The Field Trip Guide for Smarties

The Field Trip Guide

Guaranteed to get the wheels rolling!

A Field Guide for a

Fail-Safe Field Trip!

Intro

So you need to plan a field trip! Well have no fear. After following this presentation, you will have all the tools you need!

Be prepared to be a Field Trip Smarty!

When planning a field trip, you should be….

Obviously, the better organized your preparation is, the better chance of a safe and successful field trip!

Well-prepared

When planning a field trip, you should be….

A few things to consider:

• Create a folder that can be shared for all involved in the field trip.
• Make or find templates to help you organize what needs to be accomplished, and by when.
• Ensure all team members planning the field trip understand their roles and responsibilities.

Well-prepared

Collaborate!

• Grade level teams (6-8): Get together with your grade level and discuss how your team would share information so it is accessible to all members.
• Secondary teams (9-12): Get together with a 2 to three teachers in another department and discuss how you could share information so it is accessible to all members.

All field trips should be….

Equitable

You might be thinking, “Of course, we need to make field trips equitable for all students!” That is correct, but we’re talking about planning a field trip. The planning also needs to be equitable for all teacher’s involved!

All field trips should be….

Equitable

Planning a field trip is a huge undertaking. There are so many components involved: Scheduling, , lesson planning, transportation, student permissions…the list goes on. Planning a field trip should never be a one teacher show!

All field trips should be….

Equitable

Grade level field trips should involve every member of the grade level team. Curriculum taught by one teacher can get a little trickier to involve other teachers, but it can be accomplished…Think Cross-Curricular.

All field trips should be….

Equitable

Look at the make-up of your students. What are some common threads you can draw between their academics schedules? With this in mind, which of your colleagues would be a perfect match as a field trip cohort!

Collaborate!

Grade level teams (6-8): Get together and discuss who could do what when planning a field trip. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Let’s build on the strengths!

Secondary Classes: Divide into 9/10 and 11/12 grade groups and discuss who could team up with whom for hypothetical cross-curricular field trips.

When planning a field trip, you should be….

Open-Minded

Everyone has different strengths, weaknesses, and life experiences. Your ideas might not mesh with theirs.

When planning a field trip, you should be….

Open-Minded

Don’t get stuck on your ideas of what should be done. Listen and collaborate with your team members and come to a consensus. There is always more than one way forward!

Collaborate!

Pair up in groups of 3 or 4 and discuss alternate ways to accomplish things such as student groupings, transitions, obtaining chaperones, or any other item you can think of.

All field trips should be….

All field trips should be tied to curriculum. And this does not mean just checking off a box that matches a TEKS standard.

Scholarly

All field trips should be….

Students should get lessons not only aligned with the field trip experience, but also directly target what they are going to experience while on the field trip.

Scholarly

All field trips should be….

The lessons should prepare them to be active participants during the field trip! However, this requires prior knowledge of the information presented to students while on the field trip.

Scholarly

Collaborate!

Partner with 3 or 4 colleagues and discuss how you could build on prior knowledge of the field trip activities and incorporate that knowledge into your lessons.

All field trips should be….

Active

Students need to be actively participating and involved in the activities of the field trip. The opposite of active participation is passive participation. Students following and listening to a tour guide is not active participation.

All field trips should be….

Active

Depending on the field trip, what it means for students to be actively involved can look very different. Sometimes, they passively listen. Other times, they must actively participate.

Collaborate!

Brainstorm with your colleagues on what active participation could look like for both passive tours and more hands-on, active tours.

All field trips should be….

Motivating

Field trips consume time and resources. Every minute is precious. Just how do you keep the students engaged at all times? Especially during ‘bridge’ times in between scheduled activities?

All field trips should be….

Motivating

How often during a bridge activity have you been asked, “Is this for a grade?” and then watch students just mill around or become phone zombies? What can you change about activities for these times?

Collaborate!

Get together in groups of 5 or 6 and discuss how you can make bridge activities more motivating for students, regardless of whether they count as a grade.

A common bridge activity is the scavenger hunt. But don’t just discuss scavenger hunts, what are some other bridge activities that students can participate in that focus on their learning?

All field trips should be….

Enduring

Once the field trip is over… It’s not over! Students should reflect on their experiences and tie those experiences into what they have learned in class.

All field trips should be….

Enduring

There is not a single look for reflections. They can be either summative or ongoing with inclusion into current lessons. The common thread is students should be applying what they experienced into their learning

Collaborate!

Discuss with a partner how you could continue your students’ journeys beyond the field trip.