Hello, my name is Chloe and I'm a geography field studies tutor.

This lesson is called "Fieldwork: Planning and Collecting Microclimate Data." And it forms part of a unit of work called "Weather and Climate: How do they vary?" We're going to be looking at fieldwork in this lesson.

That means you're going to be going outside and actually collecting some data around your school site.

It's gonna be based on microclimates.

In other words, the small changes in weather that you might notice as you move around a small area like your school.

We're going to be planning the fieldwork, but most importantly, by the end of the lesson, you will have some data that you will be be able to use to think about microclimates more deeply.

Let's get started.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to collect microclimate data on your school site.

There's some key words for us to review, first of all.

Let's look at the word microclimate to begin with.

This is the climate of a small area which is likely to be influenced by local factors.

Aspect is the position of a feature in relation to the sun.

Prevailing wind is the most common direction that the wind blows from.

And land use is the purpose or function of different areas of land.

There are two parts to this lesson.

First of all, we're gonna be thinking about how we might plan our piece of fieldwork and then how we might actually go about collecting microclimate data.

But let's start with that idea of planning our enquiry.

So geographers often use enquiries when they carry out fieldwork.

A geographical fieldwork enquiry allows us to think about what needs to be investigated.

We formulate an enquiry question to begin with.

That's often the title of our enquiry.

We follow a set structure and we make predictions about the outcome of the enquiry known as hypotheses.

A geographical fieldwork enquiry follows a set structure.

As I said, we start with the enquiry question.

This is a question about the place that you are interested in.

We then collect some data.

We measure and record data that helps us answer our enquiry question.

We can then present the data.

We might do that using maps, charts, and graphs.

Then comes the data analysis stage.

We look for patterns in the data and we think about what that data is actually telling us.

Following the analysis, we can then conclude.

We try to answer our enquiry question based on the data that we've collected.

And finally, we have the evaluation stage.

This is where we think about how we carried out our enquiry.

And we also think about what we would change or improve if we were to do the enquiry again to try to make our conclusions more accurate.

So let's have our first check for understanding now.

In what stage of a fieldwork enquiry would a geographer look for patterns in the data? Is it A, data presentation, B, data analysis, C, conclusion, or D, evaluation? Pause the video here so you can have a think about those different stages that were in that cycle a moment ago and work out which is the correct answer.

Well, well done if you've got the answer as B.

Yes, it's data analysis.

That's where we look for patterns and relationships in our data, and all of that is gonna help us answer our enquiry question.

So let's start with that first stage in our cycle.

We'll actually be thinking about the question itself: what are we trying to find out? In this fieldwork enquiry, the title question is this: what factors influence the microclimate around our school site? Here you've got an idea of what a school site might look like.

This is the one we're going to be using throughout this fieldwork enquiry, but of course you are gonna be basing your enquiry on your own school site.

There's certain data we're going to need to answer this question.

Things like land use, aspect, air temperature, and wind speed.

These are all things that we're going to have to measure in order to answer that enquiry question.

The school site in this example has different land uses to consider.

Now these things might make the air warmer or cooler.

Things like an open field, think about that, would that make the air warmer or cooler? This thick hedgerows, how would that affect things? Open paving and of course the concrete and brick buildings themselves.

And things like an artificial pitch, you might have one of those in your school site, how might that affect the air temperature? So the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

And according to the orientation of our school site, you can see that the sunrise is going to happen on that side of the building and the sunset on this side of the building.

And the sun will move over the school site in an arc.

This is important as it will affect which areas of the school receive sunlight and therefore warmth during the school hours.

As Aisha says here, "The orientation of the school means that some areas of the school site will always be in shadow during the school day." So let's look at our sun going over.

We can see that there's some areas which will always be relatively shaded or in complete shadow.

She goes on to say, "While other areas will always be in sunlight." So some areas have no shade because of the position of certain features in the school site.

Maybe you can think about your own school site and think that there's always somewhere which is always in shadow and somewhere else which is always in sunlight.

