BEST AND WORST FIELD TRIPS

Robert Michael Pyle pointed out in Walking the High Ridge that life, properly lived, is a field trip through time. Accordingly, what makes a good field trip should make a good life. Let's look into this.

A good field trip starts in the classroom and grades into the field, and ideally is discussed in the classroom afterward as well. Whether students watch slides or handle objects, the experience primes them with search images and gives them a sense of anticipation. Students may be asked to help with preparations such as meals to give them a sense of responsibility for the trip.

Field trips should be structured, which is reassuring to the participants. Scheduled meals and return times are particularly important, and activities can make a field trip memorable and educational. However, leaders should also allow for the spontaneous. The excitement of seeing a hawk on the way to a planned stop is contagious. When new research comes from the participants'observations, you know you have led a great field trip. And even if a student is inspired to become a birdwatcher instead of a geologist during your field trip, you have succeeded. Field trips are about life, not just rocks.

A field trip is a bonding experience for the participants. Behavior on trips is more informal than in the classroom and people get to know one another. Bad weather isn't necessarily bad for this; even life-threatening experiences can have positive outcomes as long as no harm results. It does help to have another experienced person along to act as a role model and backup, and to add savor to discussions.

What makes a bad field trip is not bad weather, but fallen expectations and selfish behavior. If students are disappointed by “closed” signs and covered outcrops, they feel that the planning was poor and the trip was not worth their investment of time and effort. Selfish behavior, such as unfairness, conducting love affairs in others' space, or merely staying glued to a cell phone, can ruin an otherwise successful field trip. Planning and firmness can mitigate these problems; but if nothing else, a bad field trip is memorable and can yield important insights.

Course feedback consistently tells us that field trips are more instructive than most classroom experiences, and we all know that they can result in solid friendships. Why can't life be more like a field trip?