2. What is Field Trip ?
Field Trip! provides interactive
tours for any destination and
turns learning into a game.
Stores student pictures of the
experience, creating photo
albums to share with their
friends and family.
3. Objectives in taking a Field Trip
Students will draw conclusions, make
predictions and practice making
environmentally responsible decisions.
Students will acquire knowledge, clarify
thinking, synthesize information and
enhance historical thinking.
4. Advantages in taking a Field
Trip
Enhances the Curriculum
One of the biggest advantages to field trips is that they allow students
to have a real-world experience. This experience should clearly
illustrate and enhance information taught by the curriculum. For
example, a textbook lesson on the life cycle of a salmon can be
enhanced by a trip to a local salmon hatchery, where the students
can clearly see the salmon in its many life stages.
Team Building
A final advantage of field trips is that they are a way to bring the
students closer together. Many field trips combine educational
content with team-building activities, such as working together to
clean a stream that has been polluted. In fact, it is often a good idea
to go on a field trip early in the school year to help create a bond
between the students.
5. New Experiences
Children learn about different professions, ideas and opportunities when
they travel outside their own neighborhoods. A field trip can awaken the
desire in a child to try new things and pursue previously unconsidered
dreams. Field trips can introduce children to job opportunities and can
spark new interests and passions.
For young students, field trip is a day off from class or a no class at all
activity. It is more about enjoyment, excitement, fun, fun and more fun
without the pressure of being called to answer a question or be given a
surprise quiz. They get the opportunity to interact with one another in a
more informal, natural and relax manner.
Field trips are effective methods to teach difficult or complicated
subjects like biology, physics, chemistry or historical facts. With a field trip
on a biology class for example, a teacher can take the students on a
hunt for certain types of insects or flowers and for history subject, a
teacher can bring his students in a local museum. Before the actual trip,
the students should already be given an advance list of the task that
they should perform so they will have an insight on what is going to
happen when they arrive in their trip destination.
6. Disadvantage of taking a Field
trip
Preparation
A large amount of preparation is associated with planning a
field trip. Collection of consent forms, waivers and money is
normally done by the teacher and adds to an already-packed
to-do list. Additionally, teachers are usually
responsible for recruiting parent volunteers and making
transportation arrangements.
Affordability
Although field trips are sometimes subsidized by the school, there is
often an expense associated with the activity that is the responsibility
of the student's family. The reality is that there are families that can
barely afford to send a healthy lunch to school with their children,
never mind pay for a field trip. This can be an awkward and
uncomfortable situation for both student and teacher.
7. Transportation Cost
With the rising price of gasoline, transporting students to a field trip destination
can be costly for the school. This generally reduces the amount of field trips
that are available to students throughout the year.
Medical Risks
Field trips can be stressful for teachers, and one of the reasons is the medical
risk. Medical kits must be carried for all of the special needs within a
classroom, including diabetic students and students with allergies. Also, there
must be someone along that is trained to administer medication, such as a
Nurse, if required.
Insurance
Another enormous disadvantage to field trips is the cost of insurance.
Parents are essentially placing their children into the hands of bus drivers
and school chaperones, and any number of things can happen. Rising
insurance costs have created a situation in which schools simply can't
afford to go on too many field trips; they are also shortening the distance
between the school and the location. This disadvantage has created a
mindset in which the field trip often becomes a last resort to instruct
students in a way that cannot be adequately accomplished in the
classroom.
8. Provide students and other
participants with:
Instructional schedule for field trip.
Alternate assignment for only those students unwilling to
accept the risk of participation or those physically unable
to participate. Consult with the Office of Disabled Student
Services, if necessary.
International travel information, if applicable. For
information or assistance, contact the Education Abroad
Office in the Center for International Education.
Documented training for any specialized equipment that
will be used during the field trip.
Health and safety information and emergency procedures
specific to field trip.
Student Code of Conduct
Field Trip Forms that include:
Release of Liability form
Voluntary Medical Disclosure and Assumption of Risk
Statement
9. Steps in Planning a Field Trip
1. Determine the educational goals for this trip
How will this trip enhance your classroom program? What will
the students do on the trip? What will they learn?
2. Select a location and find out when they accept
school groups.
Also find out the admission costs, the availability of transportation, the
cost of chartering buses. Make sure you have the legal number
volunteer adult supervisors for the number of students going. Don't
mention the trip to your students until you sort out these details.
