941 students) and who did not (N = 28,215 students). Additionally, we administered longitudinal surveys to evaluate self‐efficacy gains during field‐based versus classroom‐based courses (N = 570 students). We found no differences in the proportion of students matriculating at the university as undecided, proposed EEB, or proposed other majors across demographic groups. However, five years later, under‐represented students were significantly less likely to graduate with EEB degrees, indicating retention rather than recruitment drives disparities in representation. This retention gap is partly due to a lower rate of college completion and partly through attrition to other majors. Although under‐represented students were less likely to enroll in field courses, field courses were associated with higher self‐efficacy gains, higher college graduation rates, higher EEB major retention, and higher GPAs at graduation. All demographic groups experienced significant increases in self‐efficacy during field‐based but not lecture‐based courses. Together, our findings suggest that increasing the number of field courses and actively facilitating access to students from under‐represented groups can be a powerful tool for increasing STEM diversity.     

Teaching an experiential field course via online participatory science projects: A COVID‐19 case study of a UC California Naturalist course

Experience and training in field work are critical components of undergraduate education in ecology, and many university courses incorporate field‐based or experiential components into the curriculum in order to provide students hands‐on experience. Due to the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic and the sudden shift to remote instruction in the spring of 2020, many instructors of such courses found themselves struggling to identify strategies for developing rigorous field activities that could be completed online, solo, and from a student''s backyard. This case study illustrates the process by which one field‐based course, a UC California Naturalist certification course offered at the University of California, Davis, transitioned to fully remote instruction. The transition relied on established, publicly available, online participatory science platforms (e.g., iNaturalist) to which the students contributed data and field observations remotely. Student feedback on the course and voluntary‐continued engagement with the participatory science platforms indicates that the student perspective of the experience was on par with previous traditional offerings of the course. This case study also includes topics and participatory science resources for consideration by faculty facing a similar transition from group field activities to remote, individual field‐based experiences.     

Guest research facilities at the Biologische Anstalt Helgoland: Past and present

The Biologische Anstalt Helgoland (BAH) offers unique possibilities for research and education in marine sciences in the southern part of the North Sea. Besides its own research duties, the Institute provides research facilities and technical assistance for guest scientists, assists in the teaching and education of university student groups, and conducts its own courses. The Institute further supplies universities and research institutions on the mainland with marine organisms. The marine station on Helgoland has 14 laboratories, with a total of 32 working places available for guest scientists. The Wadden Sea Institute in List on the island of Sylt offers 6 laboratories with a total of 18 working places. Furthermore, laboratory classrooms are located on Helgoland and in List for 50 and 20 participants, respectively. For the convenience of the guest researchers staying at the BAH, guest-houses are run on Helgoland (Arthur-Hagmeier-Haus, Wilhelm-Mielk-Haus) und in List (Adolf-Bückmann-Haus). Guest researchers have been welcome since the founding of the Institute in 1892. Heincke gave a brief report on the activities of the first visitors from 1892 to 1897. Only sporadic reports are available for the first 60 years of this century. Guest scientists and their activities have only been recorded in detail in the annual reports of the BAH since 1962. The number of researchers and the length of their visits have increased continuously since 1962. The research facilities on Helgoland, in List and Hamburg have been modernized during the last 20 years. In 1971, four modern laboratories for guest researchers could be opened on Helgoland with financial support of the German Research Foundation (DFG). The number, of guest researchers in List and Hamburg increased after the completion of new buildings in 1979 and 1982. The recent increase in research activities by guest scientists is due to numerous students, from many different universities, using the superb research facilities to do their Masters thesis, or Ph.D. Guest researchers and students either perform their own research or cooperate with scientists of the BAH.     

What can Expeditions do for Students … and for Science? An Investigation into the Impact of University of Glasgow Exploration Society Expeditions

The benefits of field courses for biological science students are well established, but field courses also have limitations: they are generally too brief to allow significant research and they are staff-designed and led, limiting the development of student autonomy. In contrast, the value of student-organised field expeditions has been little researched. Here, as a case history, we analyse students’ attitudes to their experience of being selected for and taking part in University of Glasgow Exploration Society expeditions. Students regarded taking part in an expedition as one of the best things they had done in their life thus far. Expeditions were excellent value for money, provided opportunities to develop transferable skills (fund-raising, budgeting, report production, composing and delivering oral and written presentations, team-working and leadership, negotiation with stakeholders from different cultures) and provided scope for fieldwork skill development and substantial, publishable research. Participants also believed the expeditions provided real benefits to the communities visited. Participation in expeditions can contribute to each student’s Higher Education Achievement Report.     

种子超干贮藏技术应用面临的问题和研究方向

种子超干贮藏技术对种质资源保存具有很大的应用前景,但鉴于目前的研究进展,其应用还存在诸多技术上的问题。本文对种子超干贮藏技术在种子库中应用所面临的挑战以及需要开展的研究内容进行了如下几个方面的讨论：种子贮藏安全含水量下限的多样性决定了超干技术应用的复杂性;超干贮藏含水量安全下限的确定尚未有可靠的方法;超干贮藏的种子吸胀前需要恰当的预处理以避免吸胀损伤;超干处理前外源抗氧剂预处理可能改善超干贮藏效果;无氧条件可能对超干贮藏具有增效作用;糖类物质以及两性物质对种子在超干处理及超干贮藏过程中的保护作用。     

Overview on radiation and tissue banking in Latin America

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) played an important role in the establishment of new tissue banks and the improvement of already existing ones in Latin America. The Agency strongly supported, through regional, interregional and national technical cooperation projects, providing equipment, expert missions and training for the production and application of human tissues for transplantation. From 1999 to 2005 five regional courses were given in Buenos Aires under the modality of 1-year distance learning training courses and 1-week face to face courses. The courses were organized by the IAEA, through the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) and the Faculty of Medicine of Buenos Aires University as Post Graduate Specialization Course. In 2005 the Latin American countries joined with Spain and Portugal, and created the Ibero American Network Council of Donation and Transplant (Red Consejo Iberoamericano de Donación y Trasplantes—RCIDT). The objective of this network is to cooperate among twenty-one Ibero American countries in organizational and legislative aspects, training of professionals, and ethical and social issues related to the donation and transplantation of organs, tissues and cells. The members of this Network work actively to harmonize the regulations and the control of donation and transplantation of human organs, tissues and cells. At present, in Latin America, more than 220 facilities of tissues banks are operating and tissue allografts are being produced by single and multi-tissue banks. The efforts made by the governments and professionals from the region allow the tissue banks to operate under quality systems and introduce new technologies.     

Determination of the plasma velocity in an imploding wire array from magnetic field measurements by a gradient probe

A method for measuring the gradient of the magnetic field in the plasma of an imploding wire array is described. Results from measurements of the magnitude and gradient of the magnetic field in a tungsten wire array on the Angara-5-1 facility at currents of ∼3 MA are presented. A novel method for calculating the velocity of the current-carrying plasma in the framework of MHD equations from data on the magnitude and gradient of the magnetic field at a certain point inside the array is proposed. It is demonstrated that a gradient magnetic probe can be used to investigate the plasma current sheath in plasma focus facilities.