Field Trips

One great tool for a facilitator's arsenal are field trips, taking their learners somewhere outside the classroom to encourage learning. Field trips can be beneficial to the facilitator, as it provides a break from leading the course, which can help reinvigorate them for the remainder of the session. 

​

Field trips are also very beneficial for a learner as well. The use of field trips activates a learner's spatial memory, which improves retention by allowing them a physical reminder of the content delivered while they were outside the classroom.  Even virtual field trips can be useful and can provide the same benefits, if they take the learner out of their normal environment and give them a change of pace. Guest speakers can also act as a form of field trip, by changing the person who is delivering the content.

One important aspect of field trips, however, is to ensure that the content and objective are relevant to what the learner is experiencing. This will help ensure maximum retention.

​

I've used field trips to great effect when teaching technical topics such as wireless coverage, roaming, and interference sources. Learners take a field trip around the inside and outside of an office building, paying particular attention to areas like break rooms or kitchens, elevators, and stairwells, to demonstrate how wireless reception changes in these areas. Guest speakers are also something I have relied upon in the past, and these segments of learning are often the most well evaluated by learners once the class is over.

​

Field trips have been included in my portfolio because they are a very important and useful tool that I've used quite a bit even before beginning my studies. It was great to gain information and data on why that type of instruction was so effective.

​

Reference:

Tate, M.L. (2012). “Sit & get” won’t grow dendrites: 20 professional learning strategies that engage the adult brain. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press

​

​