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The ‘project’: puttingstudent‐controlled, small‐groupwork and transferable skills at thecore of a geography courseBrian Paul Hindle aa Department of Geography , University of Salford , Salford,M5 4WT, United KingdomPublished online: 24 Feb 2007.

To cite this article: Brian Paul Hindle (1993) The ‘project’: putting student‐controlled,small‐group work and transferable skills at the core of a geography course, Journal ofGeography in Higher Education, 17:1, 11-20

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Journal of Geography in Higher Education, Vol. 17, No. 1, 1993

The 'Project': putting student-controlled,small-group work and transferable skills atthe core of a geography course

BRIAN PAUL HINDLE, University of Salford

ABSTRACT The advantages and problems of project work in geography are outlined.The origins of the large-scale 'Project' at Salford are seen in the need for a newcurriculum, and in the University's 'education for capability' objectives, which led tothe Project being placed at the philosophical core of the new degree course in 1987.The Project has subsequently been translated into the department's 'Enterprise'scheme. The structure of the Project is outlined, with particular reference to groupsize and working, student control, task selection, staff input, geographical andprofessional skills, assessment, and problems. Three tasks are outlined, and studentreaction is assessed.

Introduction

The use of large-scale project work as a vehicle for teaching geography in highereducation has been limited. The 'Project' described here is not only large in scale,but is deliberately designed to be at the core of the whole course. Furthermore, itincludes training in transferable professional skills, and includes a substantialmeasure of student control.

Project work can be loosely denned as consisting of a substantial piece of work onan original problem, undertaken with minimal supervision. The advantages ofproject work have been outlined in Adderley et al. (1975); Silk & Bowlby (1981),and most recently in Gold et al. (1991):

(1) It trains students to understand, define and solve problems, and to thinkcritically.

(2) It encourages students to be practical, creative and communicative.(3) Project work can easily be perceived to be relevant to real problems and to the

students' needs. This encourages students to take the work seriously as 'a meaning-ful experience rather than a daunting hurdle'.

(4) Projects alter the relationships between staff and students, lecturers becomeconsultants offering advice and feedback, which gives students more responsibilityfor their own learning.

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(5) Project work allows students to learn through concrete experience and activeexperimentation, rather than solely through reflective observation or abstract con-ceptualization (Kolb, 1976).

(6) Projects have a broader value in helping to make students better trained andprepared for work or postgraduate research.

These objectives are far removed from the traditional ability to memorize andregurgitate facts, skills seen by many as much less valuable today (despite the factthat most lecturers were educated in a period when they were regarded as impor-tant).

Gold et al. also outline several problems: projects tend to have (for better or forworse) a positivist bias; they require substantial administrative and academicbackup; and there are problems of assessment.

The Salford Background

The Salford experience was driven partly by the University's Aims and Objectives,re-drafted in the mid-1980s around the concept of'education for capability'. TheUniversity identified certain qualities which it wished its graduates to possess,principally:

—developing the capacity to identify, formulate and solve problems;—designing, organising and producing useful objects or services; and—developing the capacity to co-operate and to work in groups.

In short, students were to go beyond the traditional academic education, and in thewords of the University's Aims and Objectives, develop the ability 'to cope, to doand to deliver'.

The Geography Capability Scheme has since been translated into an 'Enterprise'scheme, an important aim of which is to incorporate personal transferable skillssuch as self-management, decision making, teamwork and leadership into degreecourses, as well as encouraging personal qualities such as confidence, initiative,imagination, independence and determination. It encourages students to take moreresponsibility for their own learning [Clark, 1991 (see in particular the articles byHarrison and Hindle, and Morphet); Healey, 1992].

Another important driving force was the perennial problem of how and what toteach in the geography 'techniques' course. The department, like most geographydepartments, formerly had a practical-based course which had a moderately highstatistical component. It was generally felt that this course did not work particularlywell, the major problem being that most students saw it as being divorced from therest of geography. It often seemed that the various techniques were learnt solely forthe purpose of an exercise or test, and then promptly forgotten; students only rarelyactually used them to solve real problems.

The third drive was that the degree course had grown haphazardly over 20 years,with numerous additions and deletions, and was in serious need of a majoroverhaul. It was decided to design a completely new course, given only theconstraints of departmental size and staff fields of interest. The cuts of 1981 hadleft a department of only 10 full-time staff and, for historical reasons, there was aneccentric coverage of the field of geography; but at least this meant that there werefew inhibitions about not being able to cover the whole subject.

