Zeitschrift für Hochschuldidaktik Nr. 1998/2
On the way ...
Didactic Aspects of Field Trips, Study Tours, and Practical Training
Rainer Kazig and Karin Vorauer (Munich, Germany)
Empirical Social Research Made Tangible: The Field Training Period in Human Geography at the Department of Geography at the University of Technology in Munich
Summary
The field training period in Human Geography is a major element of the basic education in methodology at the Department of Geography at the University of Technology in Munich. It is designed as an applied research project, comprising three stages: preparation, field trip, and data interpretation with the field trip definitely at the core. Here students are introduced to the problems of operationalization of research questions and to the available methods of data collection. As empirical research does not solely consist of data collection, the field trip is preceeded by a period of preparation in which the students have to find out about the background of the particular research questions they will be dealing with in the field. In the third stage there is time for data interpretation and for the presentation of results. In all three stages particular emphasis is put on practise: Using currents problems as examples and alternating between stages of practical experience and critical reflection students get insight into the logical course of empirical research.
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