This paper examines the pedagogical integration of Virtual Microscopes (VMs) in Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), to identify best practice and improve online pedagogy. It has captured the perspectives of 12 Health and Earth Science university teachers, through in-depth interviews, about the current integration of the VM in online teaching,…

Burlington Junior School in the East Riding of Yorkshire decided to highlight some excellent role models to its pupils during British Science Week 2021, who were not the stereotypical male, white, old or dead scientist. The intention was to make learning more relevant, more accessible and therefore more engaging and informative. It was hoped that…

This edited volume brings together a state-of-the-art collection of leading and emergent research on the burgeoning topic of science identities. It sets out how science identity can be productively used as a lens in understanding patterns and inequalities in science participation across different educational and international contexts. Its…

Mathematics is a common component of many science and social science degrees, but frequently not considered a prerequisite for their study. This can lead to some students studying mathematics components at undergraduate level with little or no previous mathematical learning and varying levels of motivation, or desire, to study mathematics. This…

Sustainability is becoming a key component of many HE curricula. However, questions as to what sustainability is and how it can be embedded within subject specific curriculum are difficult to answer. Focussing on existing pedagogic scholarship in this area and by drawing on experiences from my own institution, this article discusses how the GEES…

Fieldwork is a pedagogical cornerstone of many geoscience degrees. During the academic years 2019-20 and 2020-21, the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic made outdoors fieldwork difficult, resulting in an urgent need to develop virtual alternatives. However, there is still more to learn about the impact of teaching fieldwork virtually on the student…

Learners with disabilities are often denied field-based learning experiences in naturalistic disciplines. Geology can present substantial barriers due to rugged terrain in difficult-to-reach locations. In 2014, a field trip was executed with the dual purpose of 1) designing inclusion in field learning and 2) demonstrating to college faculty an…

Active, student-centered pedagogies such as project-based learning (PjBL) can offer significant potential for engaging undergraduates with complex sustainability issues. Driven by institution-wide curriculum changes and informed by educational theories and evidence from previous studies, a trial PjBL activity was designed and delivered on three…

A survey of the Earth science content of science textbooks found a wide range of misconceptions. These are discussed in this article with reference to the published literature on Earth science misconceptions. Most misconceptions occurred in the "sedimentary rocks and processes" and "Earth's structure and plate tectonics"…

Hydrology teaching deals with processes happening outside the classroom, which calls for active-learning methods to complement lectures. In a geography undergraduate course, new teaching methods and assessment were designed, in which students investigated a river of their choice by completing homework tasks and presenting their results on a…

The placement of final-year undergraduate students into schools and colleges is becoming increasingly common in higher education as part of outreach, employability and community-building initiatives. This article describes one such initiative at the School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, its successes, its challenges and why schools…

This paper considers opportunities for teachers to use an argumentation pedagogy in order to develop students' geoscience thinking skills. Educational argumentation principles and procedures are outlined. Argumentation can foster both student and teacher motivation and interest in the context of accessible and well-structured geoscience content.…

The authors investigate the potential of semantic web technologies to enhance "Virtual Fieldwork" resources and learning activities in the Geosciences. They consider the difficulties inherent in the concept of Virtual Fieldwork and how these might be reconciled with the desire to provide students with "authentic" tools for…

This study considers the pedagogical effectiveness of remote access to fieldwork locations. Forty-one students from across the GEES disciplines (geography, earth and environmental sciences) undertook a fieldwork exercise, supported by two lecturers. Twenty students accessed the field site directly and the remainder accessed the site remotely using…

Literature on student perception is evaluated in relation to the evolution of perception of Geography, Earth and Environmental Science (GEES) through the school years. Four pervasive themes are identified. An "expectation framework" generated by family and social class exerts a dominant influence on student choice, yet rarely is it…