AS Level Geography AQA Cycles, Systems and Changing Places 3 days Complete the fieldwork requirements for AS level students within physical and human environments. Fieldwork in these locations provides a contrast to the local places study. Prepare AS level students for Section B of Paper 2: Geography fieldwork investigation and geographical skills, worth 25% of their total marks. Cover a choice of specification content for AS fieldwork in 3.1 Physical geography, 3.2.1 Changing places and 3.3.2 Contemporary urban environments. For those going on to A level, this course will contribute two of the four days of fieldwork requirements and provide contextualised learning in inspiring real world environments to develop their geographical understanding for the A level examinations.
Example Course Timetable DAY MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING 1 Arrive Midday Students will be greeted by FSC staff, with a welcome talk followed by a brief tour of the Centre and the local area. 3.2.1 Changing Places or 3.3.2 Contemporary Urban Environments Choose one from: Outline of the Course Allocation of wellies/waterproofs. Knowing and Understanding Places In this session students will explore and compare the role of direct experience with the way others represent place. The way we understand a place is also manipulated by a range of agents and students will examine the way we ultimately develop our sense of place through the analysis of a range of qualitative and quantitative data that look into these different ways place is planned and communicated. Urban Climate This session will focus on a spatial study of the forms of two contrasting urban areas and processes of the local climate. Investigations could include the comparative temperature data in terms of heat island mitigation from GI or the effects of increased heat on the species diversity of similar habitat areas. Sustainable Urban Growth Students will investigate how sustainable urban growth is affected by sustainable planning and management visions which promote interconnected green spaces, multi-modal transportation systems and mixed-use development. Urban Environmental Issues Students will investigate how urban populations are growing and affecting the quality of the urban environment. Topics could include issues ranging from solid waste disposal, provision of safe water and sanitation, and injury prevention, to the interface between urban poverty, environment and health. Skills Workshop: Qualitative Data / Information Analysis and Evaluation This session is an opportunity for students to develop and apply qualitative data analysis techniques that will be invaluable in the interpretation of the days investigations. Students will be introduced to various methods of textual and image analysis using coding and concept mapping; geographical analysis skills that will be invaluable in interpreting outcomes of this contemporary, complex topic. 2 3.1 Physical Geography Choose one from: Change in the Carbon Cycle Investigating Carbon in the Present Landscape Students will investigate carbon in some of the most inspiring landscapes of the UK. They will develop, their thinking around, and experience of, the carbon system by investigating transfers, flows and storage of carbon at a plant and sere scale. They will carry out fieldwork to explore the role of processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, combustion and sequestration in the carbon cycle. Coastal Landscape Development In this session students will visit the coastal landscape to gain detailed knowledge of the development of that coastline. By analysis of the character of their coastline they will to determine possible reasons behind the development of the landform features present and the links to the system processes already studied. Water and Catchment Equilibrium A local river catchment will be investigated to explore the patterns of water movement within the system, the catchment water balance or imbalance, and the resulting impacts of these on the physical and social landscape. This will build on students understanding developed from work on the first afternoon and will include opportunities to explore drought/water stress, sustainable water supply or flooding. Glaciated Landscape Development - Uplands A full fieldwork day where students explore an awe-inspiring post-glacial environment, piecing together the processes and chronology that has created the landscape they see today. Students will explore the impact of ice on the landscape, observing landforms such as corries, arêtes and terminal moraines, which have resulted from interactions between geology and erosional and depositional processes. Through direct observation and use of maps or aerial photos, students will gain knowledge of a number of glaciated environment landforms, including the processes that led to their creation. Data Analysis and Evaluation Carbon or Coasts or Water or Glaciation Using GIS and statistical tools to give meaning to the fieldwork data on both a global, local and personal scale, students will contextualise the data into the global picture of change, both natural and anthropogenic. They will: Process and present their data, using graphical and cartographical techniques Analyse data using statistical techniques Draw conclusions relating back to the original aims and objectives of the investigation Review all the stages of the enquiry and how it might be developed further 3 3.2.1 Changing Places or 3.3.2 Contemporary Urban Environments Choose one from: Urban Climate Sustainable Urban Growth Urban Environmental Issues Depart at Midday A final farewell from FSC staff as the students depart at midday. Please note: to ensure safe and quality learning experiences for students, the timetable may alter depending on weather conditions and local factors at Centres.
