Planning fieldwork for geographical learning

‘Geographical fieldwork provides students with experiences that are intrinsically valuable, but detailed planning can ensure they maximise the wide-ranging education benefits from such activities.’

Holmes and Walker, 2006

Topics on this page:

Refer to the webpages on The importance of fieldwork and Fieldwork experiences and field teaching , if you have not read these already.

Key reading

Biddulph, M., Lambert, D. and Balderstone, D. (2021) Learning to Teach Geography in the Secondary School: A Companion to School Experience, 4th edition. London: Routledge, Chapter 7.
Widdowson, J. (2017), ‘Fieldwork’ in Jones, M. The Handbook of Secondary Geography, Chapter 17.
Kitchen, R. (2025) High-quality geography fieldwork for all: A research report, Sheffield: Geographical Association (available free for GA members).
Refer to this extensive Reading list on fieldwork.

How to plan fieldwork for geographical learning?

Fieldwork should be an integral part of the geography curriculum rather than a ‘one-off’ activity. Ofsted (2008) evaluated the impact of learning outside of the classroom and found it to be most effective when ‘it was an integral element of long-term curriculum planning and closely linked to classroom activities.’

However, Ofsted (2023) reported:

‘In most schools, leaders had done very little curriculum thinking about fieldwork. They had not decided what they wanted fieldwork to achieve and therefore could not plan for how best to achieve it. Fieldwork was rarely taught as part of the wider geography curriculum, and opportunities to carry out fieldwork either on the school site or at home were rarely taken.’

This highlights the need for fieldwork learning outcomes to be derived directly from the curriculum unit of which the activity is part. Classroom teaching should set the scene for the fieldwork activity and follow it up afterwards to consolidate learning.

Sheriff (2025) asks ‘Where does fieldwork fit in the 11-14 geography curriculum?’ and sets out ideas for including fieldwork in common key stage 3 topics. She illustrates how her department embeds fieldwork opportunities into their curriculum as well as including geographical skills practice.

A clear understanding of your students is also critical. They need the contextual knowledge and skills required to engage meaningfully with fieldwork, both before and after time spent outside the classroom.

See Sloggett (2021) p 29 for how one department sets out its key stage 3 fieldwork plan.

Ofsted (2023) praises schools with a well-defined curriculum for fieldwork where it is approached alongside other aspects of procedural knowledge. In such schools, students are given frequent opportunities to collect, present, and analyse data.

Fieldwork has its own body of procedural knowledge that must be taught. Students should learn how to collect, present, and analyse data, as well as how to reach and evaluate conclusions based on evidence. They need first-hand experience of data collection and opportunities to use this data meaningfully in the classroom.

When planning, clearly identify the aims and objectives of the fieldwork and keep these at the forefront when designing fieldwork tasks. Learning objectives would usually include the acquisition of new skills/techniques, the development of specific conceptual understanding and the use of geographical vocabulary. You may also wish to focus on developing enquiry skills, or address aesthetic and values-based learning.

Additional objectives could include practising OS map skills or developing interpersonal skills such as teamwork. However, it is important to strike a balance between enabling discovery and promoting deeper thinking.

Learning geographical knowledge and skills and developing fieldwork fluency

The development of geographical knowledge and understanding has an important role in fieldwork. Fieldwork provides students with first-hand knowledge of a places and local geographical phenomena. It also allows them to apply theoretical concepts to real-world contexts, deepening their understanding of human–environment interactions.

Skill development is central to learning through fieldwork. Bennetts (1995) identifies three types of procedural skills used in fieldwork:

specific practical fieldwork techniques: observing, collecting, presenting, analysing, and interpreting data in real-world contexts.
cognitive activities: describing, interpreting, analysing, explaining and communicating findings.
enquiry strategies: structuring and conducting investigations to reach valid conclusions

Each of these types should be considered carefully in fieldwork planning. Fieldwork should allow students to apply skills from previous learning and extend them further.

In addition, a recent focus has been on the development of green skills: the knowledge, abilities, values, and attitudes needed to live in, develop, and support a sustainable and resource-efficient society and to foster a respect for our environment.

Green skills involve critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making in the context of sustainability. Fieldwork provides an ideal opportunity to develop these, as it enables young people to gain hands-on awareness of the natural environment and to reflect on human impacts. In this way, they begin to develop the green skills needed for the future.

