I went on a field trip with my students on Tuesday. It was a fantastic learning opportunity! Before the trip, students were instructed by their teacher and behavior expectations were established. Also, the teacher distributed volunteer parent packages with the following necessary information: teacher contact number, helpful tips for the day, a map, a schedule, and scavenger hunt lists. I think it was a brilliant decision in order to help parents volunteer. Then, I was paired with one parent, R., and we supervised six students together (four girls and two boys).
Throughout the day, I had come to the conclusion that supervision is not easy. In class, students sit at their desks and they do not leave the classroom. On field trips, the areas are open and crowded with people, so it is difficult to watch them all the time. For instance, three girls and one boy did not stray from the group, but one girl, M., and one boy, S., in my group are independent learners and did not always follow our instructions. Thus, you have to always keep an eye on them to stay with the group and constantly ask them to follow the group and not to lag behind.
R. and I came up with a strategy to deal with our stray students.R.had already been to Agribition and was familiar with the place, so he led the group. I followed at the end of the group to monitor and catch stragglers. Throughout the walk, I constantly asked students M. and S. to pick up the pace when they deliberately walked slower than the group. I explained them that we are one group and we have to walk all together. That helped for five minutes but then they continued to walk slower.
During the middle part of the day, we had a break for lunch. All groups met together at one meeting place to have lunch. It was the only opportunity for R. and myself to have a break. After lunch, we continued our field trip.
This was my first trip to Agribition, and I didn`t have an opportunity to see as much as I hoped because you have to supervise the children constantly. However, it was a fantastic learning opportunity of classroom behavior management. And I got to know students so much better. Also, I tried to instruct and guide students’ behavior in a different environment than a classroom.
I think, next time we could try to buddy up the students in two`s. This may help to keep better track of them during the trip because it`s easier to see two students together in the crowd than one. Also, the students will feel accountable for each other`s behavior in uninstructed areas when they are buddied up.
In the middle of the day, I did notice that there were groups with five students and only one parent volunteer supervising them. The parent walked in front of the group and students followed him. I wonder, wasn`t the parent afraid to loose students if there was no one at the back of the group? But they didn`t.
The professional goal of this week was classroom management/engagement: awareness and responsiveness. This field trip was a great opportunity to try to achieve this goal. When the students were off-task, I tried to use eye contact but unfortunately at such a big event as Agribition that didn`t work. So, I moved towards the students to refocus them. As a teacher, you have to constantly keep students focused on specific tasks.
Overall, I learned that planning a field trip requires a lot of preparation. A teacher has to figure out what is expected from a class field trip, as well as what forms must be filled out, how to coordinate for transportation, arrange for parents volunteer, prepare instructions for the parents, and set behavior expectations before and during the class field trip.
The students really enjoyed their time there. They were immersed in a new environment and they could experience benefit from experiential learning.