Field trips
What are they?
Field trips or visits have traditionally been in person, on-site visits to places of scientific or professional interest. Learning technology advances have afforded the potential to conduct field trips/visits virtually, for example using Google Maps, or an immersive environment using virtual, augmented or extended reality. Field trips provide an authentic, real-world context which students can observe and interact with, allowing them to develop professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
How does it work?
The basic underlying educational premise for field trips is facilitating experiential learning, and the development of contextual understanding and professional skills. For example, an archaeology student may participate in an excavation, a student in the healthcare professions may ‘see practice’ in a clinic or hospital, and an urban science student may be directed to a town to critically appraise the architecture and how it represents societal assumptions over time. Students might be required to do ‘service learning’ to engage with and support a community or charitable organisation.
The concept of ‘learning landscapes’ (Tasler and Dale, 2021) or ‘place-based learning’ (Vander Ark et al., 2020) means that some environments can be sources of multi- or inter-disciplinary learning. For example, a public park or museum could be a space to consider the natural world, or the societal/historic relevance (and legacy) of statues or artworks, or architectural design, or social interactions between people.
While the term ‘outdoor learning’ is commonplace for fieldtrips (e.g. see Garnham & Oprandi, 2025), the term ‘ecopedagogy’ has been used by Offord (2024) to describe teaching that incorporates Freire’s ‘pedagogy of the earth’, challenging students to critique issues of sustainability and responsibility for the natural and built environment.
Does it work?
A qualitative study of students’ experiences of field-based learning in higher education by Fedesco et al. (2020) revealed that field trips can promote a sense of relatedness in students, enhance their intrinsic motivation to learn, and facilitate learning in ways not possible in the traditional classroom. Reflecting on their own experience as an educator in landscape architecture, Pattacini (2018) identified benefits to students such as active participation, collaboration and independent learning.
What do I need?
Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning model can be helpful here in terms of conceptualising the stages of a field trip:
- Concrete experience: Students have the actual experience of the field trip/visit.
- Reflective observation: Students are required to think about or reflect on the experience, perhaps capturing their reflections in real time through notes, photos or videos.
- Abstract conceptualisation: Students make sense of, and learn, from the experience. A reflective model such as Gibbs (1988) could be employed here. What have they learned that changes their understanding? How have their attitudes changed? What might they do differently next time?
- Active experimentation: Students get an opportunity to act on their learning; for example, refine their skills through ongoing practice, or interrogate and apply their knowledge and understanding in new ways.
Field trips require planning well in advance to consider logistical issues of travel, accommodation, health and safety, accessibility and inclusion. Unless you are leading the field trip yourself, the availability and willingness of curators, placement providers or other workplace stakeholders is crucial. The pedagogical aspects of field trips also need to be considered; what are the learning outcomes underpinning the activity? How will learning from field trips feed into assessment and/or readiness for the workplace? How will external stakeholders support student learning and development?
References
Fedesco, H., Cavin, D., & Henares, R. (2020). Field-based Learning in Higher Education. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 20. https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v20i1.24877
Garnham, W., & Oprandi, P. (2025). Outdoor learning in higher education. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003436928
Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Oxford Further Education Unit.
Offord, M. (2024) A bridge over troubled water: Making management education meaningful through ecopedagogy. 17th Annual University of Glasgow Learning & Teaching Conference, Glasgow, UK, 09 April 2024.
Pattacini, L. (2018). Experiential Learning: the field study trip, a student-centred curriculum.. Compass: Journal of Learning and Teaching. https://doi.org/10.21100/COMPASS.V11I2.815.
Tasler, N., & Dale, V. (2021). Learners, teachers and places: A conceptual framework for creative pedagogies. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 9(1), 2-7. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.14297/jpaap.v9i1.450
Vander Ark, T., Liebtag, E., & McClennen, N. (2020). The power of place: Authentic learning through place-based education. ASCD.