See Kitchen (2025) Figure 3 for a model to illustrate one way of thinking about green skills
Read the blog post: Kitchen, R. (2024) ‘Building green skills into your geography curriculum‘, which explains what is meant by green skills and how they can be embedded into the geography curriculum.’

Another important concept is fieldwork fluency. This is the process of developing, refining and adapting fieldwork techniques. This involves students successfully identifying appropriate methods, navigating the challenges of real-time fieldwork and demonstrating increasing criticality and independence.

Progression in geographical fieldwork

As with all other aspects of the geography curriculum, it is important to consider progression in fieldwork learning. Curriculum planning should demonstrate clear progression across the Key Stages showing how students will develop the learning identified above, as well as their ability to carry out fieldwork over time.

The planned fieldwork curriculum should embed both knowledge and skills, while also promoting the broader ‘soft’ outcomes such as resilience, resourcefulness, perseverance, and independence that fieldwork participation can promote.

Read the GA blog by Chloe Searl Developing procedural knowledge to facilitate progression in fieldwork.

Questions to consider when planning for progression in fieldwork

Is there a clear vision of what the fieldwork is intended to achieve?
Does this link explicitly to the wider curriculum aims for geography in the school?
Is the fieldwork an integral part of medium and long-term planning?
Are fieldwork activities a regular part of learning sequences?
Does the fieldwork support the development of both knowledge and skills?
Do fieldwork investigations move from more structured to more independent?
Are there opportunities for both extended fieldwork and shorter activities
Do students have opportunities to develop fluency in a wide range of fieldwork techniques?
Do activities progress from the simple and familiar to the more complex, abstract and interrelated?
Does the curriculum ensure that students are equipped to select and evaluate a range of techniques for GCSE fieldwork and are well prepared for the non-examined assessment at A level?

At key stage 3 students should be introduced to a variety of fieldwork techniques and develop the necessary skills in the immediate school environment, as well through day visits to other locations. Short fieldwork tasks should allow them to gain familiarity with the basic knowledge, processes, and techniques that will prepare them for later examination work.

As they gain experience, students should progress in:

the range and sophistication of techniques they use,
the complexity of the concepts they explore, and
the degree of independence in their enquiries.

They should also encounter fieldwork in a variety of places and environments

Over time, students should become more confident and competent in carrying out fieldwork. When students are well taught at key stage 3 about how geographers collect, present and analyse data and how they then reach conclusions and evaluate their work, they are better prepared for GCSE fieldwork and the independent investigation required at A level.

There is no single perfect pathway for fieldwork progression. It does not depend on a particular type of fieldwork, location, or topic. Instead, it is important to explore a range of examples to understand different rationales for structuring progression. Useful resources include:

Kitchen (2025) Figure11: A progression model for geographical fieldwork from EYFS to key stage 5.
The GA and the Field Studies Council have developed a Spiralised Fieldwork Resources Collection.
Progression in geographical fieldwork developed by the Field Studies Council is another example of a progression model.
Kitchen (2025) Case study 3 pp 14 and Figure 9: Reading School’s model of progression in fieldwork from year 7 to A level.
Try Task 7.2 Progression in geographical fieldwork in Biddulph et al (2021) p 210.

The progression model illustrates how fieldwork knowledge, skills, and fluency build up gradually through the key stages. It highlights the importance of exposing students to a wide range of activities and locations in order to give them a comprehensive fieldwork experience.

In the Spiralised Fieldwork Resources Collection, each example traces a progression pathway so that every time a student revisits a technique or theme, they have an opportunity to build on prior learning. There are two strands, techniques and themes.

The Field Studies Council progression table sets high expectations at key stage 3. For example, students are not only expected to be able to use a wide range of techniques, but also to:

identify their own relevant questions
carry out enquiries with minimal teacher intervention
reach substantiated conclusions
begin to reflect critically on their methodology.

Your planning and teaching should take these expectations into account.

The Reading School example is particularly notable, as it explicitly aims to induct students into thinking and working like geographers. This ensures that those who go on to A level feel confident and well prepared to succeed in their NEAs.

Look at the GA and Field Studies Council Fieldwork Booster webinar on Planning and embedding fieldwork.

What is high quality fieldwork?

