This is a blog for practice in my class EDM510 at The University of South Alabama.
Hi everyone! My name is Ali Carnes and thank you for visiting my blog and participating in it to make me a better teacher! I am currently student teaching at a middle school and I am also in the Alternative Masters program at The University of South Alabama. Please share and comment on my blogs to help me evolve as a teacher!
Ok, for my first blog, I want to talk to you about field trips! How important do you think it is for a class to go on field trips to see what they are learning, ie. studying Indians and going to Moundville. Sound off here!
There is nothing like the joy and excitement of field trip day for students. For teachers, it can be a stressful experience. However, I think any stress involved is worth it if you pick the right field trip. I am a HUGE proponent of learning outside of the classroom, especially with a subject like History. Reading out of a textbook or simply looking at pictures is no substitute for visiting actual historical places. Field trips may bring to life a subject that formerly was considered uninteresting to the student. That being said, a field trip for the sake of getting out of the classroom is counterproductive. Field trip destinations must be thoughtfully planned and relevant to curriculum.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. I think the field trip needs to be beneficial to the lesson being taught in the classroom. It needs to add further learning to the material. I like field trips because I know I still remember the field trips I took as a child and how much I took away from them with new information. I think that field trips make the material more hands on and it is always nice to learn from something you actually get to experience rather than read from a textbook and look at pictures.
DeleteYay field trips! I know they can be a pain for teachers, but they are well worth the stress. I can still remember my fourth grade field trip to Montgomery like it was yesterday, and it was, well, a long time ago! I remember going to Old Alabama Town and seeing how people lived long ago. I had seen pictures in books, but it didn't sink in until I was there and it was right in front of me. Kids need those up close experiences in life. Many of them will never have those experiences if they are not provided by schools. I do agree that the teacher should carefully consider his or her curriculum when selected a location. Most importantly, field trips are experiences that are part of growing up! They are a must-do in my opinion!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree! I am from Montgomery and I have been to Old Alabama Town so many times I can not even count! I always wished that there was a way to make field trips more crucial to learning. That is one thing I want to put in place when I am a teacher! I would love to go on several field trips to watch the kids faces light up with excitement and actually see tru learning happening before my eyes.
DeleteI think field trips are a great way to show students hands on information about a topic they are learning in school. The younger students especially enjoy going on field trips. My daughter's first field trip was in preschool and it was a trip to the zoo. She loved every minute of the trip and got to learn about some animals that we do not come across in our daily life.
ReplyDeleteI admire any teacher who takes his or her students on a field trip. I have yet to take my students on one because I always felt that they were geared more toward the middle and elementary school children. However, if I ever did take one, The Alabama Shakespeare Festival is one place that I would love to take my students. It would be great to actually see the play on stage as it was meant to be performed that we've studied.
ReplyDeleteThe Alabama Shakespeare Festival is amazing! I am from Montgomery and I grew up basically in that place! There is so much to and the grounds are absolutely gorgeous. There is a wealth of knowledge there. I think that would be an ideal place to take students in your high school class. They will get to appreciate it more and will make correlations in their minds with what was taught by their teacher and actually seeing it for real and first hand. I strongly suggest taking your class to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival!
DeleteAt least as important as the field trip itself is the preparation for it. Students learn new vocabulary and facts about what they are about to go and see. It gives them a perspective for what they experience during the field trip.
ReplyDeleteI think field trips are an integral part of learning. It really hits home with hands-on learners who need to see how it connects to real-life situations to understand it. I am a high school German teacher, but I have still found a lot of value in taking my students to German Competition at UA every spring, to the Mercedes plant in Vance, bowling with the other language clubs, to authentic restaurants, to operas, and our local Oktoberfest festivities. They love it! Target also has a field trip grant they do every fall. Check it out here: http://corporate.target.com/corporate-responsibility/grants/field-trip-grants
ReplyDeleteI think taking field trips as groups are a great way to engage students in learning, since they gain that “touch and feel” experience. It gives them a whole new perspective of what they are learning in class. Also in a field trip the students are encouraged to explore the meaning and the significance of what they have previously read in a textbook. I think a field trip can be very refreshing particularly at the time of the school year when teachers and students are stressed out by exams, grading, meetings, etc.
ReplyDeleteField Trips are stressful but so worth it. Students prepared to ask questions and connect the field trip with what has been discussed in class is priceless. Another way to take a field trip if money and transportation are a problem is through a Virtual Field Trip. Google Virtual Field Trips and you will be amazed at how many already exist. I prepared a Virtual Field Trip to the (MET) Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to correlate with the book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
ReplyDeleteField trips are fabulous! Of course the kids love to get away from school and pack a lunch and see new things. From my own personal experiences, I have come to realize that most of the kids I have taught have never experienced the amazing local learning venues. I teach 4th grade, so we are knee deep in Alabama History. Without the annual Montgomery field trip 4th grade wouldn't be the same! Seeing the kids make the connections and recognize things they see is so awesome. Last year I also realized that even places like Dauphin Island are not used enough for learning. Watching a 10 year old experience the beach for the first time is something I will never forget.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is stressful to plan the trip, but it is oh so worth it in the end.
I think one of my favorite aspects of primary and secondary school were the field trips! If they are properly organized and if the time is structured correctly, field trips can be a wonderful tool for cementing key concepts and ideas in a given unit or lesson. Visualization is one thing, but being able to present a concept in real life dimensions is something that will stick with a student.
ReplyDeleteI think they are a lot of fun but not essential. Sometimes, it's just not possible to go but they still need to learn the matieral.
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