Knowing and Understanding Places All that a city will ever allow you is an angle on it - an oblique, indirect sample of what it contains, or what passes through it; a point of view. Peter Conrad, Australian Academic and Author Can a concept as dynamic and complex as place ever be definitively isolated and defined? Places are shaped by interacting forces of economics, society, politics and the physical environment. The diverse range of individuals that live and work in, use and promote a place will also have influence and be influenced by a place. With such vibrancy and intricacy, a considerable range of lived experiences and representations of place arise. What is more, these interpretations of a place will be further manipulated and managed across a range of temporal and spatial scales. An appreciation of the complex way a sense of place is acquired, cultivated and conveyed will be developed by learners help them know and understand places. Visiting an area local to the centre or within the centre grounds, learners will immerse themselves in their surroundings, gaining a sense of place through a series of data collection tasks. Initially incorporating qualitative and quantitative methods in the field, learners will explore the idea of place developed through both their own, direct experience and the perceptions of other users of the area. The relative significance of these findings will then be compared to other representations of this place in a range of media sources to examine how the sense of place is built and communicated to bring about a holistic understanding. With this foundation of understanding, learners will discuss how this representation of place can be and has been manipulated and managed to meet a range of stakeholder aims. Fieldwork, measurements, calculation and analysis may include: A centre-based exploration of place across a range of scales and perspectives. Use of simple materials to build places and evaluate these for inclusivity and quality of lived experience compared with implications for engagement. Collection of qualitative data via observations, questionnaires, image and textual analysis to assess the concept of place in and around the field centre. Critical evaluation of lived experience and engagement within the centre grounds. Non-participant observations, place imagability, questionnaires and textual analysis of a range of media to assess the role of the lived experience in developing a sense of place compared with other representations of place. Using GIS to analyse and compare the spatial distributions of different representations of place and how the perception of place has been managed. Collating and analysing mental maps based on qualitative data from local people on their perceptions of an area and the way they use and experience the space and the qualities they ascribe to them. 3.2 Human Geography 3.2.1 Changing places 3.2.1.2 Changing places - relationships, connections, meanings and representation 3.2.1.2.2 Meaning and representation The importance of the meanings and representations attached to places by people with a particular focus on people s lived experience of place in the past and at present. How humans perceive, engage with and form attachments to places and how they present and represent the world to others, including the way in which everyday place meanings are bound up with different identities, perspectives and experiences. How external agencies, including government, corporate bodies and community or local groups make attempts to influence or create specific place-meanings and thereby shape the actions and behaviours of individuals, groups, businesses and institutions. How places may be represented in a variety of different forms such as advertising copy, tourist agency material, local art exhibitions in diverse media (e.g. film, photography, art, story, song etc.) that often give contrasting images to that presented formally or statistically such as cartography and census data. How both past and present processes of development can be seen to influence the social and economic characteristics of places and so be implicit in present meanings. 3.2.1.4 Place studies: contrasting place
Urban Climate Buildings in urban areas don t just withstand local climate: they change it. http://www.actual.ac.uk/ Over half of the world s population live in urban areas and this percentage is continually on the rise. Urban areas can have a significant affect on local weather variables, such as temperature, precipitation and wind. The key driver for this temperature variance is thought to be the difference in surface characteristics, with many buildings and fewer areas of vegetation and water bodies in the urban centre compared to its rural surroundings. Cities and towns are also responsible for over 70% of the world s energy-related carbon emissions. This session will focus on a spatial study of the forms of two contrasting urban areas and processes of the local climate. Fieldwork, measurements and analysis: Learners will map the urban area infrastructure, looking at variables such as heights of buildings, build densities as well as the extent and distribution of the green infrastructure. They will research the local climatic conditions, as well as collect field date on the weather conditions in the urban area. Investigations could include the comparative temperature data in terms of heat island mitigation from GI or the effects of increased heat on the species diversity of similar habitat areas. 3.3 People and the Environment 3.3.2 Contemporary urban environments 3.3.2.4 Urban climate The impact of urban forms and processes on local climate and weather. Urban temperatures: the urban heat island effect. Precipitation: frequency and intensity. Fogs and thunderstorms in urban environments. Wind: the effects of urban structures and layout on wind speed, direction and frequency. Air quality: particulate and photo-chemical pollution. Pollution reduction policies.
