Lesson 11: Making the Most of Community Resources and Field Trips

"Field trips offer an excellent bridge between the work of the school and the work the world outside."

Planning a Field Trip

1. Preliminary planning by the teachers
2. Preplanning with others going on the trip, and
3. Taking the field trip itself and,
4. Post-field trip follow up activities.

For Preliminary Planning by Teacher, Brown (1969) proposes the following:

• Make a preliminary contacts, a tour final arrangements with the place to be visited.
• Make final arrangements with the school principal about the detail 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 manually satisfactory arrangements with other teachers if the trip will conflict with their classes.
• Prepare preliminary lists questions or other materials which will be helpful in planning with the students.
• Discuss the objective of the trip and write them down. The main objectives should be included in the permit slip give to the parents and should be consulted later when the trip is evaluated.

Educational Benefits Derived from a Field Trip

1. The acquisition of lasting concepts and change in attitudes are rooted on concrete and rich experiences. Field trips are opportunities for reach and memorable experiences which are fundamental to learning that lasts.
2. Field trips bring us to 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 only meant for the social science subjects, it is for all other subjects as well.
4. It can bring about 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)

Pre Planning with Others Joining the Field Trip

Other people accompanying the group need to be oriented one the objectives, route, behavior standards required of everyone so they can help enforce these standards.

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 trips keeps to time schedule.
• The students have the opportunity to obtain answers to questions.
• The group participants courteously in the trip.
• The guide sticks closely to the list of questions.

Permission Slip

• Refers to a document that a given school or organization sends home through the use of a student to a parent or guardian to obtain for the student to travel under the care of the school or the respective organization for a specific event of field trip.

Waiver

•   A document recording the waiving of a right or claim.

Itinerary

• An itinerary is your travel plan – where you will go and when you will be there.

Evaluating Field Trip

• There are questions we can ask ourselves after the field trip to evaluate the field trip we just had.

Disadvantages of Field Trips

     These educational benefits can compensate for the drawbacks of field trips, some of which are:

• It is costly.
• It involves logistics.
• It is extravagant with time.
• Contains an element of uncertainty.

Community Resources

• A field trip may be a visit to scenic spot or to a historical place.

These can be persons and places in the community. Many of them can be resource speakers in their fields of expertise.

• A dentist may be invited to talk to the children on how to take care for their teeth.

• A journalist may serve as resource speaker on the parts of a newspaper and how to write an editorial.

• A dynamic teacher will find a way to have a record of parent’s names, contact number, occupation, and other pertinent data she needs.

• There are other people in the community who can be excellent resource speakers.

• A senior citizens and a war veteran in the community may be invited to class for an interview on a topic of which he is expert, for example, his memories of World War II.

• A barangay captain may be asked on what the barangay intends to do to curb the rampart alcoholism among the youth in the community. 

Field Trip

As to places to visit, popular destinations are museums, zoos, botanical gardens, historical places, places of exhibits, scenic spot. Performances like a play, a concert, and a dance presentation also form part of the community resources.

• Field trips are expensive. They require much time for preparation and planning.
• Preparation and planning for the field trips includes discussions and decision on what to do to before the field trip, during the trip and after the field trip.

A Field Trip: A bridge of the school and the community

•  Field trips abolish the “walls” that divide the classroom and the outside world.
• Field trips also connect people. All people involved in the field trip – students, teachers, parents, and school head – come together for joint planning.