The strength of the prevailing wind at ground level is also affected by the orientation of buildings and things like hedgerows.

This school site in our example receives the prevailing wind from the southwest.

You can see it in the arrows that are pointing onto the map there.

As Andeep says, "The orientation of the school means that some open areas of the site will always receive high winds." Let's have a look.

Yes, there's gonna be areas like the school field which have no protection.

So as the wind comes in from the southwest, there's going to be very high levels of wind.

Andeep goes on to say, "While areas behind the taller buildings may be more protected." So somewhere like here in between the school buildings where there's gonna be protection from the wind, the wind speed is going to be much, much lower.

Again, you're probably thinking about your own school site.

Are there some areas where there's gonna be very high winds because there's no protection, and are there other areas where there's almost no wind because the tall buildings actually protect you? A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested.

Geographers use hypotheses to help them answer their enquiry question and focus their ideas.

Here we've got Jun and Izzy.

They've made some hypotheses and then they've justified their choices.

They've justified why they think those hypotheses are true.

Let's start with Jun and see what he says.

He says, "I believe the driveway will have the highest temperatures.

I have learned that paving can radiate the heat from the sun and increase the air temperatures." And Jun is absolutely right on that.

So certain materials can actually retain heat and then it's like they radiate it back out into the air temperatures.

So things like concrete and brick, right? And also of course glass will radiate that heat.

Let's have a look at what Izzy says.

She says, "I believe the place with the highest wind speed will also have the lowest temperatures.

The wind always makes me feel cold so the two must go together." She's got some kind of reasoning there, but we're gonna explore Izzy's ideas a bit more in a moment.

We're gonna read Izzy's hypothesis again in our check for understanding and have a think here why is it actually not a suitable hypothesis.

So she's talking about wind speed and she says, "The highest wind speed will also have the lowest temperatures.

The wind always makes me feel cold so the two must go together." So why is that not a suitable statement? Let's have a look at some options.

Is it because it's based on an opinion? Is it because in this enquiry, it's going to measure air temperature but not body temperature that Izzy is talking about in her statement? Or is it not suitable because Izzy does not mention a specific location? Pause the video here and actually have another read of what Izzy says and then think which of those three options explains why her hypothesis is perhaps not a suitable one for this particular enquiry.

Now this is not an easy thing to get your head around, but the actual answer is B.

What Izzy is talking about there is her own body temperature, and of course that's not one of the factors that is going to be measured in this particular enquiry.

We're going to be looking at land use, aspect, wind speed, and then air temperature, not body temperature.

So that's a slightly different thing.

So Izzy is saying about how it makes her feel cold, yeah, that might be true and it's certainly true that her opinion is a valid one, but in this particular enquiry, it's not gonna be measurable.

So it is not a suitable hypothesis for her to use.

Our first practise task of this lesson.

Examine a plan of your school site.

Choose an area where you hypothesise that the wind speed will be the highest, and then secondly, where the temperature will be the highest.

This might be because you've actually walked around the site and you've got a little bit of an idea of where you think those two things might be.

And that's absolutely fine to base your hypotheses on ideas that you already have.

Then I'd like you to justify your hypotheses.

Say why you think the wind speed and temperature will be highest in those places.

And you might here want to be thinking about relating it to land use and relating it to aspect: the direction, the buildings, or hedgerows, or fence lines, things like that.

The direction they're facing in in relation to things like the prevailing wind and the sun going over the site.

Pause the video here 'cause this is gonna take a little bit of thought.

You might wanna have a discussion with some people around you as well to see what their thoughts are about where the areas of the school site are that have the highest wind speeds and air temperatures.

Let's look at some ideas now.

So Alex is looking at a plan of his school site.

So first of all, we've asked him to think about where wind speed will be the highest and to write a hypothesis based on that.

He says, "I think this area," and he's pointing to a little bit of the school field there.

He thinks that area will have the highest wind speed.

The second part of the task was to justify your hypothesis.

