5.3 The Code
5.3.3 Convergence and Consistency Tests
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UNIT 2 REQUIRED MATERIALS FOR SUCCESSFUL
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3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Suggested Materials Needed by the Students
1 Hard surface like a clipboard for note-taking or sketching2 Container (zip-lock bag, grocery bag, etc.) for collecting artefacts 3 Recording device like pens, pencils, crayons, markers, and paper;
handheld devices; laptops; cameras, video cameras or digital cameras; and a tape recorder. (For tips on how to best capture the experience through images or video, see The Elements of Digital Storytelling)
4 Students might bring some money for purchasing memorabilia to use in class presentations. You might encourage students to purchase postcards which can better capture sites of interest and allow students to focus their attention to the site itself. Carefully monitor students in museum gift shops and stores since some students may spend too much time shopping rather than exploring!
5 For young students and overnight trips, equip students with a small note card containing the lodging contact information and/or cell phone number of lead teacher/chaperone.
3.2 Materials Needed by the Instructors
i) Container for class supplies, a first-aid kit, and a container to protect student prescribed medications. For foreign travel, make sure students bring a note from their doctor or pharmacist to accompany prescribed medicines to facilitate passage through customs. For any travel, prescription medicines should be transported in their original container.
ii) A ―Hot File‖ — a plastic, sealable file or large manila envelope to transport the following important documents:
1. Emergency contact information for your school and school system.
2. List of students who must take medication during the trip.
3. For travel out of state or foreign travel, copies of insurance documents.
4. Checklist of all students and chaperones in attendance.
5. Extra cash for emergency situations.
6. Contact information of site contact(s), i.e., name, phone number, role, and office location on site.
7. Trip itinerary.
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iii) Cell phone for emergency calls and wrong turns.
iv) Student identifiers. To easily spot your students in a crowded space, think about how you will identify them with a quick glance. One teacher suggests creating tie-dye T-shirts with young students prior to the trip that they will wear on that day.2
3.3 Conducting the Trip
On the day of the trip:
Pass out name tags
Divide class into small groups and assign chaperones to groups
Assign each student a partner
Place a class list and student emergency forms in a folder
Secure a cell phone if possible
Take along an emergency kit
Take inventory of food, specific equipment, and other supplies pertinent to the particular field trip
3.4 Activities that will occur during the Field Trip
Plan activities that allow students to work alone, in pairs or small groups. Activities might include:
Adventure game "Journey to the World of..."
Mystery with clues provided
Sketch pages with partial drawings of objects found in the exhibits for students to complete the drawings based on their observations
Peepholes in construction paper - cut different sized round holes in construction paper and have students view a part of the exhibition through the peepholes. Ask them to describe what they see, what they notice now that they missed before, and how their perspective changes with each new view
Field notebooks for recording answers to prepared questions based on clues
Hand drawn postcards to write near the end of the tour that will summarise the field trip visit .
Provide time for students to observe, ask questions, and record key words, ideas and phrases as journal entries in their Field book after viewing each exhibit.
Ask follow-up questions as students make observations and listen to presentations.
How are these two objects different from one another?
What clues does this artefact provide about…
In what ways do these two objects relate to one another?
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If you could change one thing in this exhibit, what would it be?
Pretend you are an archaeologist in the future who is observing this object. What would you be able to conclude about the culture of the past?
Expand the title or name of this object into a detailed caption (sentence or paragraph) in your Field book.
Describe the setting in which you might have found this object.
Which object will be of greatest value in a hundred years? Why?
List the objects in the exhibit order of the story they tell or usefulness.
Which object took the most time and effort to produce?
Pretend you are a character in this exhibit. Tell us as much as you can about your life.
What does this object tell us about the person's attitude toward...?
Schedule a particular segment of the field trip for a scavenger hunt where students look for particular objects and record them in their Field book or on an observation sheet.
Provide time for students to work in their Field Book writing questions, describing favourite displays or making sketches of artefacts, structures, scenery, etc. If they cannot complete their sketches, encourage them to label them for future completion as to colour, detail, etc.
Provide time for students to use (tape recorder, camcorder, and digital camera) for recording important resources viewed/heard.
Polling Activity: Blue Ribbon - Your Choice After careful observation of an exhibit, ask students to discuss an exhibit and vote on an artefact, artwork that they consider to be the most valuable part of the exhibit they viewed. Then ask students to record one sentence in their Field book describing why they felt the object was of key importance.
3.5 Post-Field Trip Activities
Just as quality pre-planning is essential to the success of a field trip, planning for appropriate follow-up activities will facilitate student learning and multiply the value of hands-on experiences outside the classroom. The following activities provide a general guide when planning for post-field trip classroom experiences.
Provide time for students to share general observations and reactions to field trip experiences
Share specific assignments students completed while on the field trip.
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Create a classroom bulletin board displaying materials developed or collected while on the field trip.
Develop a classroom museum that replicates and extends displays students observed on the field trip. For example, if the field trip involved an art museum, develop a classroom art museum containing student artwork.
Link field trip activities to multiple curricular areas. For example, students can develop vocabulary lists based on field trip observations; record field trip observations in a classroom journal; complete math problems related to actual field trip budget planning; etc.
Share and evaluate student assignments/activities from the Field Book.
Have the class compose and send thank-you letters to the field trip site host, chaperones, school administrators and other persons that supported the field trip. Include favourite objects or special information learned during the field trip.
Create a short news report about what happened on the field trip.
Publicise the trip via an article in your local newspaper, school bulletin board, trip presentation for parent's night, or class Web page.
3.6 Evaluating the Trip
Complete a "Teacher Journal" regarding the field trip. This will provide a good reference for future field trips.
What was of unique educational value in this field trip?
Did the students meet the objectives/expectations?
Was there adequate time?
Was there adequate staff and adult supervision?
What might be done differently to make this an even better experience in the future?
What special points should be emphasised next time?
What special problems should be addressed in the future?
What would improve a visit to this site in the future?
Share the evaluation with the students, volunteers, hosts from the field trip site, and school administrators.
3.7 Importance / Benefits of Field Trip
1. Practical experience-real world knowledge about life.
2. Real examples of information discussed in the classroom.
3. Opportunities for sharing different perspectives and views on important topics.
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4. Interactions from which one can discover one‘s strengths, limitations, abilities and skills.
5. Integration of concepts and information from various disciplines.
6. Personal exposure to people and other places and cultures.
7. Increased knowledge and broadened understanding of the world and its workings.
8. Professional experiences required by many related jobs.
9. Formation of instant learning communities.
10. First-hand observations of human interactions with the environment.
11. Places to learn and practice professional sampling and field collecting illustrations of real world complexities.
12. Application of theoretical or classroom knowledge to real situations.
13. A chance to put one‘s life into a realistic perspective.
14. Learn to live and work with others, supporting each other during group learning activities.
15. Time to appreciate the beauty of the world in which we are involved, etc.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
i. Suggest Materials needed by the students for the trip ii. Identify materials needed by the instructors
iii. List steps in conducting the trip
iv. Highlight activities that will occur during the field trip v. Discuss post-field trip activities
vi. Evaluate the trip
vii. State importance / benefits of field trip
4.0 CONCLUSION
Field trips expand children's learning through active hands-on experience with the rich resources of the local community. Field trips increase student knowledge and understanding of a subject and add realism to the topic of study. Good planning must precede field trips.
Careful attention should be given to trip selection, pre-visit preparation, the trip itself, appropriate follow up, and evaluation.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, you have learnt:
Suggested materials needed by the students
Materials needed by the instructors
Conducting the trip