Learning in the field has traditionally been one of the fundamental components of the geoscience curriculum. In light of the historical value that has been ascribed to field instruction, there is a surprising paucity of scholarly studies that provide the direct evidence to support these claims. The preponderance of literature is descriptive and anecdotal, but in aggregate, these reports reveal a communal experience, which we recognize as “practitioners' wisdom,” that places a high value on field instruction in the training of geoscientists. We initially review the attributes of learning in the field environment, instructional goals for field instruction, the place...