Robin Talkowski’s Blog: Reading & Technology

Field trips provide wonderful opportunities to help students build background knowledge about something they will learn about or to help them make connections to something they are learning.  However, how many times have you seen students on field trips with clipboards or sheets of paper to complete for a “Treasure Hunt.”  In the name of holding students accountable for really gaining something from the field trip, we limit their ability to explore, discuss, and learn.

The best field trip in which I ever participated involved going to the Museum of Fine Arts with my fourth grade son.  The class had been studying French Impressionist painters as part of their study of France.  Parents paid a little extra in order to fund docents to discuss the paintings with groups of 10 students.  In a museum filled with treasures from around the world, the students exploration was limited to a certain area of the museum.  The students returned to the classroom and began painting their own version of a painting they had seen … with the help of a reprint as a visual prompt.

The worst field trip in which I participated involved going to the Museum of Fine Arts with a group of 7th graders.  The students were studying ancient Egypt, and the museum has a wonderful collection from this area and era.  Students had three pages of things to look for and record information.  They were so busy looking for the next thing that I don’t think they really experienced anything.  I was little help since I know nothing about ancient Egypt.  The students returned to school, turned in their worksheets, and “hung out” until the bell rang.

Field trip outcomes can be enhanced by using technology.  We can hold students accountable and still allow them to experience and learn.  If the museum allows pictures, students can photograph a certain exhibit.  They can later collaborate by creating a digital story of their experience.  If the museum doesn’t allow pictures, have students video each other describing and explaining an aspect of the exhibit.  Students can enhance their videos later by adding illustrations.  We need to create experiences rich enough that students’ natural curiosity and desire to create is triggered.