As stressed above, high quality fieldwork depends on careful planning that:

has a clear vision
embeds fieldwork within the school’s geography curriculum, and
considers progression in knowledge, skills and fieldwork fluency.

Discussion with your mentor about high quality

Refer to the GA criteria for fieldwork excellence and the two case studies in Kitchen (2025) pp 10-1. Based on these examples:

discuss with your mentor the specific feature you identify as essential for high quality fieldwork.
Study Kitchen (2025) Figure 7 and consider the four underlying principles for high-quality geographical fieldwork along with the details of each.
Use Kitchen (2025) Figure 16: Fieldwork provision checklist to discuss with your mentor
the fieldwork carried out in your school.
and how far it meets the principles for high quality geographical fieldwork.

An important consideration in planning is how to create ‘memorable moments’ in fieldwork. Do not underestimate the power of the ‘awe and wonder’. Such moments provide lasting memories to which geographical ideas can be anchored.

However, it is essential that the relevant geography concept is explicitly taught and connected to the memorable moment. As you plan, think carefully about how you will ensure students learn the intended geographical concepts through these experiences.

Read Kinder (2018) for further insight.

Kinder (2018) provides valuable guidance about how to go about your fieldwork teaching to make it high quality:

Design activities that reveal processes at work, for example, spatial patterns, interrelationships, or counter-intuitive ‘hidden truths’. This requires students to engage in close observation and measurement.
Challenge students with cognitive conflict, for example fieldwork on river flow can reveal unexpected results, forcing students to rethink assumptions.
Be explicit about key concepts. Identify precisely which ideas you want students to grapple with and scaffold their learning so they can make sense of what they observe.
Teach in the field. Ask probing questions, check understanding, and clarify misconceptions while outdoors. Without this, students may struggle to interpret their observations, and learning will be less effective.
Use the ‘messiness’ of the real world. Kinder argues this is ‘part of the very fabric of geographical education.’ Well-planned fieldwork helps students appreciate the complexity of reality compared to the simplified models in textbooks.
Highlight the nature of geographical knowledge. Fieldwork shows students that both textbook knowledge and their own investigations are partial and limited, encouraging critical reflection.
Adopt an analytical–predictive approach. Kinder suggests giving more attention to discussions in the field, asking students to think about processes they are observing and predict outcomes, rather than focusing only on critiquing data collection techniques afterwards.

Charlton et al. (2012) also stress that reviewing learning whilst still in the field helps to reinforce the benefits and purpose of fieldwork.

Bearing this in mind, plan your teaching to make the most of fieldwork experiences. Use discussion, questioning, and reflection in the field to help students make sense of the geographical phenomena they observe.

Creative ideas for fieldwork

Biddulph et al. (2021) provide an excellent section on Creative Fieldwork, which encourages teachers to broaden their horizons and move beyond the traditional focus on urban surveys and river measurements. They suggest incorporating themes such as values, place, and environment into fieldwork.

They also describe the idea of ‘layering’ in fieldwork planning, where additional elements, such as OS map skills or the study of how a place is connected to other places, are integrated into the enquiry.

Refer to Maddison and Landy (2024) for practical examples of creative fieldwork techniques.

Familiar, everyday places can be just as powerful for students as the “awe and wonder” locations often used in well-documented fieldwork, such as Malham or London Docklands.

Refer to Rawlings Smith and Otto (2023) to read about encountering the everyday and place writing during geography fieldwork.
Explore GA online resources such as:

Investigating urban green spaces provides opportunities to use both quantitative and qualitative techniques to collect primary data in accessible local environments such as parks, recreation fields, churchyards, golf courses, or canal towpaths.
Explore creative approaches such as speaking the landscape, writing the landscape, studying the landscape and recording observations in Fieldwork poetry ideas.

It is important that the fieldwork approach you adopt aligns with your objectives and the geographical learning you want students to achieve. The key texts and examples below, highlight the wide range of possible approaches.

Biddulph et al (2021) Chapter 7
Widdowson (2017).

Each summer term, the GA runs a National Festival of Fieldwork. This is designed as a celebration of all things to do with outdoor learning. There are a large number of resources and activities on the dedicated webpage. It should encourage you to take your classes outside, whether in the school grounds, the local area or further afield. Many ITE students use these resources in schools.

Inspired by the A level NEA on ‘Changing Places’ Mollison (2025) developed ways of embedding local fieldwork enquiries into Year 7 and 8 teaching, introducing real-life planning concepts such as the 20-minute neighbourhood and healthy streets.