As a starting point it was decided to make no attempt to try to produce 'compleat

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geographers' (if indeed anyone ever did!). Project work was to be placed at thecentre of the curriculum; it was not to be 'bolted on' to an existing course, nor wasit seen as a 'practical course' (such as that described by Healey, 1992). This corewas to be based on processes and issues, rather than on subject or content. It wasdesigned to give students experience of defining and solving real problems through-out their first 2 years, incorporating the achievement of high standards in therecognised geographical skills, including numeracy, statistical analysis, and carto-graphy. In practical terms, the former techniques course was totally replaced by the'Project'.

It was also recognised that in the world after graduation, employers place greatvalue on 'professional' organisational and interpersonal skills, most of which aretransferable. These include IT skills (such as word-processing, using spreadsheetsand statistical packages), and more general business and management skills such asplanning, marketing and budgeting. Students also need personal skills such as theability to work within a group, being able to provide and accept leadership, and tocommunicate effectively both verbally and in writing.

The Geography 'Project'

The end result of these deliberations was the creation of the 'Project'. This is themeans through which much of the philosophy, methodology and techniques ofgeography are taught and learnt, with the remainder of the course working inpartnership, building on the skills which it contains. It is designed to presentstudents with tasks similar to those they might meet in a working environment, butwith guidance in an academic and assessed environment.

The Project has one-third of the contact hours (and of the marks) of years oneand two in a three-year degree programme. Each Project runs for 2 years, and isorganised around a major theme within which there are many issues; each theme ischosen in advance by the two staff members who are the Project Leaders. Choosinga suitable theme is crucial, as it must allow students a wide choice of issues(whether physical, human, or hybrids) which they can investigate in their tasks. Thethemes so far have been: the Croal-Irwell Valley, the Manchester Ship Canal, theInner City, Manchester Airport, the City Centre, and Open Space in GreaterManchester.

Course Structure

The first term is taken up with the teaching of basic techniques, such as numeracy,writing skills and an introduction to computing through word-processing. Towardsthe end of the term, students are introduced to their Project theme through lecturesand field visits.

At this point they are divided (by the staff) into task groups of 6-8 students; theyare not allowed to change groups. Experience has shown that the maximumworkable group size is eight, and that having more than six groups becomesunwieldy. Obviously this gives a maximum class size of 48 and, with admissions atabout 30 per year, this maximum was not a problem. However, with the recentincrease in admissions to around 70 (and now to 95), the solution has been to runtwo parallel Projects, led by three staff (the division of labour being one 'Co-ordinator' in overall administrative control, plus one for each theme); some

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sessions are held jointly. Thus, despite the increased intake, it has been possible tomaintain small working groups, although at some cost in total staff time.

Overseeing the Project is the Enterprise Team, which has two student membersfrom each year, the staff currently involved, and several employer representatives.Control of each Project is determined by Project Meetings (attended by ProjectLeaders and all students) held at least three times a term; these meetings determinethe strategic aims of the Project and ensure that individual group tasks fit into thattheme. They also monitor progress and enable discussion of any other mattersrelevant to the Project.

Originally, each task group undertook three consecutive tasks (one in year oneand two in year two); this has since been reduced to two tasks (one in each year),principally because two tasks in year two was felt to be too many. This change wasstudent-led, initiated by a discussion at an Enterprise Team meeting. Each taskgroup chooses its own leader; it is his/her job to co-ordinate the work of the group.The group members must choose a leader whom they think is capable of leadingand achieving progress; having made their choice they must give that leader theirfull support. Groups are encouraged to change leaders for the second task.

The tasks are chosen by the task groups themselves on the basis of their limitedbackground knowledge but with advice on both the issue and feasibility from theProject Leaders. All group members must be involved in choosing and definingeach problem, drawing up (and then amending) a plan, setting deadlines, arrangingdiscussions, collecting and analysing data, drawing up the final report and preparingfor the presentation. The group will need to delegate particular tasks to smallergroups or to individuals. These roles will depend on the nature of the particulartask; a secretary and treasurer are certainly required, but others might include anarchive researcher, computing officer, cartographer, data manager or externalliaison officer. Groups must prepare a budget, and bid for funds for specificpurposes, principally travel; they are also cash-limited in other ways, for exampleby having a photocopying allocation.

