Figure 3. The main content of the field work on biodiversity and its conservation. Step 1, pre-internship, is offered mainly using Internet platform where the school has established plenty of simulation scenarios using multimedia tools such as radio spots and photos. Through these tools, students can have a feel of the places they will visit prior to the actual field trip. The purpose of this step is to help familiarize students with the field work environment. Step 2, field trip, is the most important part of the field work learning process since it enables students to go out and discover biodiversity, observe the relationships between plants and the environment, and understand the characteristics and laws of biodiversity. During this step, students are trained comprehensively in teamwork and problem analysis. In Step 3, post-evaluation and experience sharing, the school uses both the live and online discussion methods. Through these platforms, students share their experiences and challenges. Their reports are then submitted to the network platform and evaluated either by the teacher, the student himself, or his classmates. Experience sharing is a valuable learning component as students can always use it as a guide when they go to further field work. Currently, the internship on biodiversity and its conservation is a compulsory subject for undergraduate students in the School of Geography. It is usually taken in the second semester in Grade 2 (combined with the study of Botanic Geography) and the next summer holiday from July 15 to August 10. The five practice 108 THE ASIA REGIONAL FORUM ON BIODIVERSITY bases for biodiversity are: the campus in Beijing Normal University; Xiaowutai Mountain, Yu Town, Fengning County, Hebei Province; Erdao Village, Datan Town, Fengning County, Hebei Province; Xiaolong Men Forest in Mentougou District, Beijing City; and Jiufeng Forest Park in Haidian District, Beijing City. The field work encompasses four important levels. Teachers are in charge of assigning specific arrangements for practice schedule. Innovative Projects for Further Learning and Research The university encourages students to pursue an innovative project, for which students can apply for financial support from the university. Their teachers can help them with the application process. Four to five students and one instructor can form a small group according to their interests. The annual budget for innovative projects is 3,000-5,000 RMB. While the project budget is very limited, it offers students an extraordinary opportunity to pursue in-depth learning and research. Evaluation The School of Geography employs various methods to evaluate students’ learning achievements. Through these methods, the teachers try to get an objective assessment of the students’ knowledge, skills and attitude. For the classroom curriculum, the evaluation is focused on students’ mastery of biodiversity-
In Celebration of His Majesty the King of Thailand’s 84th Birthday Anniversary
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