Lesson XI

MAKING THE MOST OF COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND FIELD TRIPS

                                

   The teachers’ comments given above indicate failure of the field trips conducted. This is definitely  the consequence  of no planning or if ever there was, planning was done poorly.

     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. Pre planning with others going on the trip, and 3. Taking the field trip itself and 4.  Post – field trip follow up activities.

     For preliminary by the teacher, Brown (1969) proposes the following:

·         Make preliminary contacts, a tour on final agreements 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 the objective of the trip and write them down. The main objective should be included in the permit slip given to parents and should be consulted later when the trip is evaluated.

Sample Permit Slip

·       Prepare 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 object 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 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 ask ourselves after the field trip to evaluate the field trip we just had.

·         Could the same benefits be achieved by other materials? Was it worth the time, effort and perhaps extra money? Where there any unexpected  problems which could be foreseen another time? Where these due to guides, students, poor planning, or unexpected trip conditions?

Where new interest  developed?

Should the trip be recommended to other classes?

Studying similar topics?

Educational Benefits Derived from a Field Trip

     Field trips can be fun and educational when they are well executed. They offer us a number of educational  benefits:

1. The acquisition of lasting concepts  and change in attitudes are rooted on concrete and rich experiences. Field trips are opportunities  for rich and memorable experiences which are fundamental to learning that lasts.

2. Field trip bring us the world beyond the classroom. The real – world connection is more work but the benefits of broadening teaching beyond textbooks far outweigh the little bit of time it takes from a teacher’s schedule.

3. Field trips have a wide range of application. It is not meant only for children. It is for adults also. It is not meant for the social sciences subjects. It is for  all other subjects as well.

4. It can bring out a lot of realizations which may lead to changes in attitudes and insights. The field trip “can nurture curiosity; build a zest for new experience, and a sense of wonder”  Dale (1969). Here are some realizations students had after joining a field trip to the following places.

§  A school for the blind: “I’m glad, I’m not blind. What can we do to prevent blindness?

§  An automobile factory: “ more and more factory work is automated. How soon will we have three working days and four days of the job? What will people do with their time?”

§  A museum: “ there is so much to be known and I know so little”

Disadvantages of field Trips

     These educational benefits are 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,

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 speaker in their fields of expertise. A dentist may be invited to the children on how they care for their teeth. A journalist may serve as a resource paper on the part of the newspaper and how to write an editorial. A dynamic teacher will find a way to have a record of parents’ names, contact number, occupation, and other pertinent data she needs.

     There are other people in the community who can be excellent resource speaker. A senior citizen and a war veteran in the community maybe invited to the class for an interview  on a topic of which he is expert. Say for example, his memories of World War II. A barangay captain may be asked on what the barangay intends to do a curb the rampant alcoholism among the youth in the community.

     As to places to visit, popular destinations are museum, zoos, botanical gardens, historical places, places of exhibit, scenic spots. Performance like a play, a concert, and a dance presentations also form part of community resources.

     Public libraries and private libraries (some private schools, colleges and universities allow outsiders to research  in their libraries on special arrangements) can also be community learning resources. Maybe classes are not bought to these libraries for a field trip but students can go there for research and learning.