Changing Horizons in Geography Education - HERODOT Network ...

One of these field study laboratories belongs to the Department of Geography,Faculty of Education, Masaryk University in Brno. It is located nearby the Jedovnicevillage in the beautifull landscape on the border of Moravian Karst and Drahanskávrchovina Highland about 35 km to the North from the city Brno centre.The purpose of the integrated terrain education centre is to integrate variousfield study practices carried out by individual science branches. The environmentaleducation and professional preparation of future teachers (presently students ofthe Faculty of Education) were the linking forces between natural science (namelygeography, biology and chemistry) and humanistic science (represented by citizeneducation) (Hofmann, Rychnovský and Plucková, 2003). The centre thus servesas a terrain school for one-week pupil field courses for primary schools in CzechRepublic, and partially also for the Slovak Republic during the summer season (May,June, September).Various progressive teaching methods are being applied here groupwork, projectand problem solving education. The instruction emphasises the co-operation of allparticipants (teachers, students and pupils) to solve practical tasks. The inter-subjectlinks play a very important role in improving the importance of teacher co-operationand the application of team-based education. The outdoor education is comparableto the types of “fieldwork“ which are commonly undertaken in English/Americanschools.Fieldwork is understood as a complex educational form consisting of progressiveteaching methods, such as experiments, centre research, short-term and long-termobservations, project solving, co-operative methods, experiential methods, etc.. Itconsists of various organisational education forms (including jaunts, field experiments,excursions, thematic school visits, expeditions, etc.. The focus of this kind ofeducation is based on outdoor activities – outside the school area and out-of doors.These activities support the development of necessary lifelong skills of pupils.The integrated terrain education centre has an accomodation facility, researchlaboratory, library and depot. The classroom and laboratory do not simulate thenormal school environment. The distribution of mobile furniture and other equipmentdepends on the requirements of the visiting school. There are microscopes,stereo lenses, chemical laboratory, GPS instruments, TV sets, video recorders,thematic maps, etc. at their disposal here.Geographical fieldwork in the forest about the forestThere is a varied local geographical environment around the integrated terrain educationcentre in Jedovnice (village, pastures and meadows, fish ponds, forests in hillykarstic and non karstic areas with an elevation between 450 and 550 m a.s.l.). Thismakes the study of various aspects of the territorial distribution and functionalityof the forest area possible (Figure 1).The fieldwork for pupils (grade 5 of the primary school and above) usually consistsof (Kolejka, 2005):1. Forest functionality mapping (topographic map at the scale of 1:10000 is available,orthophotomap at same scale as well, community master plan, black-and-white base45