See Mollison, A. (2025) ‘Embedding place-based concepts at key stage 3 to support progression’, Teaching Geography, Spring.

Another creative resource is How much carbon have trees on the school site sequestered? This is a teaching activity where students calculate the amount of carbon stored in trees on site and consider how this offsets the school’s carbon footprint.

Widdowson (2024) describes a one-day fieldwork investigation following the route of the Elizabeth Line through east London. Students travelled along the line, visiting four neighbourhoods and comparing its impacts. Similar fieldwork could be designed along other new or proposed transport routes in the UK.

Sherriff (2025) describes two examples carried out on the school site, year 7 fieldwork on biodiversity and a year 9 sustainability study.

Refer to this enquiry for key stage 3 and GCSE students, written by Andy Owen, which investigate the benefits created by urban green spaces. This can be supported with background reading from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) report, on the wide range of benefits created by green spaces.

For additional inspiration:

Embedding on-site fieldwork in geography. In this free online video resource from Tutor2u, two experienced geography teachers discuss how to maximise school-based fieldwork opportunities, including a sustainability investigation on the school site.
Search ‘Fieldwork’ in the Teaching Resources section of the GA website.
For guidance on planning your own fieldwork see the section on the page Fieldwork experience for new teachers.

Assessing Fieldwork

Kitchen (2025) writes:

‘Fieldwork should be part of the ebb and flow of teaching geography and is not something that always needs to be appraised or assessed. It should be a tool for learning as well as a learning experience in itself, which can be severely hampered if the fieldwork is (always) driven by assessment.’

Refer to Kitchen (2025) Figure 14 on page 20 for Figure 14: Examples of different approaches that could be used to assess progress in fieldwork at KS3 including (a) multiple-choice questions, and (b) students devise or answer photo-based questions.
Look at the GA and Field Studies Council Fieldwork Booster webinar on Assessment in the field.

At GCSE students must undertake two geographical enquiries that include the use of primary data, collected as part of fieldwork. This is assessed via a formal examination.

Evidence suggests that students often perform relatively poorly in this aspect of the GCSE.

Discuss with your mentor the GCSE fieldwork requirement of the specification used in your school and explore recent examination questions.
Refer to Kitchen (2025) p 19 for suggestions of alternative ways GCSE fieldwork could be assess and discuss the pros and cons with your mentor.
Look at the GA and Field Studies Council Fieldwork Booster webinar on GCSE fieldwork.

At A level, students undertake at least four days of fieldwork and have to complete the NEA which is a 4000-word report as part of their A level assessment. See A level independent fieldwork.

Refer to Kitchen (2025) page 20-2 for a discussion of fieldwork assessment.

Different styles of fieldwork

Using these questions as a framework, read these five examples of different styles of fieldwork. As you read them think about how the teacher has planned the fieldwork to address the above questions.

Example 1: Year 7 enquiry; school grounds; environmental quality analysis; bipolar survey.

Peppin, K. (2020) ‘Getting outside! Investigating the school environment’, Teaching Geography, Summer.

Example 2: Year 9 enquiry; coasts; student design fieldwork; organisation (NB: This case study refers to assessment levels that are no longer used).

Rynne, E. (2000) ‘Year 9 students design fieldwork’, Teaching Geography, April.

Example 3: Year 10 enquiry; locating a supermarket; Hypotheses-testing; problem solving; roleplay; data collection; organisation; presentation.

Rawling, E. (1975) ‘Supermarket for Llandovery: An exercise in field research’, Teaching Geography, April.

Example 4: A level; coasts; study of community; qualitative + quantitative; revisiting earlier data; range of local data sources.

Bye, C., Hirst, S. and Thorpe, C. (2017) ‘Creating local opportunities for independent investigations’, Teaching Geography, Autumn.

Example 5: Traffic counts, beach sediment surveys, litter surveys.

Searl, C. (2023) ‘Rethinking the ‘simple’ in fieldwork, GA Magazine, Spring, No. 53.

