Glaciers, sediments and a lemming: Dr Yorke’s teaching exchange with Geografi i Bergen
In May 2014 Dr Lynda Yorke visited the Department of Geography at the University of Bergen in Norway. Read on to hear about her experiences.
This year, I found myself with the opportunity to participate in the ERASMUS Teaching Mobility programme for academic staff. The programme gives staff the opportunity to teach abroad at a partner institution within Europe. For me, I chose to visit the Department of Geography at the University of Bergen in Norway. As a Quaternary Scientist, with interests in glacial sediments and landforms, and reconstructing glacial histories from the last Ice Age, Norway is a country with wide appeal to me as a researcher. On a personal level, I have had a long affinity with Norway, have a love of brunost (brown cheese), and possess a smattering of Norwegian words.
So, on the 15th May 2014, I made my way to Bergen to spend two weeks with Geografi i Bergen! My visit was to comprise some time spent in the department but, the majority of my time was to be spent participating in their six-day long undergraduate field course to Jostedalen.
Arriving on a wet Thursday evening, Bergen was true to its reputation as a very wet city, though nothing could dampen my enthusiasm for this visit. When I arrived in the department on the Friday morning, I was greeted by a welcoming Professor Svein Olaf Dahl, who is head of the Geography department. I was instantly made to feel part of the department, with many introductions to the staff and postgrads. I was also given an office for the duration of my visit. Then it was down to the business of the field course logistics.
The field course began promptly at 8am on the following Monday. We comprised a teaching team of seven staff that included myself and two other visiting Physical Geographers (from the University of Debrecen, Hungry). The student cohort was made up of Physical Geography and Environmental Geography Bachelors students. Setting off in a convoy of four mini vans, day one comprised a drive north to Gjerde in Jostedal Glacier National Park – a simple matter of driving through the mountains via many, many tunnels (one was almost a half hour in length), and a ferry across Sogne Fjord. Arriving in the national park we undertook an orientation of the area, visiting all of the students’ field sites.
In contrast to many UK university-led field courses that I have participated in, the Norwegian approach is quite different. The aim of the field course was for groups of 3-4 students to spend the week investigating a research question through independently gathering data in the field. Thus, there was limited input from the staff in the sense that the field course does not comprise days of large group teaching of field methods. However, the evenings were spent in discussions with the students, where we’d still be working at 11pm! Each day was spent visiting the various student groups, across a large area, either to aid with a specific data collection technique, or in deep discussions with them about their projects.
Luckily for me, I spent a significant amount of time at Nigardsbreen (an outlet glacier of Jostedalsbreen), where a few student groups were working. One day I was on the department’s inflatable boat out on the glacial lake, in front of Nigardsbreen, helping to collect lake bottom profiles using a sonar, and collecting core samples from the lake bottom. Another day, we were taking aerial photos of the glacial foreland using a quadcopter and a mobile phone app! As the week progressed, I was able to spend some time visiting neighbouring valleys. I tramped through rotten snow to see another outlet glacier, Bergsetbreen, and I braved a cliff above a raging river to examine glacilacustrine sediments deposited during the last glacial occupation of the area.
However, one thing that amused my Bergen colleagues was my insistence that we rescued a Norwegian lemming trapped in a cattle grid. I could not leave him there, so we had created a debris avalanche for him to climb up and escape out of the base of the grid!
For the students, the week culminated in a day of group presentations in the field. We visited each site in turn, where the students attempted to inform their peers and the staff about their findings based on their week long investigations. The day was completed by a group walk up to the snout of Nygardsbreen. A major photo opportunity and a great way to celebrate the end of a successful, and truly amazing, week.
Back in Bergen, I was invited to give a research talk in the Department of Geology, where a couple of my old PhD contemporaries now work. So, my final few days were spent discussing new research opportunities with colleagues in Geography, preparing, then giving a talk on my research, and downloading a lot of research articles to read.
Spending time with Geografi i Bergen was a fantastic opportunity for me and for Geography @ Bangor. I have experienced a different approach to field course teaching, have taken so many photographs that will find their way in to my teaching materials, and built a lasting link between out two departments. I’ll be visiting Norway later in the summer to undertake some field research with Svein Olaf and Rannveig. And, of course, I’ll be back in Jostedalen next May for the field course.
If you would like to participate in the ERASMUS+ Student Exchange Programme with Geografi i Bergen, we now have a strong connection with Bergen University (they do teach courses in English), or another institution of your choice, you should contact Bangor’s International Education Centre. Or perhaps, you have been inspired to undertake some geographical research in Norway for your final year dissertation, or would like to participate in the Jostedalen field course, if so, contact me directly.
Publication date: 4 July 2014