Making the most of community resources and field
trips
What procedures must we follow to avoid the failed
study trips described above? Let’s plan. Planning a field trip includes these
steps.
1) Preliminary planning by the teacher,
2) Preplanning with others going
on the trip, and
3) Taking the field trip itself and,
For preliminary planning by the teacher, Brown
(1969) proposes the following:
·
Make preliminary contacts, a tour on
final arrangements with the place to be visited.
·
Make final arrangements with the school
principal about the details of the trip: time, schedule, transportation
arrangements, finances, and permission slips from parents.
·
Make a tentative route plan, subject to
later alteration based on class planning and objectives.
·
Try to work out mutually satisfactory
arrangements with other teachers if the trip will conflict with their classes.
·
Prepare preliminary lists of questions
or other materials which will be helpful in planning with the students.
Preplanning
with students joining the trip
·
Discuss he objectives of the trip and
write them down. The main objectives should be included in the permit slip
given to parents and should be consulted later when the trip is evaluated.
·
Prepare a list of questions to send
ahead to the guide of the study trip.
·
Define safety and behavior standards for
the journey there and for the field trip site itself.
·
Discuss and decide on ways to document
the trip. Everyone is expected to take notes.
·
List specific objects to be seen on
their way to the site, on the site of the field trip and on their way home from
the site.
·
Discuss appropriate dress. Comfortable shoes
for walking are important.
·
Before the trip, use a variety of
learning materials in order to give each student a background for the trip.
Preplanning with others joining the trip
Other people accompanying the group need to be
oriented on the objectives, route, behavior standards required of everyone so
they can help enforce these standards. These may be parents who will assist the
teachers, other teachers and/or school administrator staff.
Taking the field trip
·
Distribute route map of places to be observed.
·
Upon arriving at the destination,
teacher should check the group and introduce the guide.
·
Special effort should be made to ensure
that:
-
The trip keeps to the time schedule
-
The students have the opportunity to
obtain answers to questions
-
The group participates courteously in
the entire trip
-
The guide sticks closely to the list of
questions.
Evaluating field trip
These are questions we
can ask ourselves after the field trip to evaluate the filed trip we just had.
·
Could the same benefits be achieved y
other materials? Was it worth the time, effort, and perhaps, extra money?
·
Were there any unexpected problems which
could be foreseen another time?
·
Were new interests developed?
·
Should the trip be recommended to other
classes studying similar topics
Disadvantages of field trips
These
educational benefits can compensate for the drawbacks of field trips, some of
which are.
1) it is costly.
2) it involves logistics.
3) it is extravagant with
time, and
4) contains an element of uncertainty.
Community Resources
A field trip may be a visit to a scenic spot or to a
historical place. What community resources can we use for learning?
These can be persons and places in the community.
For persons, let us not go too far. Let us begin with the parents of our
students. Many of them can be resource
speakers in their fields of expertise.
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