Applying Sequential Fieldwork Skills Across Two International Field Courses

This article addresses the development of a conceptual model of fieldwork practice and the creation of an associated set of skills for the geosciences. The set of eight generic and seventeen specific skills is applied in two international field courses to demonstrate the utility of such a skills-centered model across a broad range of venues, curricula, and students. Both concept and practice from U.K. and U.S. universities have been welded as a means of internationalizing curriculum development. Further, it is suggested that there is merit in faculty viewing their field teaching within the framework of the whole subject curriculum such that field courses and sites are viewed as much for their contribution to the overall skill set as their support for the classroom topic.