Recent educational reports in the UK have suggested that the developments of key transferable skills, such as group working, are a necessary outcome of higher education. However with current logistical problems in higher education, such as increased student numbers, the effective use of group work in field work in particular, is currently a subject of much discussion. A group working exercise based around a one-day soil examination study, as part of a one week residential field week, was developed to evaluate the effectiveness of group work by assigning formalized, rotational, individual group roles. Student responses and instructor observations suggested that there was considerable merit in this approach in terms of development of academic and transferable skills, and in the generation of a positive, experiential learning environment. It is suggested that that this could serve as a precursor to a more formalized identification of group roles that would benefit both instructors and students alike in terms of successful field course delivery and meeting learning outcomes.
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