Students are expected to organise and conduct most of the work without supervi-sion, largely outside formal class time. However, each group must always feel freeto consult the Project Leaders and other staff for advice, help, contacts with outsidebodies, or problem solving. The staff role is similar to that of a research supervisor:being a facilitator, adviser, guide, critic, freedom giver, manager and supporter, aswell as director, teacher and examiner (Brown & Atkins, 1988, p. 120).

Teaching and learning inputs, whether of geographical or professional skills, arepartly pre-determined, and partly given on demand as groups identify particularneeds. Students are given a list of modules which staff are prepared to give at shortnotice. Examples are sampling, questionnaire design, laboratory and field tech-niques, specific numerical and statistical methods, map design, and computercartography. There are timetabled slots for these demand-led modules, so they arein effect rationed by the time available. Once a group has requested a module, allother groups are also required to attend, thus avoiding the possible need forrepetition. The Project is used as the sole vehicle for teaching geographical tech-niques, demonstrating to the students that these techniques are an integral part ofthe subject, rather than a separate field of activity.

The final stage of each task consists of a written report, and a verbal presentationto the entire class, staff and external assessors (usually managers/employers whohave given help or information to the students). The external links generated by the

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Box One: Three Examples of Group Tasks

This project involved a variety of tasks in the Croal-Irwell Valley, a recreational area inGreater Manchester. These included an investigation of the perception, knowledge andimage of the valley, in order to determine the needs and priorities for its marketing; andresearch into issues relating to the environment, planning, access and facilities. Threeexamples of tasks are described below.

Potential Valley Users

The task group determined to find out what people who live near the valley knew of it, whatimage they had of it, and what they wanted from it. A questionnaire survey was undertakenin 10 census enumeration districts around the valley, chosen to represent various levels ofprosperity (car ownership was used as the criterion for the choice of districts).

The main problem with the survey was that the respondents were clearly a biased sample,with a large number of professional and retired people responding. However, it was arguedthat these may be the people who use the valley most.

Potentially Contaminated Land

This task group sought to determine the amount of land in the valley which was potentiallycontaminated. Industry, mining, storage, waste disposal or sewage treatment might havecaused the problem, leaving contaminants such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, cyanideand chromium, as well as tars, solvents, bleaches, dyestuffs, and bacteria. However, manyformer industrial sites have disappeared, and can only be traced in the historical record.Thus the sources included documents and large-scale Ordnance Survey maps from the 1840sonwards, as well as surveys of present land-use gained on the ground and from remotely-sensed images. The great mass of data obtained required much organisation before analysiscould begin; only the southern part of the valley could be studied in the time available.

About 27 per cent of the valley area studied was found to be potentially contaminated.Some 23 per cent of all recreational areas and an alarming 60 per cent of formal recreationalareas were on potentially contaminated land. Clearly the planning authorities have notalways considered this problem. It was suggested that investigative work ought to be done onheavily used sites which may be contaminated, but there are severe cost implications if a siteneeds to be cleaned up. Time did not permit an investigation of whether residentialdevelopment has taken place on contaminated land.

The group clearly thought that this was an important topic requiring investigation, and fortheir final task they went on to investigate actual contaminated land.

Actual Contaminated Land

Four types of site were investigated: collieries/heavy-metal sites, dye works, paper/printworks, and sewage works. Fifty-one soil samples were taken from 11 sites, and were testedfor each of five metals (cadmium, zinc, lead, calcium and nickel). Some very high valueswere found, including samples from the site of a former dyeing and finishing works, now achildren's playground, and from the site of an old paper mill, where the Valley Plan proposesan attractive and varied development.

The principal problem faced by the group was how to interpret their results. The publishedliterature was of little help, as there was little agreement on what are normal or toxic levels.It was clear, however, that high levels of contaminants can persist in soils and plants, and itis possible that people in the valley may be at risk. The group found that coal tips areprobably the largest single problem in terms of the sheer area which they cover; they tend tobe very acidic, and plants have great difficulty colonising them.

This small sample survey showed that not all the potentially contaminated land in thevalley was in fact contaminated. But certain sites were found to be heavily polluted, and thegroups suggested that future planning must take this into account. It was clear that a fullsurvey of potential and actual land contamination was needed urgently.

