Außerunterrichtliche Lernorte: Die (Weiter-)Entwicklung von Lernpfaden zu einem Netz von Geopunkten mit Hilfe der Geocache-Methode

The study deals with the two main problems in geographical
education: How to inform students about a spatial practicing
learning and teaching and how to evaluate this form of learning in
comparison to theoretical non spatial forms of learning. The
classic form of spatial learning is the outdoor excursion. But
there are some new and actual alternatives when realizing the
former intended aims of a spatial learning, so for instance
didactical pathways, field trips or field works, but also the new
way of geocaching and learning by GPS when dealing with the themes
of orientation or finding out points of geographic importance for
explaining the genetic processes. The necessary skills can be
combined to improve the success of learning and to maximize the
motivation. The base of this motivation behavior is the existence
of a hide and seek-game as a modern version of a scavenger hunt.
This motivates the students and is furthermore the attraction of
Geocaching. Methodical skills can also be trained very
automatically during this search. The GPS devices are of common use
in the daily life and its use may increase much more in the fu-ture
and in geographical use, too. Nowadays the literature about this
theme is merely descriptive and thematically reduced to the
function of orientation. The first study describing the learning
suc-cess of using GPS devices and Geocaches in geography class had
been made by NEEB. She tested the variation of the competence of
orientation in different old classes when examining the use of GPS
devices and Geocaches. Even though GPS devices and Geocaches are
very efficient for instructing the students’ competence of
orientation there may be the question, in what forms and
circumstances the learning can be done. The time and effort
necessary to generate a didactical and educational trail has to be
justified against the background of the achieved learning effect.
Educational trails need students, walking outside of the schools,
looking for information along teaching paths and learning by the
results. This active experienced learning leads to a better
understanding of the environment, the outdoor circumstances and the
people living in this area. You can structure such educational
trails by Geopoints, this means points of a special geographic
interest. Geocaches can structure such paths didactically. These
structuring points are GEOpoints. The tasks at such Geopoints are
structured didactical as well. GPS devices and Geocaches are
complementing one another. They fulfill an important function in
geographic orientation and the respective local information. Two
important ministries in Germany (Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg) demand
the use of extra¬curri-cu¬lar educational objectives in geography
education. This means: visiting locations outside of the school and
using the advantages of a fully learning by excursions.
Neurobiology supports the idea that pupils completing the
educational trail will learn much more and efficiently than
students in “normal” classes: Indeed: A successful
contextualization of modern geomedia stimulates the motivation.
Geocaches are suitable for didactical structuration and motivation.
A better and more comprehensive addressing to all senses will lead
to a better sustainability. When testing the advantage of
excursional learning comparing the same themes with a classical
learning at school you have to differ within the students capacity
of learning and the cognitive and methodical competence. For
17years aged students the theme of “Umgestaltung von
Flusslandschaften“ (rearrangements of fluvial topography) was
chosen because using this example of anthropogenic rearrangements
of the Rheinaue wetlands near Karlsruhe shows the interdependency
between human and environment was in the direct neighborhood of the
students. Therefore the excursion could be realized very good
without long transports. The “Nördlinger Ries” between the Swabian
and the Franconian Jura is an impact-crater of world-wide
importance. This location had been chosen for Students of grade 5
(10 years old students). The themes to work out were: The typical
elements of the Swabian Jura (karst formation, hydrogeology,
typical vegetation) and the special forms of the impact tectonics.
The sustainability of educational trails using GPS had been
evaluated by the answers of 441 ques-tionnaires. In grade 5 a
multiple-choice-test had to be answered while grade 11 had to
answer open questions in complete sentences. The influence of the
teachers on the overall result is being kept low through the random
selection, the number of the comparison groups and the teaching
manuals. The overall results of these questionnaires show that the
students of grade 5 which completed the educations trail achieved
11% higher scores in areas of the cognitive performance compared to
the students who experienced classical learning at school. In grade
11 the students who completed the educational trail received 5%
higher scores. Both differences in the results are significant and
show a magnitude of effect, which is high in certain items.
Consequently, the study has proven that educational trails evocate
better cognitive performances than classical learning at school.
The current state of research suggests that the development of
environmental trails from teachers for teachers is not sustainable
because the teachers don’t have the time to refine environmental
trails didactically. The experience while creating the educational
trails and the feedback of the participant teachers showed that
teachers should cooperate for creating educational trails. The
strain for each single person is reduced and the regularly use of
the educational trails can be assured.