Having a field day of learning

Priya Mathur

Every geography teacher knows the importance of fieldtrips. Yet, fieldtrips are not often undertaken due to the risks and dangers involved in travelling with a group of students. However, fieldtrips are essential for students studying geography, right from primary school through to secondary. Fieldtrips encourage students to be curious about their surroundings, allow them to inculcate a love for the subject, and learn and apply practical skills. This, in turn, enhances their knowledge and allows them to experience the subject firsthand. ‘The world’ is a laboratory for geographers!

A successful trip requires that many steps have to be undertaken before the actual trip itself. A safe and risk-free trip depends on meticulous planning, especially in schools which provide inclusive education. Fieldtrips often become a sensitive point as students with special needs may be left out due to lack of facilities at the chosen site, or poor planning which has not taken sufficient care to take into account the needs of all the students. Therefore, the importance of planning cannot but be emphasized.

The first step for teachers is to decide on suitable topics for fieldwork. This should be done after carefully studying the requirements of the syllabus and understanding the capability of each age group of students. This stage of planning must take place at the beginning of each term to ensure that adequate time is left for the planning, preparation and execution of the trip.

Simple topics like study of daily weather, local flora and fauna and environmental degradation of the neighbourhood can be taught in a practical way to younger children with an easy excursion like a walk in the park or a short trip to the surrounding areas. While other concepts like transport, agriculture and industry may be more suitable for middle school students who can travel to farms and factories located in nearby areas. The senior students may be taken for longer fieldtrips, such as to a hydro-electric power station, for river studies, or to study coastal landforms.

After the identification of suitable topics, teachers should undertake a preliminary trip to the selected location to see for themselves the scope of the site. They should identify any problems they may encounter and find out if letters of permission are needed to be written, the distance from school to make arrangements for the transport, and estimate the time taken for the fieldwork and the suitability and pitfalls of the chosen area. A few potential sites may be surveyed before making the final decision. It is also a good idea to explore new places each year so that the students are exposed to different experiences and varied knowledge. The service of an expert is often of great value. A knowledgeable person or subject expert who can give the students a better perspective and greater insight is especially useful for older students.

It is during this preliminary survey that teachers have to keep in mind the requirements of the children with special needs. While many teachers may feel that it is not possible to include students with special needs, a few simple precautions and judicious planning will allow us to be inclusive on most fieldtrips.

The first precaution is to ensure that the place selected for the fieldtrip is friendly for special needs students. This includes checking for suitable toilets, wheelchair access, and ramps or lifts available in place of stairs. With greater awareness in current times it is often possible to find such facilities. It is wise to request for the parent or any suitable adult to volunteer as a companion for a special needs student. However, in the absence of an adult volunteer, “a buddy system”, with other responsible students may be used to ensure that special needs students are not left to fend for themselves but instead have a helping hand at all times. A visit to the natural history museum, a manufacturing unit, the planetarium, or a meteorological observatory are some suitable places where all students can easily be taken. The teacher in charge must also ensure that a suitable teacher-student ratio is maintained at all times and all students closely supervised. Extra precautions and vigilance during fieldtrips is always advised, and a strict recording of attendance is mandatory together with carrying a first-aid box in case of emergencies. Teachers must inform and take the permission of parents before a fieldtrip.

Teachers should also have clear teaching and learning objectives before the trip and should prepare the students with background information during the class before the fieldtrip. A worksheet with observation tables, data recording tables and questionnaires should be prepared for the students so that the students have a clear focus and gather knowledge according to the requirements of the syllabus. A clear set of rules for the fieldtrip, the ‘dos and don’ts’ must also be explained to the students before the trip. The dangers of accidents and the necessity of listening to the teacher in charge should be clearly explained to every student. This is important so that the chances of getting hurt during the fieldtrip are minimized.

Finally, a geography fieldtrip does not end with the excursion, instead the teacher must use the classes after the trip to effectively incorporate the fieldtrip into a learning experience. Class discussions of the data collected and observations made should result in productive class work which can then be used for assessments. Students may be encouraged to present their learning experience or display their knowledge with charts and audio-visual aids in the class.

A fieldtrip is a learning experience not only for the students but the teachers as well. No fieldtrip can be perfect but we can learn from our mistakes and plan well to ensure a better organized fieldtrip in the future. After a fieldtrip it is advised that the teachers discuss the experience thoroughly and then make a trip report with the positive and negative outcomes. This will help the teachers themselves and other teachers to identify the problems as well as the successes, and use their own experience to plan better trips for the next session.

During my years of teaching geography, I have found that students always benefit from practical learning and fieldtrips, even simple ones. Fieldtrips are very popular and looked forward to with great enthusiasm and excitement by all students. The love for learning is the greatest gift a teacher can give his/her students and if “a class outside a class” can help to achieve that then we should ensure that all students receive such benefits. So go ahead and plan a fieldtrip and look forward to reaping its rewards!

The author has been a successful educator who believes in and practices inclusive education. She has worked in different continents for the past 30 years and is a mother of two daughters. She can be reached at priyamathur1994@gmail.com.