Classroom Resources

Connecting Travel to the Classroom Strengthens Students and Teachers

Traveling creates stronger teachers, and in turn stronger students. Studies continuously show how travel improves academic performance, and there are learning opportunities for students before, during, and after they return from their trip. For teachers, travel is professional development at the highest level. Travel brings lesson plans to life for classrooms, and the benefits are shared by the entire school community. While traveling, teachers can learn from content area specialists, draw interdisciplinary connections between their own content areas and others, build relationships with their students, and participate in a network of educators who share appreciation for experiential learning.

Learning about your destination

Before you travel, there are lots of opportunities to academically explore your destination. From key moments in history, to the music that found its beat there, each destination holds a vault of information. Humanities classrooms can explore the literature, sociology, and language of a destination. Students traveling to Washington, D.C., can learn about some of the most prominent sites and memorials before their trip so that when they arrive, they can delve even deeper into the topics that interest them. Science classrooms study the plants, animals, and geologic features of the region they’ll visit. Use your tour as the setting for your next great lesson.

Developing research skills

By setting students up to be researchers, and fully understanding what information supports quality research, students will begin to discern facts from opinions, the value of seeking primary sources, bias in reporting, and the value of referencing diverse resources. By asking students to consider the following questions, you will push their level of inquiry from passive observers to active investigators. Take it to the next level and have students interview a local while on-tour. Students will understand the value of “authentic resources” and how the secondary sources taken off the internet don’t always tell the full story. Use the itinerary to create a list of research topics, or have your students strengthen their intellectual curiosity skills by developing their own research question.

Strong writing takes practice

Writing by hand may seem tedious to some, but the slow process gives the brain time to process information. Have your students respond to reflection journal prompts each day. Reflective writing can help students become more self-aware, appreciate opportunities, get to know strengths and weaknesses, define values and interests, and question generalizations or stereotypes. These prompts could include:

• What did I learn that was new to me today?
• What did I find difficult or challenging today and why?
• What did I like and dislike? Why?
• In the future, this knowledge and experience will help me…

Each student will create a narrative that makes sense to them, instead of the verbatim note-taking habits they sometimes fall into. In doing so, you will be helping students increase both reading comprehension and literacy as the brain must actively engage with what they are writing. These small snapshots of their experience can roll into a larger, cross-curricular assignment after tour in the form of a short story, presentation, artistic, or multimedia project. Students can teach their classmates about what they found especially interesting, and they love being the experts!

Civics in the digital age

Our students seem to all know their way around a phone or a computer better than we do. Let them use those skills for good. During a travel program, mobile devices can help students complete a scavenger hunt or conduct research on the fly. Give students a specific topic to capture, or collectively get behind a specific cause, theme, or event. Deepen the learning experience by limiting the time students have to capture this content at each destination. This keeps them off their phones the entire time, while still giving them the space for at least one good selfie. Once students return home, they can use the photographs and videos to educate their peers and community.

Lesson plans come to life

When teachers travel, it shows up in their lesson plans. The amount of information available can seem overwhelming at times, but allowing educators the time and opportunity to explore their passions further can only heighten the learning that takes place when they return. Teachers capture the information shared on tour in a number of ways and use the experiences to create context for their instruction. By sharing experiences with students, you open the world to the entire classroom. Students may be unaware of how diverse and information-rich the world is, and first-hand experiences help broaden that perception. Primary sources, whether in the form of photos or video, motivate students to collect their own meaningful sources and seek out additional travel experiences of their own.

Regardless of what grade level or subject area you teach, your tour and classroom instruction can work hand-in-hand. You will be creating a unique learning experience for all your students – one that will stay with them for their lifetime.