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Project are especially important; students soon learn how to deal with, and get helpfrom people in the outside world [1]. At the end of the first year, after the first task,the students sit their written examinations, and then return to spend a weekrevising and improving their task results and reports, as well as seeing their ownvideoed performance of the presentation.

Assessment

A wide range of assessment methods is used, covering both the process and theproduct. Full details of the course requirements and assessment are given tostudents (in the Project Student Manual) at the beginning of year one. In each ofyears one and two the Project counts for two papers out of six; one paper is forgroup work, and the other comprises pieces of individual work. Students have aninput into several parts of the assessment.

The group mark (for which all members of the group receive the same mark) isbased on assessments of the task group plans, meetings and minutes, drawing up ajob specification, running an interview board, and the written and verbal presenta-tion of results. The individual mark covers computing, writing, work on thedemand-led module assignments and giving a short talk. A final element is anassessment of each individual's contribution to the work of the group which isdetermined by both peer and self-assessment; it is a valuable counterweight to thecommon group mark. Peer assessment is also used in the short talks.

Both peer and self-assessment are moderated by staff assessment (i.e. parallelmarking to check on fairness). Our experience has been that most students take self-and peer assessment very seriously indeed, especially as they know that staff aremarking alongside. The occasional lapse (and even attempts to try to rig the marks!)are easily spotted and corrected. Part of the professional approach required ofstudents is regular and punctual attendance; there are substantial penalties forabsence from Project meetings and presentations. Equally, submission of work todeadlines is required; work submitted late (without an exceptional reason) receiveszero marks. This may appear harsh, but is essential in ensuring an adherence toprofessional standards of behaviour, and has produced no adverse student reaction.The same rule is maintained throughout the rest of the course.

Some Problems

The first problem with such a radical scheme is to convince the members of staff inthe department that it is 'a good thing'. In any department there will be conserva-tive staff who wish simply to continue as they have always done, and others whoobject to such schemes on academic, political or philosophical grounds. It isimportant to get away from traditional notions such as: 'geography has always beentaught the same way'; 'if it was alright for me it's alright for them', 'why should Ichange my teaching methods?', or 'there is a fixed amount of geographical knowl-edge (or techniques) which every graduate should possess'.

Equally, there are many staff who are innovative, and accept the challenge ofchange. For such a scheme to work there must be a substantial majority in the lattergroup, otherwise there will be problems which will inevitably communicate them-selves to students. Staff who oppose such a scheme may have to be kept at adistance from it, whilst those who are lukewarm can be drawn in gradually, in theexpectation that the success of such a scheme will eventually convince most of the

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doubters. In this context, it is worth noting that I was very sceptical about thescheme when it was first proposed. However, as Course Tutor it seemed vital that Ishould take a leading role in the scheme. My initial rather negative thoughts of'keeping it under control' soon changed to much more positive ideas aboutproducing a good scheme, and making it work. I am now a total convert!

The type of teaching described here is very time consuming in preparation,administration and supervision, especially for those who design and lead the firstrun. It is vital that the member of staff acting as guiding tutor should also beresponsible for the successful running and development of the scheme in the longerterm; it may be necessary to relieve leaders of other duties.

Most problems are organisational and can be overcome; it is vital to approachsuch an undertaking pragmatically. The detailed running of the Project has beenchanged both from year to year, and within years; the departmental EnterpriseTeam now drives many of these changes. Perhaps the most important sentence inthe Project Student Manual is:

It is very important to realise that, by its very nature, the Project willdevelop and change as it proceeds; thus the detail given here will be liableto change.

Other problems involve physical facilities. In the Spring term of 1992 at Salford,there were 20 separate task groups operating; all these small groups require smallmeeting spaces but fixed lecture rooms are hardly appropriate. Many resort tostudent rooms, snack bars or even to one of the local hostelries.

Of course, some tasks do go wrong. Usually this is because students have beenreluctant to consult staff, either because this is an unusual role for staff, or becausethey thought they knew what they were doing. The most serious problem concernedone group which did not consult their Project Leader for the simple reason thatthey were doing virtually nothing; their task was the only one yet to receive a failmark. Staff are learning to look out for the early warning signs of problems, mostsimply by keeping in touch with students, both formally and informally.

