Think of educational tours for school students and a flood of memories gush in our minds. Early morning departures, food packs, boarding the bus, singing, visiting historical sites, factories, chatting, playing and so on. The beauty is that each educational tour remains very distinct in the minds of most, even after decades with most of us distinctly remembering what we had seen, heard, did and experienced. That’s the power of field trips for students. Educational school trips for students have been regularly conducted across the globe for centuries and experts agree on these common benefits they offer.
An enhanced learning experience – Students are often told about things such as history, sciences, environments, manufacturing, products, structures etc. in a classroom environment. This restricts their understanding. Educational tours give them opportunities to see, feel touch and interact with the subjects they study. They register these concepts in their own unique way, discussing, understanding, and absorbing aspects in ways that stay with them forever.
Practical understanding – When students physically see and experience what they are taught in their classrooms, they correlate in terms of practical application of knowledge. Things like forts, canals, water tanks, bridges, engines, aircraft etc. are just objects in their mind till they see and experience their size, scope, scale and impact. They also relate better when someone mentions metrics such as weights, distances or other dimensions. In this way they retain information in a much better way when compared to classroom lessons.
Retention – Educational field trips offer experiential learning that leads to better retention of knowledge. Some images effectively and lastingly register impact, utilisation, effort, and functionality in ways classrooms and books just cannot.
Eliminates monotony, stimulates curiosity – Students feel fatigued and experience monotony when confined to a classroom environment through the year. Educational field trips are a welcome break as they are often outdoors, help students interact, indulge in a bit of banter through informal communication and experience freedom which helps them to proactively seek knowledge and address their questions. They engage deeply with their surroundings.
Cultural tolerance – Field trips for students give them exposure to different cultures, traditions, practices and perspectives which broadens their outlook, creates more empathy and makes them more tolerant, patient and accepting of a system and an environment that’s not theirs.
Social and Emotional strength – Field trips for students encourage extensive interactions within their peer groups, and foster discussions, negotiations, organisation abilities and acceptance of the environment which boost communication and emotional strength. Each educational tour helps students build confidence and prepare them for independent living and decision making, so crucial in our economy today.
Bonding and teamwork – Since excursions are not a very controlled ecosystem, it becomes necessary for students to interact with their peers and teachers. They will get to learn about other facets of those they interact with, understand, respond appropriately and adjust to the situation. This helps them build more empathy and a spirit of participation.
Summing up, the key benefits of educational excursions for Students build the student helping him/ her in becoming a better person. They make the student stronger, tolerant and patient, fostering a spirit of teamwork and strategic thinking. Educational tours are suitable for students of ages between 8 and 21 and are commonly conducted in primary schools, pre-university classes and even university and PG classes.Good examples of educational tours are visits to historical sites like Belur, Halebid or Hampi, or palaces such as the Mysore Palace to learn about history and glorious kingdoms of the past for primary school students. For high school students, visits to factories like the sandal soap factory or a confectionery factory are planned. In the case of engineering students the visit is to a cement or a brick manufacturing plant or a two wheeler manufacturing factory such as TVS. Students of all ages learn how best to harness the strengths of people around them to solve problems which will make them successful individuals in life.