Field Trips

Field trips are quintessential educational experiences. Though there is no explicit conceptualization of field trips in the literature, they can be broadly defined as educational experiences that involve leaving the classroom to engage in activities related to learning. Also known as instructional trips, field trips include traditional visits to institutions like museums or parks away from school grounds, virtual trips that connect students to people and places through digital media, and nontraditional excursions to noninstitutional sites that may be close to or part of school grounds. The purposes of field trips most often include familiarization with and appreciation for students' communities, as well as the construction of new knowledge. Activities during these trips may be structured or unstructured, hands-on or experience-based. The theoretical foundations of ...