Student Reaction

It is difficult to evaluate the success of the project, since there is no control group,and because the first group to undertake the Project graduated as recently as 1990.Ultimately, the success (or otherwise) may best be seen in the graduates' employ-ment records, as measured against other geography graduates. Student reaction isvery positive in most cases; they seem to respond to the challenges which theProject sets. However, the students are to some extent a self-selecting group, asapplicants are made fully aware of the unconventional nature of the course longbefore they register in the department, both through the prospectus, and at opendays. In order to obtain some rather firmer evidence, all students completed adetailed questionnaire at the end of each year of the first Project, asking whetherthe Project had met its objectives, and asking them to rate various aspects of theirlearning and achievement. We also asked them to suggest changes which mightimprove the Project. At the end of the first Project, over 80% of students felt that alltheir skills (except statistics) were developed or well developed (Table I).

It is clear that this type of work improves a student's organisation, motivation,planning and ability to communicate, all of which feed back into the rest of thecourse. The experience of working in groups is clearly important and of particular

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TABLE I. Self-assessment by students of their skills after the first Project (March 1989).Students rated their skill on a 5-point Likert-type scale: from skills rated as not verywell developed (1) to skills very well developed (5)

Rating

Techniques andproblem-solvingskills

Organisationalskills

Group behaviour

Communicationskills

StatisticsComputingCartographyAnalysing problemsProblem solvingProfessional approachManaging othersResponding to leadership/

accepting criticismWorking to deadlinesSetting demanding goalsExperience of group workSolving group problemsContributing to groupWriting reportsTalking publiclyConducting meetingsWord-processingDealing with outsiders

1/2

12535112

13122001303

3

91013111869

102

116

1448856

11

4/5

71312129

2117

172316*20*112220192021*14

Class size=28.incomplete answers.

value to employers. The lengthy process of drawing up job specifications, applyingfor jobs, interviewing and being interviewed was especially highly valued bystudents. The professional elements in no way detract from the geographicalelements; indeed, the scheme is designed to progress in such a way that the latterare enhanced by the former. The main problem which students highlighted was theteaching of statistics (plus ca change!), and almost half were worried about peer andself-assessment (i.e. preferring staff to do all the assessment). Some also questionedthe length and structure of the Project (i.e. whether there should be only two tasks),the balance between the Project and other parts of the course, and the weight givento the Project at the end of year two (and thus to the final degree classification).

There have been a number of conflicts both between and within groups. Theformer are relatively easy to deal with, but the latter usually result from personalityclashes, perhaps because of two or three strong personalities in a group or, moreoften, because of one or two non-contributors. There can be no rules about how todeal with such varied problems but they are usually resolved by peer pressureand/or consultation with staff. However, there are more drastic means available ifall else fails. The Project Student Manual contains this warning:

If you fail the first year individual Project work, you will be requiredeither to repeat the year or to withdraw from the course.

We prefer to use the 'carrot', but in the last resort this 'stick' usually seems to work!

Conclusion

The introduction of large-scale project teaching at the core of the geography degreecourse at Salford in 1987 has been a considerable success, whether judged by

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student and staff reaction, or by that of the University, whose Teaching andLearning and Enterprise Committees both regard it as an important flagship fortheir activities in other departments. By a mixture of good luck and good manage-ment, the scheme worked remarkably well from the start and the few minorproblems which have occurred have been rectified as the Project has been amendedeach year. An indication of the success of the Project may be reflected in thedissertation marks of the first cohort through the Project, marks which weremarkedly better than those of the two previous cohorts (who had not done theProject). Staff reaction has been almost entirely positive, and all members of staffhave now taken at least one turn as a Project Leader.

Extending the scope of the Project to encompass professional transferable skills(whether as Capability or Enterprise schemes) now seems a perfectly naturalprogression, adding to the intellectual skills which must always be at the centre ofhigher education in geography. Project work certainly helps to make students betterat defining and solving problems and the applied aspects of the work are empha-sised throughout the course [2]. But above all, the Project provides practice runs forthe dissertation, which can be regarded as a final task, completed on an individualbasis.

The unusual step of incorporating a substantial measure of student control overwhat they do, how they do it, and how it is assessed is much appreciated by thestudents themselves and gives a high degree of motivation. This is aided by dealingwith real problems in the local area. To a large extent the emphasis is shifted fromteaching to learning whilst the structure of this particular Project allows small groupwork to flourish, despite a massive increase in student numbers.

