Crafting scholarship through utilising experiential learning during international fieldwork: evolving pedagogies and lessons learnt

In this paper, we explore the challenges and opportunities of crafting student scholarship during a final-year undergraduate international field course through the pedagogy of peer teaching and learning. These findings have been widely reported in the Journal of Geography in Higher Education and have informed contemporary practices for conducting international fieldwork with students. As part of this celebratory issue of the journal, we reflect on the lessons learnt from applying experiential pedagogies during fieldwork that encourage students to demonstrate aspects of scholarship, facilitated by tutors. We develop a framework that draws together the multifaceted strands and complexities in delivering fieldwork pedagogies. Student reflections reveal the significance of experiential learning and place-based immersion for enhancing geographical understanding. By examining evolving practices and unexpected outcomes that enrich students’ crafting of scholarship, we reveal how a growing sense of mutual solidarity can develop a community of learning. We offer insights into how these teaching and learning strategies can be adapted for other field-based experiences and conclude by identifying a series of recommendations when organising international field trips, acknowledging future challenges.