Abstract
Students, their teachers and their guardians often retain fond memories from field trips they experienced together. Field trips are categorized as a form of experiential learning. Experiential learning provides students with opportunities to bring their whole being into their learning. This project addresses how formal educators, like public school teachers, can work in community with other educators who work directly to provide experiential learning opportunities, like through museums, camps, internships, etc.
The research revealed that most experiential learning institutions and educators desire to build partnerships with school educators. Students benefit greatly from experiential learning. They are able to develop their executive functioning, cognitive thinking and other social skills while learning that targeted content. The research also argues that students benefit even more when their teachers and chaperones mutually participate in the experiential learning opportunity. Experiential learning allows for all people to learn in a way that is the most organic and natural to them.
While some teachers adequately prepare and engage with their students during the experiential learning, other teachers will disengage. By integrating research-based practices, a handbook was created that supports teachers in the development of extending experiential learning practices into their classroom prior to their field trip. This handbook provides a model on how to lead discussions with their students about how they learn best individually. It also includes segments on how to train chaperones and invite them into a classroom community of learners. The handbook provides examples of lessons and activities for teachers, chaperones and students to practice and model experiential learning before and during their trip.