1. Moving from optional additions to required assessment
Live field broadcasts
Moving from optional additions to required assessment
Trevor Collins, Julia Cooke, Philip Wheeler, Kadmiel Maseyk and Julie Robson
TC & JC

2. Introducing fieldcasts
Environmental Science (S206) module
Interactive field broadcasts
One week student-led field investigation
Monday: Topic and hypothesis
Wednesday: Study design and data collection
Friday: Data analysis and conclusions
Supported by VLE discussion forum
Live broadcasts also available as replays
Data and supporting resources on VLE TC

3. Immediate wordle and chatbox feedback
Hope you do more activities like this, have found it really helpful! You feel like your more involved too.
Good fun, looking forward to more of these!
thank you all great fun and very informative
Thanks, the field casts have been brilliant. Can we have more?
I wish we had more fieldcasts like this too - I find it a really great way to support the course texts. Thanks again everyone TC
I cant get to field school, so this was FANTASTIC.....second the "more" chant !!
* May 2017

4. Delayed interview feedback
Engaging
“… it felt like you were kind of there, it was a live film cast. It felt like you could have been standing in the field …” [Student 1]
“Yes, someone else is hands-on, but you’re watching over their shoulder” [Student 2]
Interactive
“… the biggest thing was the interaction, where you could put your thoughts in and you could practise basically what you have learnt” [Student 4]
“Yeah, felt really good … I think I wouldn’t have found it so good if we didn’t have that interaction with it, you felt like you were part of things rather than just witnessing it.” [Student 5]
Does it feel different when you watch the reply? “It does, your not participating you’re an observer again.” [Student 3] TC
* July 2017

5. Delayed unsolicited feedback (SEaM)
“… the field casts were absolutely brilliant. I think there should be plenty more like this!”
“The field trip tutorial webcast in particular was interesting and effective.”
“The collaborative live fieldcast was exciting and really consolidated my learning.”
“The environmental field cast was very informative.”
“Being able to see people carrying out the experiments was invaluable then also being able to see in the lab.... I thoroughly enjoyed them.” TC
“… a few more tutorials out in the field somewhere, would have been my preference. … not all students could get to them all ... but with modern technology, perhaps some sort of in-field tutorial could be considered?”

6. Student engagement Optional (additional) activity
Relatively low attendance (around 10% module cohort)
Users
May 2016
May 2017
Fieldcast 1
Fieldcast 2
Fieldcast 3
During event users
34* 16 17 30 26 21
Interactive users 14 28 25 JC
Numbers of live participants relatively stable, numbers of watching recording drops off quickly.
* Including some inquisitive staff

7. Moving from optional to assessed
TMA 06 Field investigation reports (summative)
25% of mark (75% exam)
Based on
Residential school group project reports
Virtual field trip and self- directed project
TMA 04 Fieldcast investigation report (formative)
Watch and participate live, or watch the video recordings
Write up fieldcast investigation as a mini-project report
Practice at scientific report writing
Feedback for improving skills for TMA06 JC

8. Impact of assessment on participation
Aims of fieldcast
Consolidate learning
Improve confidence in the scientific method
Increase enthusiasm for field investigation
Aims of assessment
Report writing experience with formative feedback
Anticipated impact of assessment
Increase engagement with fieldcast
Additional contingency for technology and weather
Past recordings (two previous sets of videos and data)
Video transcripts for replay recordings JC

9. Moving from optional additions to required assessment
Live field broadcasts
Moving from optional additions to required assessment
Trevor Collins, Julia Cooke, Philip Wheeler, Kadmiel Maseyk and Julie Robson
TC & JC