Field Trips
Overview
Visiting places connected to classroom learning provides opportunities to add relevance to classroom topics and deepen understanding through firsthand experiences. Field trips also provide content learning experiences that differ from traditional classroom settings, which can spark Curiosity and encourage Identity exploration as learners are able to gain deeper exposure to multiple topics and meet individuals who are immersed in these topics. As an enriching social experience, field trips can support Social Awareness & Relationship skills as learners interact with others, including professionals in a variety of fields. As field trips can provide a highly engaging, multimodal, and active learning experience, learners are more likely to integrate these experiences into their Long-term Memory. Research has shown that outdoor trips that allow learners to connect with nature, may enhance executive functioning skills. Field trips are a form of experiential learning that help to extend classroom learning and build upon Background Knowledge. It is important to ensure the venue is accessible and that appropriate accommodations are in place so that all learners can participate. When planned intentionally and inclusively, field trips serve as a way for all students, regardless of their backgrounds, to experience and visit places of art, history, science, and culture which can further support Core Academic Literacies.
Example: Use This Strategy in the Classroom
Watch how learners participate to draw real-world connections between field trips and their classroom learning. Through these community engagements, learners develop a meaningful understanding of their own community and the larger world.
Design It into Your Product
Additional Resources
Additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.
Factors Supported by this Strategy
More Active Learning Strategies
Encouraging young children to draw and to explain their drawings in the classroom, can support the development of Core Academic Literacies.
Students explaining their thinking during learning is a metacognitive process that involves actively self-questioning or being questioned while exploring new concepts, and explaining thoughts and reasoning in response.
Games support learning as learners engage with new information in fun and informal ways.
Simulations involve students engaging in interactive experiences that mimic real-world scenarios to explore content, practice skills, and solve problems.