So Alex goes on to say, "This is because it is highly exposed and there's nothing to slow down the wind that comes from the southwest." So he's related it to the prevailing wind direction and to the land use that is around that particular site.

Then the task is about hypothesising which area of the school site will have the highest air temperature.

Here Alex says that he thinks that this area, the area which is the driveway right next to the school opening, he thinks this area will have the highest temperature.

The second part of the task, again, justifying why he thinks that.

And he says this is because it is not shaded by anything and there is a lot of concrete and paving to store and reflect the heat.

It's a really good piece of justification there because he mentions some ideas which are really central to what he's learning about in terms of microclimates.

So we're now moving on to the second part of today's lesson, and that's all about actually collecting the data itself.

So we're moving on now to the second stage in our enquiry cycle: data collection.

To measure air temperature, we are going to use a digital thermometer.

It is held so that the probe does not touch anything.

You can see that in the first photo there on the left hand side of the screen.

It's really important that the air can circulate around that probe.

What you then do is read the temperature off the screen.

And different digital thermometers will work in slightly different ways.

You might need to press a button in order to get the reading to be seen on the screen, and then it will be held there so that you can actually read it.

The temperatures will be measured in degrees celsius, and good digital thermometers will be able to give you to one decimal point.

To measure wind speed, we're going to be using something called an anemometer.

It's held high enough above the head of the user so that they themselves do not hinder the reading.

The idea is the wind can move freely around the fan, which is held in the top of the anemometer.

You can see it in the zoomed in image right there.

The wind speed is then read off the screen.

And again, you will notice that it's to one decimal place.

It'll be measured in metres per second, but again, your anemometer might allow different units to be used, so try to use one that is consistent with everybody else in your class.

Sam and Sofia decide to do something called a pilot study.

A pilot study is a test of the data collection methods.

It helps geographers to refine their data collection techniques before any data is collected.

If you like, they're going out and they're gonna do a test run using the equipment.

Sam says, "When we tested the wind speed, we found that the values kept changing, and we didn't know which one to choose." You can completely imagine this, can't you? You're standing out there and the wind might be very strong at one point, but then it might die down very quickly as well.

So how do you decide what the wind speed actually is? As Sofia says, "So as a result of our pilot study, we decided to record three readings to allow us to then find an average." A really sensible approach here given that the wind speed is going to be constantly changing.

Take more readings and then you can find an average.

Now a check for our understanding.

Complete the sentences with the missing words.

Please do pause the video here so you can have a look through the paragraph and see if you can find which words will fit into those gaps.

Let's take a look at your answers now.

A pilot study is a test of the data collection methods.

It helps geographers to refine their data collection techniques before any data is collected.

Hope you got those right.

A data collection sheet can be used to record the data in the field.

Here's one that we are going to be using to record the data around our school site.

First of all, in the first column, we've got the site name or number.

This tells the geographer we're on the map the data is being collected.

Then we need to record the land use.

This could be described and it should be maybe noted along with the materials that are used in that area or kind of what the area is like in general.

So here you can see that the school driveway, they've noted that it's a road, so there's paving, and there are buildings next to it and they're made of brick.

In the next column, we're recording aspect, and here you're describing how sunny or shady the site is.

So you're just using very simple terms like very sunny, very shady, complete darkness, whatever it is that you can just write those in words in that column.

Then you'll remember from the pilot study, we decided that we're going to be doing three wind speed readings.

So there's space here to write down each of the three readings and then to work out the average.

You might want to work out the average once you come back into the classroom.

That's fine as well.

The readings from the anemometer are recorded directly into the table.

And our final column shows the air temperature measured in degrees centigrade.

So when you are reading from the digital thermometer, you can write the number straight into the table there.

Lucas is trying to work out where to do his microclimate surveys.

He knows he wants the surveys to cover the variety of land uses found around the school site.

And looking at the school site that we've got here, he decides to do one survey in each of four different areas, and then he justifies his choice of locations.

