Field Trips

Posted on by Nattasit Dancholvichit

PURPOSE

To give students the opportunity to observe, experience, and/or practice what they have learned or will learn on-site. 

DESCRIPTION

A field (industrial) trip can be undertaken for educational purposes in which students visit locations where materials, equipment, and systems discussed in class can be observed and studied directly in their working environment. 

UNDERLYING EDUCATIONAL THEORIES

active learning 

PEDAGOGICAL BENEFITS 

  • Due to exposure to practical systems and the real-world applications, field trips can enable students to acquire a deeper understanding and appreciation of concepts taught in the classroom. 
  • Field trips stimulate students’ interest in engineering by allowing them to observe engineers at work. Observing engineering processes and product creation can enhance students’ awareness and encourage a favorable attitude toward engineering professions. 
  • Field trips strengthen students’ professional communication skills by exposing them to industry terminology, workplace norms, and communication channels. The exposure can also provide insight toward future careers by allowing students to see engineers at work in diverse sectors. 
  • Field trips allow students to build helpful networks that could support their future recruitment. Additionally, field trips allow educational institutions to form strong relationships with industry professionals (e.g., by allowing lecturers to engage with senior executives from the industries they visit). 

STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION 

  1. Instructors should explain the field trip objectives to students and relate the trip objectives to overall course objectives and learning outcomes. This can include a brief introduction or background information, arrangements, transportation, and itinerary. 
  2. Pre-trip activities should help students understand ground rules and prompt them to invest in what they will be doing. The more involvement students have in the planning of industrial excursions, the more engaged they will be. 
  3. To guarantee that the trip objectives and learning outcomes are met, during-trip activities should lead to students’ active participation. An instructor or at least one other member of the teaching team should accompany students. The company should give a presentation about its history, corporate structure, processing and manufacturing, and safety concerns. Students should be given enough opportunity to ask any questions during the visit. 
  4. After the visit, follow-up activities should be conducted. These might be question-and-answer sessions or reports based on the learning outcomes that have been developed. 
  5. To assess whether students were satisfied with the activity, feedback should be gathered from them via questionnaires and/or in-class discussions. This also includes instructor comments that may be shared with the company for future activities. 

REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING 

Townsend, V., & Urbanic, J. (2013). Industrial field trips: An integrated pedagogical framework of theory and practice. The International Journal of Engineering Education, 29(5), 1155-1165.  

Pitso, Kheza Jonas. Designing a framework for the advancement of lecturer capacity in developing graduate attributes at a technical and vocational education and training college. Diss. Bloemfontein: Central University of Technology, Free State, 2018. 

Frimpong, Emmanuel Asuming, and Francis Boafo Effah. “A framework to guide industrial trips in engineering training institutions.” The International Journal of Electrical Engineering & Education (2021): 00207209211013454.