Field trips can help students visualize themselves as workers in the career for which they are preparing. This can help them refine goals and help keep them motivated.
Speakers who are actually working in a field can make the material students are learning more believable. It helps develop credibility in relation to course content.
Hi Tim:
You make a great point, especially if the trip is designed for students who will be working in that field.
In general, these activities offer a fresh perspective for the student, and maybe gives them the chance to ask questions to a different authority on the topic.
Regards, Barry
Hi Patrick:
Right! These types of activities can serve to renew the student's interest in the topic while offering another perspective on it as well.
Regards, Barry
Hi Gordon:
That's right! By using these activities, it can give the student a renewed sense of enthusiasm for the topic matter, or allow them the chance to speak to someone else about the topic for a fresh perspective.
Regards, Barry
I taught pharmacology twice and the second time around I decided to enlist a guest speaker who was a pharmacist at a local pharmacy. Eventhough my students were Medical Assisting students, they were so enthusiastic about our guest. I was amazed how engaged they were and the questions/dialogue between them and the pharmacist truly enriched their pharmacology experience. Presently I am teaching phlebotomy and am looking to line up a technician from our local community blood bank as a guest speaker. I was pleasantly surprised how course content can "come alive" when guest speakers are incorporated into the curriculum!
Hi Robin:
That's right - they can serve to remotivate the student about the topci you've been discussing.
Regards, Barry
Hi Simon:
To echo what you're saying here, it can renew the student's interest in the topic you've been covering, which may be just what is needed to help them accomplish their goals.
Regards, Barry
Hi Michael:
That's the main idea - by using these types of activities, the student can have the opportunity to talk to others about the topic you've been presenting.
Regards, Barry
Hi Michelle:
These kinds of activities can bring fresh perspective and renew a students enthusiasm in a subject.
Regards, Barry
Hi Joseph:
Field trips and guest speakers are both great ways to reinforce things you've discussed in the class.
This is especially valuable for classes that may be teaching skills that will be needed on the job.
Regards, Barry
Field Trips:
The student can see an application of the classroom lecture and in doing so they will combine several senses and retain the knowledge. For example, when I was young I took a field trip to bread bakery. I saw the bread being mixed, poured into pans, moved by a conveyor belt into a large oven, and the smell of baking bread was out of this world.
This type of field trip combined all of the senses and as I write this note I can smell the bread baking. I may have a problem coming up with a field trip for math class however the trip to the bakery will be with me forever.
Quest Speakers:
I plan to ask a graduate to visit my math class and talk about their experience in the work place. I will interview the graduate first to gain an understanding of their work experience and how much their career college work prepared them for the "real life" experience. I expect to interview several graduates before I find the right one to speak to math students. Ultimately, the graduate will be able to encourage beginning students to keep moving forward and never give up.
Barry, I'm a court reporter by day and a court reporting instructor at night. I find it very informative and inspirational for students to be able to actually sit in with me during the day so they get a real feel of what they have to look forward to in their chosen field. The more the students are able to familiarize themselves with a court of law, the less anxiety they have when they actually have to work there.
i love guest speakers and field trips for my students!! in cosmetology, this is an amazing resource because it allows the students to decide what type of salon environment they would like to enter, and with guest speakers, theres a ton of fantastic knowledge out there, that even i as an educator can benefit from! this way everyone wins!!
In the legal studies program, field trips and guest speakers really help the course content come alive. For example, in legal research I always plan a trip to the law library, so students can get the feel for many of the resources that are available to them as students and as ultimately as practitioners. In addition, I try to plan a law forum or symposium where students have an opportunity to interact with several legal professionals who answer specific questions accordingly. Ultimately, these are activities that keep students interested and excited about the profession, while supporting the substance of their studies.
Having guest speakers, especially grads, allows the student to hear about what is currently going in the real world, the world they are about to enter. I have had students voice that having grads come back and talk about all the neat things they are doing in the field makes graduation and working as a medical assistant more realistically attainable.
Guest spreakers are excellent resources because they bring real life experiences into the classroom in addition field trips are equally important because students will have the opportunity to see what their job will entail. Very valuable experiences!!!
When students take field trips they will get to see things first hand that they may be studying in class. This helps to pull the whole concept together or reinforce the learning. Field trips usually enhance the learning by giving the students hands-on esperiences that pertain to what they are learning in school. Guest speakers in class definitely enhance the learning. Students want to see someone that has achieved what they are trying to achieve, especially if the speaker is a graduated student. If the speaker is another expert in a portion of class that is presented that is great also.
I agree also. Our culinary classes occasionally take field trips to tour kitchens in other restaurants and sometimes dine afterwards. They see that working kitchens are not like the ones in our culinary school. They definitely appreciate the break, but also love talking to the chefs and learning more about the industry.
Field trips give them the opportunity to see the types of businesses they will be able to work in once they have completed their education.
Guest speakers can provide information and answer questions about their field. Both are a great way to maintain student interest.
Hi Hoang:
You're right - by giving the students a fresh perspective, we possibly increase the level of motivation they feel about the topic and maybe even renew their interest a bit.
Regards, Barry
