Nichole ,
Field trips are exciting! Often, the level ofd enthusiasm, interest, and renewed attention to the students focus in class can be enhanced through engaging field trip experiences. Also, the break in the routine of classroom lecture or discussion can be a refreshing change..
Barry Westling
I have found that making field trips and guest speakers part of instruction really gets the students excited about their chosen career field. With field trips they get an opportunity to see all of the things we have instructed them on in action. They get an opportunity to see theories in actual application. With guest speakers, they are given the opportunity to hear unbiased first hand accounts of what it is like to work in the given field. They are also given the opportunity to have any questions they may have answered.
Kelly,
Yes, introduced to the field, and perhaps expand into areas that are not referenced much in the classroom due to time or appropriateness. Students love field trips.
Barry Westling
This is a GREAT way to introduce the field you are teaching. It gets the students movited and excited about the career they have chosen
Dorian,
Field trips and guest speakers add a dimension not available by most other resources, and students are usually quite appreciative of the change in pace these activities provide.
Barry Westling
This gives them an opportunity to observe different professions in their fields of choice.
Myrna,
This is a good point. Of course we want to provide a safe setting for field trips, and our guest speakers need to be appraised of any special campus requirements (name badge, dress and grooming, use of personal property). Some programs do require more of their instructors and institutions for non-classroom activities. Of course, once all of the liability and legal concerns are addressed, I have found the field trip to be one of the most memorable and enjoyable activities students state enhanced their learning and instructional time at school. I say it over and over again, these activities can be among the most inspirational and motivational activities students experience.
Barry Westling
As the course described, field trips, if chosen wisely, help students better understand aspects of their chosen career. We have used field trips to a human anatomy lab at a local university to enhance learning content by providing hands on experience with cadavers. We have also used a field trip to experience exercise and activity provided for pediatric clients to suplement learning in a course. Both of these experiences were trememdously appreciated and applauded by our students. However, using field trips is more than simply scheduling a visit. Our programatic accrediting body requires a process to be in place to ensure the safety of students while at the location. Simply signing a school liability waiver may not be considered enough for all accrediting bodies. I am required to be sure safety policies and procedures are in place and acceptable to both the accrediting body and the administration of the school prior to going on a field trip. However, in spite of these "hoops" the field trips and "expert" guest speakers have proven to be extremely valuable for student learning.
Renita,
Good point, one that both illuminates the benefits of field trips and underscores the importance of conveying confidence and competence in the instructional process. Unfortunately, students often are unable to see the whole picture of the instructional curriculum, leading to a less than positive attitude at times.
Barry Westling
Brenda,
This sounds very interesting and creative. Day in-day out classroom routines can always benefit by new and different variety of learning activities that help keep instruction consistently enjoyable.
Barry Westling
It serves many puposes besides the obvious picture of their chosen career at work. It helps to bring home what we go over in class and validates their lessons. Many students see us as just instructors and sometimes doubt the necessity of each topic and detail that is presented. This out of normal class exposure lets them know they are not wasting time and effort in meaningless work, but are gaining knowledge that equips them for a successful career. I have had students come back later and apologize for being a pain and fighting me on what they needed to learn.
Field trips get the students up and moving and into a new environment. I recently took the class to the park to study the subject of cardiology. Throwing in a few cardio exercises during lecture helped keep them motivated and listening. It was a great way to break up the monotony of class room lecture and everyone had a good time.
Jason,
All your reasons and rationale are good and serve to elaborate on the extrodianry benifits of the field trip experience. I feel strongly instructors should try to incorporate as many as possible, and frequently. Some o9f the experiences can be literally life changing and lifetime memorable.
Barry Westling
I think there are 3 real benefits to field trips: 1) location change. Students tend to get into a groove in the classroom. They precondition the responses to what they think is going on. By changing locations students can break out of these self imposed boxes. 2) Experience based learning. Its all well and good to learn from a text but some things need to be felt. Having a chance to be on site, to interact with those who do things, can be a big help. 3) New voices. Sometimes it helps to hear it from “not the teacherâ€. When students only have one source for information they can ignore parts because they can internally invalidate that source, but on its hard to tell someone that has been doing something for money for years they are wrong.
Amy,
A good field trip can open eyes, minds, and be very inspirational, even enough to get some students to begin to work harder!
Barry Westling
My students enjoy field trips because they learn so many things about products and also how salons work.
Elizabeth,
I believe whenever we can integrate real world experiences into our daily lessons and/or activities, we better prepare our students for the work setting where they will ultimately be employed. Both the field trip and guest speaker are exceptional opportunities to expand the educational setting apart from classroom and clinical environment.
Barry Westling
We have guest speaker come to our class to share their experiences in the field of dental hygiene and our students really enjoy hearing these real life issues. We also have the students go to specialty offices to actually experience the setting and the work ethics of the staff and how they fit in this dynamic. Our student enjoys these aspects of their course.
Michael,
Right, that's been my experience as well. Sometimes students have only a vague idea about the profession they're entering and the field trip can assist by providing answers that really open the eyes and minds of students. It can be a truly rewarding and inspiring activity.
Barry Westling
Students that I've taken on field trips to actual places that are in their career fields seem to be more excited and motivated at school afterward.