3. Obtain your school board's standardized letters for parental
permission as well as the standard trip planning package.
Fill out the planning package to get permission from the
superintendent.
10. 4. Talk to the principal and get permission to
go.
Be prepared to meet their criteria. Explain the
educational value and the relationship to the
curriculum of the grade level(s) that will attend.
5. Contact the trip site and make or finalize your
reservations for the group.
Make sure to confirm your arrangements shortly
before the trip.
6. Integrate the trip into the classroom program.
Plan instruction and activities in class to prepare for
the trip. Discuss what will happen at the trip site,
and your expectations of them.
11. 7. Review safety and bus
etiquette.
Establish a buddy system and seating plan, and groups with
adult supervisors.
8. Send a letter home listing the
following:
The educational purpose of the trip;
The destination, with a physical description of the site;
The planned activities;
any special preparations the parents and students need to
make for that day, such as special clothing, boots, lunches,
money, sunscreen, gloves, backpacks, etc.;
The cost per child for the trip, and the date by which the
parents need to send the money to the school;
A request for contact information for the parents, for the day
of the trip, medical and insurance information for the child;
and
The return and pick up time for the children, after the trip, if
different from the regular school day.
12. 9. Keep careful records according to your
school's requirements.
Signed permission forms;
Student medical and insurance information;
Parent/guardian emergency contact information for that
day;
Money brought into the school;
Phoning parents of children who do not bring in the forms or
the money.
10. Make alternate arrangements for the students
who do not go on the trip.
No child should miss the trip due to family financial situation.
Ideally, all children in the class should attend the trip, as it is
part of the instructional day and part of the program.
11. Recruit parent volunteers, family members, and friends to
meet the pupil-teacher requirements of the Board of
Education for out of class activities.
13. 12. Take careful attendance on the day of the trip.
For the office, list the children attending the trip, the
children absent, the children who will remain in the
school and their location, and the cell phone
number where they can reach you.
13. Remind the students of the expectations
for the trip, and for their behavior.
Reinforce safety and etiquette rules. The behavior
of the students should be as good as it would be in
the classroom.
14. What to bring along:
Each field trip will dictate its own supply
list, but there are some common
considerations that are worth noting
before you leave. When you discuss this
aspect of the trip, remember also to
caution students about what not to bring
on the trip. Tour guides won’t be
motivated to do their best job when they
notice some students are equipped with
headphones and portable music players!
15. FOR STUDENTS:
Hard surface like a clipboard for note-taking or sketching
Container (zip-lock bag, grocery bag, etc.) for collecting artifacts
Recording device like pens, pencils, crayons, markers, and paper;
handheld devices; laptops; cameras, video cameras or digital
cameras; and a tape recorder. (For tips on how to best capture the
experience through images or video, see The Elements of Digital
Storytelling)
Students might bring some money for purchasing memorabilia to
use in class presentations. You might encourage students to
purchase postcards which can better capture sites of interest and
allow students to focus their attention to the site itself. Carefully
monitor students in museum gift shops and stores since some
students may spend too much time shopping rather than exploring!
For young students and overnight trips, equip students with a small
note card containing the lodging contact information and/or cell
phone number of lead teacher/chaperone.
16. FOR TEACHERS:
Container for class supplies, a first-aid kit, and a container to
protect student prescribed medications. For foreign travel, make
sure students bring a note from their doctor or pharmacist to
accompany prescribed medicines to facilitate passage through
customs. For any travel, prescription medicines should be
transported in their original container.
A “Hot File” — a plastic, sealable file or large manila envelope to
transport the following important documents
Emergency contact information for your school and school system
List of students who must take medication during the trip
For travel out of state or foreign travel, copies of insurance
documents.
17. Checklist of all students and chaperones in attendance
Extra cash for emergency situations
Contact information of site contact(s), i.e., name, phone
number, role, and office location on site.
Trip itinerary
Cell phone for emergency calls and wrong turns
Student identifiers. To easily spot your students in a
crowded space, think about how you will identify them
with a quick glance. One teacher suggests creating tie-dye
T-shirts with young students prior to the trip that they
will wear on that day.
Consider inviting another faculty member along who
might take this trip in the future. They can shadow you
while also serving as a chaperone