Further fieldwork planning ideas

Bustin, R. (2019) ‘Investigating lived space: ideas for fieldwork’, Teaching Geography, Spring.
Charlton, M., Lapthorn, N., Moncrieff, D. and Turney, A. (2012) ‘Changing coastal fieldwork’, Teaching Geography, Autumn.
Finch Noyes, H. and Steel, B. (2020) ‘Beyond A level fieldwork… an exploration of urban areas’, Teaching Geography, Autumn.
Holmes, D. and Farbrother, D. (2000) ‘Activity surveys’, Teaching Geography, April.
House, D., Lapthorn, N., Moncrieff, D., Owen-Jones, G. and Turney, A. (2012) ‘Risky fieldwork’, Teaching Geography, Summer.
Knight, S. (2013) ’Investigating weather through fieldwork’, Teaching Geography, Autumn.
Rawlings Smith, E. and Otto, K. (2023) ‘Encountering the Everyday: Place writing during geography fieldwork’ in Rawlings Smith, E. and Pike, S. (Eds) (2023) Encountering Ideas of Place in Education: Scholarship and Practice in Place-based Learning, London: Routledge.
Searl, C. (2023) ‘Fieldwork for the first time’, GA Magazine, Summer.
Sloggett, G. (2021) ‘COVID-19: an opportunity to review fieldwork provision’, Teaching Geography, Spring.
Trafford, R. (2017) ‘Seizing the opportunity for a new era of fieldwork’, Teaching Geography, Spring.
Witt, S. (2013) ‘Chance encounters of the playful kind: exploring places’, Teaching Geography, Autumn.

Useful links for fieldwork ideas and resources

The GA’s Fieldwork ideas and resources webpage.
The Field Studies Council website for Geography fieldwork.
Royal Geographical Society Fieldwork in schools.
Search for Fieldwork in the Teaching Resources in the GA website.

Reading

These articles illustrate that a wide range of ideas and teaching techniques contribute to good fieldwork teaching to provide exciting experiences for students:

Bennetts, T. (1995) ‘Continuity and progression’, Teaching Geography, April.
Biddulph, M., Lambert, D. and Balderstone, D. (2021) Learning to Teach Geography in the Secondary School: A Companion to School Experience, 4th edition. London: Routledge, Chapter 7.
Caton, D. (2006) ‘Real world learning through geographical fieldwork‘, in Balderstone, D. (ed) Secondary Geography Handbook.
Holmes, D. and Walker, M. (2006) ‘Planning geographical fieldwork’, Chapter 18 in D. Balderstone (ed.) Secondary Geography Handbook, Sheffield: The Geographical Association.
Kinder, A. (2013) ‘What is the contribution of fieldwork to school geography?’ in Jones, M. and Lambert, D. (eds) Debates in Geography Education. London: Routledge.
Kinder, A. (2018) ‘Acquiring geographical knowledge and understanding through fieldwork’, Teaching Geography, Autumn.
Kitchen, R. (2024) ‘Building green skills into your geography curriculum‘ which explains what is meant by green skills and how they can be embedded into the geography curriculum.’
Kitchen, R. (2025) High-quality geography fieldwork for all: A research report, Sheffield: Geographical Association (available free for GA members).
Maddison, J. (2018) Field Studies Council Creative Fieldwork Guide, Sheffield: The Geographical Association.
Maddison, J. and Landy, R. (2024) Creative fieldwork 2, Field Studies Council.
Marvell, A. and Simm, D. (2016) ‘Unravelling the geographical palimpsest through fieldwork: discovering a sense of place’, Geography, Autumn.
Monk, P. (2016) ‘Progression in fieldwork’ Teaching Geography, Spring.
Ofsted (2008) Learning outside the classroom, Ofsted.
Ofsted (2023) Getting our bearings: geography subject report, Ofsted, September.
Roberts, M. (2018) ‘Do the new GCSEs promote ‘sound enquiry and investigative approaches’ to learning geography?’, Geography, Spring.
Sheriff, F. (2025) ‘Where does fieldwork fit in the 11-14 geography curriculum in Owen, C. and Monk, J. What is Geography Teaching, Now? Hachette Learning.
Sloggett, G. (2021) ‘COVID-19: an opportunity to review fieldwork provision’, Teaching Geography, Spring.
Widdowson, J. (2017), ‘Fieldwork’ in Jones, M. The Handbook of Secondary Geography, Chapter 17.
Widdowson, J. (2024) ‘Fieldwork on the Elizabeth line– an investigation into the impacts of London’s latest rail line, Teaching Geography, Summer.