“You don’t have to push yourself until you break”: Exploring rest during undergraduate field experiences

Abstract

Field experiences are an important aspect of geoscience training; however, the novelty and complexity of the environment may overwhelm students. One way to mitigate these feelings is to provide time for rest. Yet, prior work indicates that <50% of field courses provide time for social interactions/recreation. This study presents a qualitative phenomenological case study of student experiences of rest during field education (n = 16). This work was informed by occupational balance theory, comprised of mental, physical, social, and rest components of a person’s life. Students completed a questionnaire indicating their general preferences for rest, and they participated in pre-post rest day interviews to uncover perceptions of the mental, physical, social, and rest components of their field experiences. Findings indicate that students expect at least one day of rest per week during field experiences, and they want to have a choice in what they do during that rest time. After the rest day, students had reduced feelings of anxiety, mentioned the physical challenges and long field days less, and made fewer references to competition and differing knowledge amongst the group. Most students felt physically and mentally recharged after the rest day, and some linked the rest day to more effective groupwork afterward. However, some of these benefits were affected when students encountered their first mapping exercise following the rest day. These findings suggest that rest should be intentionally provisioned within field experiences, with special attention to student agency and support.