What Contribution Can Residential Field Courses Make to the Education of 11-14 Year-olds?

Figure 2 Freshwater ecology at Nettlecombe.

The following are a sample of science-based questions asked of the students
who went to FSC Rhyd-y-creuau in North Wales before and after their
experiences:

1. If you can, describe how soil is formed.

Only seven appropriate responses were made before the course,
talking about, for example, decomposed things, erosion and
weathering. However, after the course 13 appropriate responses were
given.

2. What effects might a river have on the landscape?

While all the students could give a suitable response before the course
using terminology such as erosion and fertile land, after the course,
more specific, geological terms such as abrasion, U-shaped valleys
and transport were apparent in answers.

3. In Snowdonia, where you are going / have been, how were many of
the mountains formed?

Only four responses were given before the course, citing three factors:
plate collision, during ice age and glaciers. Afterwards, there were 19
responses, citing five factors: glaciers, plate tectonics, volcanoes,
mountains was initially under the sea and land was initially under the
sea.

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