NOTE: PESSER is no longer active.
In April 2020, the AGU Education Section launched our Perspectives on Earth and Space Science Educational Research (PESSER) – a series of opinion pieces on recently published educational research studies in the field of Earth and Space Sciences. The PESSER series aimed to highlight subjects that are relative and novel in the educational section of earth and space sciences.
In the first issue of PESSER’s Volume 3, Sunday Siomades from Pennsylvania State University discusses the costs, benefits, and risks associated with traditional field trips, alternative ways to experience the geosciences beyond traditional field trips, and how the two formats (traditional and alternative) might be combined with creative tools to support learning for future geoscientists. Siomades emphasizes that inspiration derived from in-person field visits provides a source of sustainability for all scientists and also encourages new scientists (particularly students and those early in their careers) to join their fields in the first place, and that technology-assisted trips can provide safety-conscious alternatives to traditional methods without neglecting the value of physical field experience.
We hope that you find the series a good way to engage with ideas from recently published educational research!