Space shapes learning and teaching - it shapes the way our senses engage in the visual and verbal interactions taking place in the lecture room, lab, and computer rooms and in the field. It is key to facilitate engagement, collaboration, creation and inspiration - “teaching and learning spaces are more than the sum of the chairs and tables in a room”. In the biosciences field work is an important and often enjoyable part of learning - students value field work. It provides opportunities for students to develop discipline-specific practical skills in addition to wider, employability skills such as team working, the development of interpersonal skills, self-management and lifelong learning skills (Andrews et al., 2003). Personal development is especially evident when away on residential field-trips (Stokes and Boyle 2009) - even more so at an international level. Its importance to learning in the Biosciences is acknowledged within the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). But residential field courses, especially international field courses can be a double sword edge - they can be costly and therefore exclusive to students who can afford the trip and field work is also a barrier to disabled students and other minorities (e.g. mature, part-time, etc.). I propose to tackle these two aspects of field work by suggesting the development of a virtual field trip alongside a real field trip. I will explore a case study where students act as co-creators of a field trip which will be both residential and virtual. This talk will need the participation of the audience by sharing their ideas. This is my oral contribution to the LandCare Conference http://www.landcareforfuture.com/ which took place in Santiago de Compostela 16-18th July, 2018

1. In the biosciences field work
is an important enjoyable
part of learning
But it can be expensive
and a barrier to disabled
students and other
minorities (e.g.mature)
AquaTED is an education
project to disseminate
aqua cultures using online
tools - scan the code to
watch the video
LandCare trips on
the edge of reality
Dr Sara Barrento
Swansea University
s.i.barrento@swansea.ac.uk
Funded by EUROASTiP - Horizon2020 project