Disney Extra Credit - Fall 2013 - (Page 28)
educational field trips
provided by Jennifer Fink from Scholastic Instructor Magazine
T
Field trips improve focus.
here’s nothing like a hat shop to reinforce the concept
of circumference.
When Perea Blackmon, Washington, DC’s 2012 Teacher of
the Year, introduces circumference in her combined thirdand fourth-grade class, she tells the students that they’re
going to open a hat store, and have to figure out what size
hats to stock. Soon students are measuring each other’s
heads and calculating average head size. Then Blackmon and
her students take to the streets.
“We go out and visit some hat stores in the city to see what
kind of hats the people are selling and what kind of hats the
people are wearing,” says Blackmon. “Reading about things
in books is just not enough for students. You have to make
sure that you bring whatever you’re teaching to life.”
At some schools, field trips are a once-a-year extravaganza.
At others, field trips are viewed as an essential part of the
educational process. But when you take your students out
of the classroom, you can rest assured that your efforts are
worthwhile. Educators agree that field trips complement
and enhance students’ learning.
28 |
N extra credit
Taking students on a field trip is a great way to focus their
attention on the topic at hand. “By the time my students
come to me, they’ve had two or three different classes,
different encounters at the locker and different experiences
with their parents in the morning. It takes time to get them
focused on the learning objective,” says Todd Kruger, a
vocal director at Mayville High School in Wisconsin. “When
I get them on a bus, all those other external things go away.
A field trip changes their
routine and heightens their
educational experience.”
Kruger, who routinely takes
performing groups on trips,
says the trips allow students
to focus almost exclusively
on their music and
performance skills, if only
for a short time. That kind of
intense concentration allows
students to refine their skills
and increase their confidence.
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Disney Extra Credit - Fall 2013
Disney Extra Credit - Fall 2013
Contents
Welcome
Walt Disney, Educator
Career Spotlight
A Touching Reunion
Engineering for Today
Career Spotlight
Research and Storytelling
Center Stage
Disney Dreamers Academy
The Path to Newsies
Creativity in the Classroom
Educational Field Trips
Inspiring Through Theatre
Festival Disney Turns 10
New Learning Opportunities
The Visual Musicians
Beyond the Bright Lights
Music Education Excellence
Focus on the Future
Poetic License
Spotlight On: The Disney Honors
Disney Performing Arts Alumni
Mickey’s Education Adventure
Disney Performing Arts Opportunities
Disney Youth Education Series Opportunities
Students Get the “Scoop”
The Fundamentals of Finance
Advertisers and Thank You
Travel Planner Honors
Mickey’s Mind Teasers
Disney Extra Credit - Fall 2013
http://www.disneyextracreditmagazine.com/spring2014
http://www.disneyextracreditmagazine.com/fall2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/disneyyouth/extracredit_2012fall
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com