Tena,
Yes, motivational and inspirational are good adjectives to describe guest speaker and field trip outcomes. I think sometimes, for some students, they have only a vague idea what their career or work setting involves, and both these learning activities provide greater insight into what these employment settings offer. And the ability to ask questions from "a different resource" usually is beneficial. For me, it seems students are willing to ask a different type of question from these outside information providers.
Barry Westling
Being able to physically see their career of choice in motion puts a spin on the wheel. It is rewarding to be placed in a particular work environment. Not only you see what you are training for, but you get to see the flow of the day to day work flow, the smells, sounds, various locations of the building just to name a few. Overall, field trips provide MOTIVATION to the student.
In providing a guest speaker, this allows each student to meet and greet a person working in their field of study. Hearing someone talk about the work industry gives an advantage to the student. At the end of the day when the guest speaker is now exchanging dialogue with the students, this provides an extra boost of encouragement to the student.
Eddie,
Yes, a different voice, a different perspective, a different spin, all these can add variety and a bit more interest in the class. IOt's important that what the speaker has to say is aligned with what the instructor would want their students to hear, even it's a bit different.
Barry Westling
Sometimes, just hearing a different voice from a slightly different perspective gives students new motivation to continue doing what you are trying to get them to do.
Scott,
I agree the field trip is an awesome experience and the more we can get these kind of real world activities incorportaed into our planned cuuriculum, our students will benefit. Similar for guest speakers as well. Students often feel at ease asking pointed questions top guests that they may not feel comfortable asking their instructor.
Barry Westling
Field trips and guest lecturers are imperative to our curriculum. I work in the post secondary education field in a very technical environment. Guest lecturers provide a real-world view of the industry and also reinforce the practices that we have taught. Guest speakers also provide networking opportunities for students.
maritza,
I agree. Many field trips can be quite inspirational and even motivate students to mend their ways and begin really focusing on their studies. What a powerful motivator!
Barry Westling
Motivation! There's no greater way to inspire a student that with real life experiences/people. They can identify with them, set goals to work at the specific place once they graduate, or discover that they like working in a specific field that they were not exposed before.
Khalid,
True, field trips can be quite inspirational and motivate students.
Barry Westling
field trips are good for healthy learning of students
field trips keep the academic interest of the students,since they are in different envoirnments
Katherine,
I agree about the powerful activity most field trips bring. Immersion into segments of the profession students will ultimately be working in often cannot be simulated or duplicated in the classroom or lab setting, setting up the external field trip as a platform for inquiry, exploration, and intersting activity that breaks up the routine.
Barry Westling
As a student, I adored field trips! It got us outside to "play" and showed us the "real world". Trips made us want to do well in our classes so we could graduate and get out there. As an instructor, I find things haven't changed much. When I mention a field trip, students generally get very excited and although it may take a while to calm them down so we can discuss the details, I find it very refreshing and uplifting to see that excitement in adults. Field trips allow students to see what they are going to do, to speak with people in the field, and to be honest, it gets them out of the classroom away from the desks. I plan my trips generally after a high stress instructional section, or as a reward for doing great on a mid-term. The student have an assignment attached to the trip, of course, but it's one they can relate to and have fun with because they got to be there, in the real world. I think we should have field trips for EVERY class, no matter what the course!
Wendy,
If it's relatively local, transportation becomes less a deterrant. But whether guest speaker or field trip, the objective is to open the minds of our students to areas and considerations they may not have thought about, and is not available to the same degree in the classroom or lab. Students usually are very motivated by either form of alternative instructional strategy.
Barry Westling
I agree, but of the two choices, I think I would favor guest speakers more, simply as a matter of logistics. It's alot easier to coordinate for one person as opposed to a whole class. On the other hand, field trips have a lot going for them as well. I see transportation as the key factor favoring one of the other.
Wendy,
I think as long as there is some application to the general topic, field trips and guest speakers can be a welcomed change of pace that helps keep interest, and may even invigorate some stuidents to want to try harder to do better in class, based on their renewed motivation from the field trip experience.
Barry Westling
I have to agree with many of the posts of my fellow instructors. Just getting out of the same location, even if it is to go outside on a nice day, can be beneficial. One time, I could not do a formal field trip because of transportation issues, so I gave the students an assignment to report back on what they found at a local National Monument. I encouraged them to take their families on the visit. It turned out to be almost as good as a field trip.
Stan,
Real world experiences can really add to the students understanding of course content. Field trips are terrific ways to reinforce facts in a way that's memorable, meaningful, and ultimately useful to the graduate in the work setting.
Barry Westling
When you take field trips and/or listen to guest speakers, you are exposing the real world to your students. This opens their eyes to how they can apply what they have learned to the actual field of study they are enrolled in. It can also demonstrate the level of professionalism that they will be expected to measure up against, plus it validates that the courses which are being taught actually do have a direct application in the field.
Carl,
Right! Field trips can be inspiring to the point that students who may have previously had only a vague ideaa about what their work setting was like acquire a new found knowledge about it. Of course the benefit to the student is often, they become more serious about their studies as the result of the field trip experience.
Barry Westling