Correspondence: Paul Hindle, Department of Geography, University of Salford,Salford, M5 4WT, United Kingdom.

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to Colin Harrison, Jim Petch and John Rae (all of SalfordUniversity) for their comments on a first draft of this paper, and especially to Colinin whose co-authored paper (see below) the present paper has it origins. Jimoriginally persuaded the department to respond to the Capability initiative, andwas joint leader (with the author) in the first Project. John is Director of theUniversity's Enterprise Unit. Above all, thanks are due to the four cohorts ofstudents who have so far completed the Project, and to those currently undertakingit; their formal evaluations and numerous helpful comments have contributed in nosmall way to the continuing improvement of the course.

NOTES

[1] Copies of the task group reports are sent to relevant authorities. Over the years, reaction hasvaried from indifference to great interest and enthusiasm. A survey done of shoppers at a newbranch of Sainsbury's was gratefully received by the manager, not least because Sainsbury'sown research department had not done such a survey. The manager is now a member of ourdepartmental Enterprise Team.

[2] As an example of how students are expected to apply their Project skills (even in unlikely

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settings), here is an extract from the instruction for a Research Seminar in the third year course'Problems, Sources and Interpretations in Historical Geography':

You choose your own topic for individual work, from any period of British history. Thework must include the acquisition, use and analysis of different sources towards the solution ofa specific geographical problem. As always, selecting and defining the problem clearly is the keyto success. Given the time available, it is not necessary to reach a final solution to the problemchosen. The objective is to give you hands-on experience of working with historical datasources, as well as seeing a wide variety of sources and topics approached by all the othermembers of the class. The seminar should detail the problems encountered, as well as dealingwith the topic itself.

You should present a seminar of about 30 mintues on the work undertaken, leaving about 20minutes for discussion. The results must also be presented as a seminar paper, which should beat least 2000 words long, and fully illustrated (if appropriate). It must be handed in within 24hours of the seminar.

The seminar and paper carry 28 per cent of the marks for the course.

REFERENCES

ADDERLEY, K., ASHWIN, C, BRADBURY, P., FREEMAN, J., GOODLAD, S., GREENE, J., JENKINS, D.,RAE, J. & UREN, O. (1975) Project Methods in Higher Education (London, Society for Researchinto Higher Education).

BEAUMONT, J.R. & WILLIAMS, S.W. (1983) Project Work in the Geography Curriculum: an advancedlevel primer (London, Croom Helm). (Aimed at A level teachers, but has a useful introductionand ideas).

BROWN, G. & ATKINS, M. (1988) Effective Teaching in Higher Education (London, Methuen).CLARK, G. (Ed.) (1991) Geography and Enterprise in Higher Education (Lancaster, University of

Lancaster and Institute of British Geographers Higher Education Study Group).GOLD, J.R., JENKINS, A., LEE, R., MONK, J.R., SHEPHERD, I.D.H. & UNWIN, D.J. (1991) Teaching

Geography in Higher Education: a manual of good practice (Oxford, Institute of British Geogra-phers and Blackwell). (An excellent summary of the relevant material; principally pp. 36-39 and49-58.)

HARRISON, C. & HINDLE, B.P. (1991) Integrating enterprise into the geography curriculum: theSalford Experience since 1987, in: G. CLARK (Ed.) Geography and Enterprise in Higher Educa-tion, pp. 33-38 (Lancaster, Lancaster University and the Institute of British Geographers HigherEducation Study Group).

HEALEY, M. (1992) Curriculum development and 'Enterprise': group work, resource-based teachingand the incorporation of transferable skills into a first year practical course, Journal of Geographyin Higher Education, 16(1), pp. 7-20.

KOLB, D.A. (1976) Learning Style Inventory: technical manual (Boston, McBer).MORPHET, C. (1991) Enterprise and academic objectives in geography, in: G. CLARK (Ed.)

Geography and Enterprise in Higher Education, pp. 19-25 (Lancaster, Lancaster University andthe Institute of British Geographers Higher Education Study Group).

SILK, J. & BOWLBY, S. (1981) The use of project work in undergraduate geography teaching, Journalof Geography in Higher Education, 5(2), pp. 155-162.

EDITOR'S NOTE

The degree course 'Project' of the Department of Geography in the University ofSalford which forms the subject of this article won the first ever BP ExplorationPrize for Geography in the Royal Society of Arts Partnership Awards 1992.

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