Limit a field trip to just one day? Well, in some school districts, field trips have been expanded to overnight or even several days.
Eighth graders at Orland Park Junior High School can participate in two overnight field trips organized by science teacher John DiNovo. One is a three-day outing to East Troy, Wis., where DiNovo correlates outdoor activities in the woods and marshes to several subject areas.
The second trip heads farther north, to Eagle River, Wis., where the group spends five days studying renewable resources and the forest habitat.
The programs are staffed with one adult per five or six kids, and the small groups encourage more active learning.
“We get to see the kids in a different setting,” DiNovo said. “It brings some kids out of their shells and helps the relationships back in the classroom for the rest of the year.”
In Palos Heights, 5th graders spend three days and two nights at The Center in Palos Park, where they study ecology. According to Donna Oliver, Palos District 128’s elementary science coordinator, “The children have to cooperate to accomplish specific goals out there. They’re all dependent on each other.
“Whatever little pettiness they may have at school disappears as they all work and play together. That’s really valuable.”
Such trips are optional, though popular. Costs are paid by the participants. The East Troy visit costs about $75, and the Eagle River excursion runs $225. The Center overnight costs about $70. (Most schools make arrangements to assist those who cannot afford the fee.)
The hands-on approach reinforces learning in a way that is difficult, or impossible, to duplicate in the classroom. DiNovo stressed that even “problem kids” sometimes blossom during the outdoor education programs.
“They’re not just writing down notes that are meaningless to them,” he said. “True learning is going on. When you do it, you remember.”
Added Oliver, “You can read all you want to, but unless you experience something, you don’t really get a sense of what you’ve read. After all, you can’t take the forest into the classroom no matter how hard you try.”