Sustainable Urban Growth Sustainable urban grown growth refers a process of growth that is guided by a sustainable planning and management vision which promotes interconnected green spaces, multi-modal transportation systems and mixed-use development. Fieldwork, measurements and analysis: Sustainable Transport: An investigation into the range and scale of an urban transport system, considering the movement of goods and people, reflecting on how individuals make choices that influence the sustainability of the whole city initiatives, as well as exploring: Development areas: Transport hot spots that develop at the expense of other areas leading to inequalities between areas. Interdependence: Interconnectivity between places and the flows of people and products can affect the success of the initiative. Sustainability: Different aspects, such as environmental, cultural and economic sustainability, and the web of connection between them, will be evaluated both spatially and temporally. Health and Wellbeing Green Infrastructure: An investigation of the extent and quality of the green infrastructure and how this might affect the economic and social environment. An area with a high quality and extensive green infrastructure may have an impact on the land and property prices, which may impact on the business and investment attracted to the area, hence the economic viability of the area. Also an area with a green infrastructure that engages local communities and which relates to and enhances the landscape character and biodiversity can produce health and wellbeing benefits and become socially sustainable. To assess the sustainability of the urban growth a selection of information could be collected such as; community involvement in the GI; the extent and quality of the GI; economic performance indicators; measurements of biodiversity; local heritage enhancement assessments; usage etc.. 3.3 People and the Environment 3.3.2 Contemporary urban environments 3.3.2.8 Sustainable urban development Contemporary opportunities and challenges in developing more sustainable cities. Strategies for developing more sustainable cities.
Urban Environmental Issues Rapid, unplanned and unsustainable patterns of urban development are making developing cities focal points for many emerging environment and health hazards. - As urban populations grow, the quality of the urban environment will play an increasingly important role in public health with respect to issues ranging from solid waste disposal, provision of safe water and sanitation, and injury prevention, to the interface between urban poverty, environment and health. Urban air pollution of which a significant proportion is generated by vehicles, as well as industry and energy production is estimated to kill some 1.2 million people annually. Fieldwork, measurements and analysis: An investigation of the issues affecting a particular urban habitat or environmental conservation zone e.g. lack of recognition of importance of biodiversity; development pressures; pollution and contaminated land; people or community pressures e.g. vandalism; urban design; management e.g. pesticides, scrub clearance; habitat fragmentation. Human expose to urban air pollution a spatial investigation into the factors such as; volume and speed of traffic; types of vehicles; heights of building; road network topography; vegetation; identification of pollution hot spots. 3.3 People and the Environment 3.3.2 Contemporary urban environments 3.3.2.7 Other contemporary urban environmental issues Environmental problems in contrasting urban areas: atmospheric pollution, water pollution, dereliction and waste disposal. Strategies to manage these environmental problems.
Skills Workshop: Qualitative Data/Information Analysis and Evaluation Learners will engage in a qualitative data analysis using their personal observations and data collated during the fieldwork sessions. A range of analysis techniques will be introduced and there will be an opportunity for learners to apply these skills to the data and draw their own conclusions as they work through the course. The role of values in the perception of place will be recognised, and the unavoidable biases and dilemmas this can bring forward in this sort of work. Qualitative data analysis techniques could include: Coding (open, axial, selective), categorising and interpreting data by engaging directly with original, primary data or secondary data in a variety of media in order to discover significant underlying patterns and trends. Image and textual analysis with consideration for the source of the image/text and the meanings that can be drawn from this data source in context. Concept mapping to define and explore the web of relationships between different themes within the data. Collating and analysing mental maps based on qualitative data from local people on their perceptions of an area and the way they use the space and different services.
