Creating a Learning Experience
Create an experience to remember
Choosing your trip
You may have an idea in mind of the kind of trip you want to run, but there are some things to consider when choosing the location and activities. The information and resources below can help you select the perfect trip for your group.
Ski Trips
- To improve the confidence of pupils
- To better integrate groups of pupils and develop social skills
- To encourage better behaviour and responsibility
- To encourage pupils to push themselves out of their comfort zone
- To encourage enjoyment of physical exercise
Educational Tours
- Does the trip compliment a particular unit or lesson?
- Will the pupils engage with the activities?
- Will the pupils have the opportunity to use foreign language skills?
- Will the trip broaden the pupil’s understanding of other cultures?
- Will it inspire pupils to do well in your particular subject?
Prepare the Group for Learning
While it is important to organise the practical elements of your trip, such as deposits and permission slips, you should prepare the group for learning too. Discussing the trip and what pupils can expect is an excellent way to build anticipation and inspire good behaviour in the classroom.
While it is important to organise the practical elements of your trip, such as deposits and permission slips, you should prepare the group for learning too. Discussing the trip and what pupils can expect is an excellent way to build anticipation and inspire good behaviour in the classroom.
A group trip should teach pupils about behaviour and responsibility. You should set out clearly what is expected of them before and during the trip. You should also encourage pupils to grow socially, even placing them in mixed groups to carry out pre-departure activities. Travelling with pupils they do not normally spend time with is an excellent learning experience, and pupils should be encouraged to make the most of it.
You may consider preparing worksheets that pupils can complete while they are on the trip. You can discuss these with the group before you go to give them a better idea of what they might be doing or learning.
Sharing highlights, photos or videos from the location can be an excellent way to engage students too and begin the learning process. You can ask pupils to research what they have seen and make a list of things they want to find out when they get there.
Although you may have planned your trip and the activities down to the finest detail, it is essential that you continue to engage students when you get there. For specific activities or learning sessions, you should model that activity on a classroom lesson. This can assist in ensuring pupils behave well too.
Many places you can visit have excellent facilitators and instructors. You should encourage the children to ask questions, or even ask questions on their behalf to get them started.
A good time to ask pupils to complete activities and to keep them entertained is while travelling by coach. You can distribute worksheets or information as they board the bus or coach and give them questions to think about during the journey.
Congratulations, you made it! You should organise a post-trip debrief for pupils to discuss or present what they have learned. You could even invite parents along so they can see how their children have benefitted from the trip.
This is also an excellent opportunity to get feedback on what students enjoyed and what they did not, allowing you to improve the trip for next year.
If your trip aligned with your lessons, pupils may be able to use what they have learned in the classroom.