Field Experience Planner:

 

A quality experience for students comes down to one simple word…planning. Thorough advance planning on the part of the teacher and the destination contact person will ensure that the field experience will progress smoothly for all involved.

These recommendations for educators come from various successful cultural organizations, fellow educators, parents and students.

Before the visit: Use this website (www.connectingkidsandculture.org) to find those programs, destinations or classroom presenters who have aligned their offerings with your district’s curriculum goals.

Before you call or email the cultural or arts organizations, have the following information available:

• The grade level and the number of students you anticipate participating
• Three or four possible dates that would work for your visit
• The earliest time that your students are able to arrive at the destination and the latest time that they would be able to stay
• The learning objectives or outcomes for the field experience
• Accommodations that may be necessary for students or chaperones with disabilities
• Desired arrangements for lunch
• Method of payment that your district/school will use if admission fees are charged
• At least two contact numbers or emails

After this contact is made, you’ll have other items to attend to like scheduling buses, notifying parents and getting permission slips signed, recruiting chaperones, previewing the site or experience, preparing students for what to expect and developing and teaching lessons to prepare students for the learning experience, and establishing behavior expectations for the trip. Many organizations have gift shops and the revenue from school groups is appreciated. Build this into your schedule if you choose to allow students to visit a gift shop.

On the day of the visit: 

Review learning goals and behaviors expectations with the students and supervision responsibilities with chaperones joining you on the trip. After your arrival, identify yourself to the lead contact person at the cultural organization. Follow their lead for dividing into groups, storing lunch items, distributing supplies or equipment, etc. Good advance planning should allow your students to get into their field study with very little delay at arrival. 

Communicate to cultural venues, transportation providers, and chaperones the set time for departure and designate any meeting places should the group plan to split up. 

After the visit:
Provide an opportunity for the students to debrief and/or discuss the day during the bus ride home or sketch or write about it when returning to school. Share with your students the plans for how they will be extending their learning.

Personalized thank-you notes are essential for all who helped make your day a success. This includes bus drivers, chaperones, donors and business partners. Students should also write personalized thank-you notes to the cultural organizations and single-out specific activities or interactions they had that extended their understanding. These notes are appreciated and often are submitted by the cultural organizations as they seek grants to improve their own offerings.

Start the very next class you have with these students with extension activities. You can develop these on your own, or many cultural organizations have activities that you can leave with.