Change in the Carbon Cycle - Investigating Carbon in the Present Landscape Carbon is life and food, and moves from atmosphere to plants and soils and back in a grand cycle that is sometimes called the circle of life; a circle that encompasses the living and the dead. Soil Carbon Coalition 2013 Since the Industrial Revolution human activity has been dramatically upsetting this balance through the release of terrestrial carbon into the atmosphere, predominantly through the burning of fossil fuels, cement production, land use change and agriculture. These changes in the balance of carbon storage between land, atmosphere and oceans is having and will continue to have major impacts in the form of climate change and its many manifestations. Learners will extend their thinking around sharing the present with the past and the future by exploring how maintaining balance requires taking and giving back a truism in all systems at every temporal and spatial scale. They will do this through engaging in landscape scale carbon experiments that will explore the land-atmosphere fluxes and sequestration of carbon resulting from past and present land use change, conservation land management and the part of biomass in the terrestrial/atmospheric aspects of the carbon cycle. This work will connect the learners thinking with the roll of anthropogenic induced carbon imbalance as a key component of current and future climate change, and carbon sequestration as a form of climate change mitigation. Fieldwork, measurements, calculation and analysis may include: Soil moisture and carbon (organic matter) experiments on different land use areas. Tree biomass measurements and calculations of sequestered carbon. Site visit to farm/peatland/forestry including interview/discussion with land manager. Carrying out practical land management for carbon sequestration (for example soil carbon, biomass, peat re-wetting). Use of GIS to map land use and carbon flux/sequestration and positive carbon futures. 3.1 Physical geography 3.1.1 Water and carbon cycles 3.1.1.3 The carbon cycle Factors driving change in the magnitude of these stores including flows and transfers at plant, sere and continental scales. Photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, combustion, burial, compaction, carbon sequestration, weathering. Changes in the carbon cycle over time to include natural variation (including wild fires, volcanic activity) and human impact (including hydrocarbon fuel extraction and burning, farming practices, deforestation, land use changes). The carbon budget and the impact of the carbon cycle upon land, ocean and atmosphere including global climate.
Coastal Landscape Development Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. Albert Einstein The present shares deeply entrenched links both with the past and the future and maintaining the essential balance between systems across time requires taking and giving back: a critical principle in all systems at every temporal and spatial scale. While evident in our own complex lives of social, economic and environmental influence, a deep understanding of this truism can be gained everywhere in nature, not least within the coastal system. Shaped over time by the interaction of inputs, transfers, stores and outputs that we readily see in our distinctive coastal landscape, it reflects the systems concepts that work across geography and can support learners understanding of a wide range of concepts, even beyond the day s study. In this session students will visit the coastal landscape to gain detailed knowledge of the development of that coastline. By analysis of the character of their coastline they will to determine possible reasons behind the development of the landform features present and the links to the system processes already studied. Primary and secondary data collection and analysis might include: Beach profiles, to illustrate the action of longshore drift and/or erosion and consider what this means for the origin and development of landforms. Field sketches and/or annotated photographs. Geology study, to include investigating the origin of material found on beaches and use of BGS maps to determine local and regional bedrock. Interpretation of the landscape with reference to evidence of sea level change in the area and the resultant landforms in the landscape e.g. relic cliff lines and raised beaches. Cliff surveys including cliff height and cliff sketches to record erosional features and processes creating and modifying them. Statistical analysis of data. Use of GIS to map data, access located secondary data and analyse these data sets. 3.1 Physical geography 3.1.2 Coastal systems and landscapes 3.1.2.3 Coastal landscape development Origin and development of landforms of coastal erosion: cliffs and wave cut platforms, cliff profile features including caves, arches and stacks; factors and processes in their development. Origin and development of landforms of coastal deposition: beaches in cross section and plan, swash and drift aligned beaches, simple and compound spits, tombolos, offshore bars, barrier beaches and islands; factors and processes in their development. Estuarine mudflat/saltmarsh landforms and associated landscapes. Factors and processes in their development. The relationship between process, time, landforms and landscapes in coastal settings. 3.1.2.6 Case studies Case study(ies) of local coastal environment(s) at a local scale to illustrate and analyse fundamental coastal processes, their landscape outcomes as set out above and engage with field data and challenges represented in their sustainable management.
Water and Catchment Equilibrium We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one. Jacques Cousteau River landscapes are an inspiring manifestation of the complex interactions of water, geology and life on vast scales in space and time. Water moves through and is stored in these landscapes, developing complex channel patterns mirrored on different scales within the planetary system. Understanding these landscapes and our part in them with respect to this interconnectivity between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere is key to a future of sustainable water usage. Learners will explore the concept of water balance at the scale of a local river catchment using a range of fieldwork techniques, leading to consideration of its usefulness in managing drought, water supply and flooding. A series of storm simulation experiments will be used to investigate the storm hydrograph and consider how this relates to the river regime graphs, flood recurrence intervals and the drainage morphology such as drainage density, stream ordering and drainage basin size and shape. Learners will also collect field data to calculate the discharge of the river and start to relate this to the precipitation-discharge relationship using secondary rainfall data. Measurements, calculations and analysis might include: Field data collection to calculate river discharge and peak flow using Manning s n. Size and shape of drainage basin using circularity and elongation ratios. Drainage density (km of channel per km2). Flood recurrence intervals. Storm simulation experiments. Drawing storm hydrographs using Excel. Spatial analysis using GIS of flood risk. 3.1 Physical geography 3.1.1 Water and carbon cycles 3.1.1.2 The water cycle Drainage basins as open systems inputs, outputs to include precipitation, evapo-transpiration and run off; stores and flows to include: interception, surface, soil water, groundwater and channel storage; stemflow, infiltration overland flow, and channel flow. Concept of water balance. Runoff variation and the flood hydrograph. Changes in the water cycle over time to include natural variation (for example storm events, seasonal changes) and human impact (for example farming practices, land use change and water abstraction). 3.1.1.6 Case studies Case study of a river catchment(s) at a local scale to illustrate and analyse key themes set out above, engage with field data and consider the impact of precipitation upon drainage basin stores and transfers and implications for sustainable water supply and/or flooding.
