I have found field trips especially helpful when students have a general understanding of what they are seeing or expected to see that is relative to their field of study. Feedback on their experience and questions are asked referencing the trip afterwords as well as how it relates to their industry of study.
Guest speakers are real fun I think. They reiterate what we have taught the student, and apply it to their specialty. I feel they give encouragement also, for the students who want to continue further in their education.
Guest speakers are essential in a lecture class because it gives students a different perspective on the sampe topic. It is also a good reinforcement of teaching the same concepts from an additional source.
Students who are visual can benefit greatly from field trips and accually seeing what they are learning and students benefit from guest speakers
because they can hear about the benefits and career opportunities from someone already in the field. this will stimulate ideas for them when they get out in the field.
Hi Louis:
Your frequent field trips and guest speakers undoubtely add much to the quality of the instruction and retention of procedures and techniques the students would never get reading a textbook or even in the kitchen. Great!
Regards, Barry
Besides teaching at Le Cordon Bleu, I also teach an ROP (Regional Occupational Program) Culinary Arts Program for a high school district. I utilize field trips and guest speakers all the time!
For a field trip, I actually take the class to Le Cordon Bleu and show them what a real college specialiazing in culinary arts looks like.
For guest speakers, I get students who have been in the ROP culinary arts program before and are now attending Le Cordon Bleu. The students hear from the guest speaker what they need to accomplish to be successful in school and the guest speaker also explains that what they are learning in the ROP program is very beneficial to their success in culinary school.
Utilizing field trips and guest speakers in any curriculum help validate the instructors lessons and provide better insight in the culinary industry.
~Louis
Hi Vinita:
I think sometimes, some students really don't have a real grasp on the many dimensions there are for the vocation they've chosen. For these students, field trips and guest speakers are invaluable activities that can inform, motivate, even inspire students do perform better in class because of their improved understing of graduate expectations.
Regards, Barry
Hi Victoria:
I think students can relate to recent graduates in a way different from others, such as seasoned professionals. Even if the guest is less than a polished speaker, the information they possess is able to reach the current students. You're right, this resourse is much less trouble than arranging a field trip, although these can extrememly valuable as well.
Regards, Barry
Students get the feel of being in the industry through the guest speakers and field trips.
Guest speakers and field trips help reinforce the class content being taught.
I agree that having past students return to speak can be a very positive experience for the students, but I would consider that as having a guest speaker as opposed to going on a field trip. Having a guest speaker would be more cost efficient...just another option to make the learning experience a rewarding one.
Hi Victoria:
Other than time, field trips don't have to be expensive. One example is having one of your better graduates return and talk about their exciting new career. That can really effective and inspirational.
Regards, Barry
Hi Mary:
I agree. The unique nature of having a guest speaker can make for a truly interesting change of pace for students - different speaker, perspective, particular spin on a given topic, etc. I believe some students who may not have a full comprehension of the multiple dimensions many work environments deliver can have their eyes opened - even inspired to do better in class because of their "new found appreciation" of the profession they're studying for.
Regards, Barry
I agree that field trips take a lot of planning and can be expensive. However, I remember field trips from when I was in 1st Grade. They can certainly have a positive impact, allowing students to gain insight into their chosen field that they may not have previously known. An occasional day in the field is frequently worth more than a day in the classroom.
Field trips and guest speakers help students feel excited about their field of study. They also help students get a better picture of what a day in the life of a professional in this field is typically like.
Hi Greg:
Both activities are valuable in their own ways, and I encourage faculty to incorporate them into their classes where possible.
I agree students can be inspired by these activities. Sometimes, for the first time, students will recognize they will soon be expected to perform something similar to what they are hearing about or seeing. That epiphany can be profound and extremly motivational. I believe unless someone is motivated from within, it's difficult to force it on them. That's why, when the motivaion is internalized and sincere, these activities are valuable and beneficial to students.
Regards, Barry
Barry,
Field Trips are very useful as they allow the students to see the "end state" of their studies. My linking the course to the actual application, you validate the course material and can refer back to the field trip while teaching.
Guest Speakers serve two primary purposes. First, they allow SMEs from the field to present expert testimony on the course. This demonstrates to the students what is expected after they graduate. Guest speakers can also serve an inspriational role by remotivating the students. A humorous speaker that inspires students on the subject can have a profound effect on the course success.
Greg
Hi Kelly:
The nice thing about recent students (graduates) is that the current students can better relate to "one of their own", as they realize this will be me in a short while. Very motivating and effective learning strategy.
Regards, Barry
I love having guest speakers especially when they are students who have just finshed extern or recently have been hired. Students love to ask them questions about their experiences.
Hi Elizabeth:
Some resources may be right where you work. I am taliking about other teachers who instruct various medical vocations. If you invited one of these teachers to come and speak about their specialty, and asked them to "lay on the terminology related to their field", I am quite sure your students would begin to see that terminology plays a gigantic role in the medical profession, and it's vital they become familiar with as much terminolgy as possible.
As a field trip, you could do the same thing at a local clinic or hospital department where the purpose would be to tour, but the hidden agenda would be to be exposed to many new and some unfamiliar terms. You could ask your students to keep track of say, 5-10 unfamiliar terms they heard, then look them up and define them when they returned to class following the field trip.
Regards, Barry
I'm an instructor fr Medical Coding and billing and it would be great for us to have a field trip in different areas were we can apply our knowledge. I heard of many students stating, oh don't need to know this because I was told that is not used in the field (for example medical terminology). The students some time need to see for them self how the knowledge they acquired is going to be very useful in the field.
