Cynthia,
It's said a "picture is worth a thousand words", particularly true with field trips. Students get motivated and usually a little more enthusiastic about their studies following an interesting field trip.
Barry Westling
Field trips are beneficial for radiography students to see new and emerging medical imaging technologies. It opens their eyes to possible future career paths.
Doreen,
Yes, a good field trip opens the eyes to students about their profession.
Barry Westling
they get to see what and how there new career will be
Sona,
I've never had a field trip where students appeared uninterested. Besides doing something different from the routine, getting information from another source about something for which they are training is always beneficial and worthwhile.
Barry Westling
field trip is really beneficial for student learning, it gives students another perspective- a real world experience.
Douglas,
Right you are. I have sometimes asked "make sure you mention XYZ" or "this is what we've been covering", or it would great if could touch these topics". It's nice when a speaker will help reinforce a topic the instructor has been covering
Barry Westling
Dayton,
You're fortunate and creative to have access to and utilize the variety of field trip experiences. My students always appreciate the time and effort that goes into planning these wonderful experiences.
Barry Westling
Israel,
Great. I also ask students to prepare questions to ask beforehand, and then ask to write a summary of their experience afterwards. I want them to experience all they can, but I also want them to appreciate it is not a passive activity, but one that they have to work at.
Barry Westling
Guest speakers bring real world experience (more than just the intstructor's) to the classroom. However, you need to prepare the guest speaker to insure he/she discusses what you want them to, and you need to give them a profile (at a minimum) of the class so they can better prepare.
As a criminal justice professor, I have used field trips and guest speakers throughout my career. While I had a long career (20 years)in probation,I like to bring in others from other areas of criminal justice to share their experiences. I also like to bring in others from the field of probation to give a different viewpoint of how it is supposed to work.
Field trips give the student the opportunity to see how the various agencies actually work, not just a textbook version of them. A ride-along with a police department will either solidify a student's desire to enter the field or let them know that it is NOT the field for them.
I teach medical assistant and regularly we take the students on field trips mainly for Health Fairs and the experience is terrific. Not only give them the opportunity to practice what they have learned at school, it give us the opportunity to "fine tune" any deficiency we haven notice during lab classes. At the end we ask the students to write an essay about their experience and it worth to read those works.
Edric,
I have found students are more than willing to ask all kinds of questions when we schedule a guest speaker. It's interesting that they are willing ask relative strangers more questions than they ask me. Perhaps the anonymity of the guest is part of the reason.
Barry Westling
Getting out of the class and applying real world knowledge and onsite visits with respect to the student's area of study is important to get a clear view of the career they are entering into. Guest speakers are the best source of validation for the area of study the student is engaged in.
Sheena,
Right! And sometimes students get so motivated they actually want to learn as much as they can and do well in class. Few activities produce that kind of motivation.
Barry Westling
I find that students really enjoy field trips. They are able to see how their area of study looks in the real world and in turn how they will fit into their field. It really impresses them to see that soon that will be them serving the public and conducting themselves in a professional manner.
Denise,
Yeah, I believe students usually are very interested when they see the actual work setting they're preparing for. Sometimes, even marginal students can get motivated enough to buckle down and work on improving their studies.
Barry Westling
To show my students the inner workings of an actual pharmacy reinforces what I teach in class.
I can talk to my students about the importance of medication safety and how stressful a pharmacy could be. But it "bring the message home", so to speak, when we see pharmacists and technicians in action, filling actual prescriptions, calling doctor's offices, preparing IVs, and so forth.
It's also a great way for students to observe their actual career field and perhaps appreciate how interesting pharmacy is :-)
I totally agree with you, Nancy. Making the students move from one environment to another will be a good experience to them.
Coradi
Naomi,
Some students begin to visualize themselves in their potential work setting, and this can be a very "time to get serious" moment.
Barry Westling
