First year Geography students create tourist trails

First year Geography students have recently visited central London to create some tourist trails.

Students worked in groups, each of which was given a particular theme for their trail. They had to choose locations to visit, find out information about these, and write directions for the trail.

First year Geography fieldtrips

Our new cohort of Geography students have been taking part in a number of field trips so far this term.

Students visited central London to develop a tourist trail.  Working in small groups, each took on a different theme for the focus of their trail.

Students in Covent Garden, London

The students have also visited Wren's Nest, Dudley, as part of a physical geography module. The students did some fossil-hunting, then learned to identify the fossils found.

The group fossil-hunting at Wren's Nest, Dudley

Learning to identify the fossils found.

Fieldwork is a great way for students to apply what they have learned in the classroom, as well as providing opportunities to develop geographical and transferable skills.

Geography fieldwork in central London

At the end of October three groups of geography students travelled down to central London for a day of fieldwork.

An early start

First year students have been exploring representations of place in their GEO1006 Introducing Human Geographies class.  They have been reflecting on what type of information is presented on maps - and what missing.  To examine this themselves in the field, they worked in groups to develop a walking trail for visitors to central London, including themes and locations not usually covered in a tourist trail.

Meeting outside Newton building

The coaches await!

An opportunity for students of different year groups to get to know each other

Second year students taking GEO2030 Transport travelled across the city using various types of public transport, to better understand connectivity in transport networks.

Dr Chris Holt took third year students doing GEO3124 Water Resource Management on a tour of rivers in London.  They considered how water is managed in the capital.

Dr Chris Holt enjoying the banter on the bus!

Geographers visit the Olympic Park

Dr Alma Clavin took third year geography students to London to explore regeneration in and around the Olympic Park.

The first stop was the Carpenters Housing Estate. We then had a walking tour of the Olympic Park, led by Sarah Birt (Planning and Development Manager at London Legacy Development Corporation). After lunch we had a tour of the Velodrome. There was then just enough time to do a liveability survey of the East Village site (formerly the Athletes' Village).

Third year Geography students outside the Velodrome, Olympic Park, London.

Photos of the visit can be viewed here.

First year Geographers visit London

Tweeting

On Friday 17^th October first year Geography students visited London.  Working in groups, they explored key sites in central London, taking photographs and making observations in relation to a particular theme.  The exercise was designed to help students develop skills of thinking creatively and critically about a particular topic, select appropriate information to support an argument, work effectively as part of a group, and observe and record data in the field.  Findings were reported in real time, as each group ‘tweeted’ their photographs and observations.  The themes explored included ‘control’, ‘change’ and ‘sustainability’.  The exercise also provided a good opportunity for students to get to know each other.