So he's chosen this area, site 1.

He says it's a really open bit of the school field and it's the most natural land use in the school grounds.

Site 2, he's chosen this one.

It's lying close to a hedgerow.

It's quite thick.

It contains the tallest trees in the school ground.

So already you can see quite different from site 1.

Site 3 is on the artificial pitch.

And it's a completely unnatural environment and it's quite an exposed part of the school grounds.

So it's exposed like site 1, but it's very different in terms of its land use.

And then finally, site 4, he's chosen the school driveway.

It's a paved road that is close to brickwork of the main school building.

So four very different sites there that Lucas has chosen around his school building.

So checking our understanding now.

Lucas has chosen his data collection sites randomly.

Is that true or false? Have a think about what we just saw Lucas is saying.

Do pause the video and then come back to me with the right answer.

Yes, hopefully you recognise that that statement is false, but why is that a false statement? Yeah, hopefully you recognise that Lucas has chosen his data collection sites purposefully.

They're not at random at all.

And he chose them purposefully so they represent four different land uses found in the school grounds.

He very purposefully chose four different areas so that he had four different land uses to think about.

Now it's over to you for our practise task.

Look at your own map of your school site.

Choose four data collection sites that represent four different land uses in the school grounds.

And actually label the survey sites on your map so you know where you're gonna be collecting your data.

Then your second task, carry out a microclimate survey at each survey location using a copy of the data collection sheet.

Make a note of any things you would change about the way you collect your data if you were to do it again.

So go out and do the survey, but while you're doing it, think: is this the best way of doing things? Could we have done things differently? Make a note of those things, those ideas that you have, and then when you come back into the classroom, maybe discuss then with somebody else.

Do pause the video here, this is gonna take a little while for you to do, and then come back to me and we'll discuss the kind of things that you could have recorded.

Right, let's take a look at the kind of things you could have put down.

Task 1 asked you to choose four data collection sites that represented four different land uses.

I would like you to have labelled those on your survey maps.

So they might look something a little bit like this where there's four very distinctive dots with numbers or with descriptions on your map so you can see where you're going to be collecting your data.

Task 2 is to carry out a microclimate survey at each of those locations using a copy of that data collection sheet.

Most importantly though, I wanted you to make a note of any things that you would change about the way that you would collect your data.

So here's some things that you might have thought about.

This person says, "When we got to site number 3, it was really cloudy.

We couldn't be fully sure if the area was shaded or sunny normally.

If we were to do the data collection again, we would do it on a sunny day with no cloud.

Yeah, that's a really good point.

So we're asking you to think about whether a place is sunny or it's shaded, but of course if there's cloud cover, would we actually know if it's sunny or not? It might be a bit more confusing.

Maybe it's better to do your survey on a day where you know there's gonna be full sunlight.

We need to read our map carefully to make sure we're in the right location to do each survey.

That's a really good point as well.

Constantly checking the map to check that you are in the right place because the land use which is ascribed to each of those locations is really important.

So it's really important we're actually doing the surveys in the right places.

Here's another reflection that somebody had.

"We would work as a team when using the anemometer.

The person who is holding it above their head may find it difficult to read so a partner could read it for them." Great point there.

Yes, of course, if you're holding the anemometer right above your head, it's actually quite difficult to read the numbers from it, so you might need someone else to help you do that.

Let's now summarise what we've learned today.

A geographical fieldwork enquiry follows a set structure, beginning with an enquiry question, followed by a stage where data is collected.

A microclimate survey helps geographers to understand how land use and aspect might affect wind speed and temperature.

Geographers need to choose their survey locations based on their prior knowledge of the site and do a pilot study to refine their techniques before they collect data.

Well done.

I hope you managed to collect some really great microclimate data around your school site.

Of course, that's not the end of the enquiry.

Next, we need to follow on to do some data presentation and think about what all of this data tells us.

But for now, congratulate yourselves because you started the fieldwork journey into looking at how micro climates change and vary around your school site.