Glaciated Landscape Development - Uplands A house burnt down by fire did not tell its story more plainly than did this valley. If it had still been filled by a glacier, the phenomena would have been less distinct than they now are. - Charles Darwin 1842 For developing an understanding of landscape there is no substitute for direct observation. The post-glacial landscapes of the UK are aweinspiring places that connect us with their geological and climatological past, present and future. It is through engaging with this environment that we can begin to question the how and the why of what we see, and it is through this awareness that we can begin to answer these questions. Learners will assemble evidence of glaciation on a landscape scale through first-hand observation and measurements. Through immersion in an inspiring post-glacial environment learners explore the impact of ice on the land, observing features and landforms from millimetre to kilometre scale and interpreting the chronology of interactions between ice and geology over hundreds of thousands of years. The use of secondary data, GIS and statistical tools to analyse the data will give meaning to the fieldwork on both a local and global scale. Fieldwork, measurements, calculation and analysis may include: Identification and interpretation of landscape features. Corrie surveys: size, shape, orientation, altitude. Chronological interpretation. Geomorphological mapping. Striation surveys: orientation, cross-cutting. 3.1 Physical geography 3.1.3 Glacial systems and landscapes 3.1.3.4 Glaciated landscape development Origin and development of glaciated landscapes. Erosional and depositional landforms: corries, arêtes, glacial troughs, hanging valleys, truncated spurs, roches moutonnées. Characteristic glaciated landscapes. Origin and development of landforms and landscapes of glacial deposition: drumlins, erratics, moraines, till plains. Characteristic glaciated landscapes.
Data Analysis and Evaluation - Carbon or Coasts or Water or Glaciation Students will use GIS and statistical tools to give meaning to the fieldwork data on both a global, local and personal scale. They will contextualise the data into the global picture of change, both natural and anthropogenic. Students will also consider how far they are progressing to understand fieldwork as a tool to understand and generate new knowledge about the real work and their developing skills at planning, undertaking and evaluating fieldwork in a range of new situations. Students will review the enquiry process and reflect on any gaps remaining in their knowledge and understanding. Students will consider these areas of the enquiry process: Preparation for fieldwork, including background reading, drawing up aims and objectives for the enquiry, planning research in the field and from secondary sources, using data sampling techniques and carrying out health and safety procedures. Collection of primary data in the field and using secondary data sources. Processing and presenting data using relevant graphical and cartographical techniques. Analysing data, including using statistical techniques where relevant. Drawing conclusions related back to the original aims and objectives and linking these conclusions to both the place studied and the general ideas forming the basis of the enquiry. Reviewing the success, or otherwise, of all stages of the enquiry. Considering how the enquiry could be further developed.
FSC Centres Centres that offer this course Carbon Cycles Coastal Landscapes Water Cycles Glacial Landscapes Urban Environments Changing Places BL Blencathra P P P P P CH Castle Head P P P P P P DF Dale Fort P P P P P FM Flatford Mill P P P P P JH Juniper Hall P P P P P MA Margam P P P P P P MT Malham Tarn P P P P P P NC Nettlecombe P P P P P OR Orielton P P P P P PM Preston Montford P P P P P RC Rhyd-y-creuau P P P P P P SL Slapton P P P P P To book this course, simply: Choose the time of the year you would like to attend 1. Pick the Centre(s) of interest 2. Check availability online, contact head office to check availability across multiple Centres or contact the Centre(s) of your choice directly To book this course the minimum size of your group must be 12 students and one member of staff. Head Office contact details: Tel: 01743 852100 Email: enquiries@field-studies-council.org