Field trip guidance for Augustana educators

Considering taking a class on a field trip? Meeting with off-campus partners? Augustana College promotes engaged learning and community-based learning and CELTS and CORE want to help you with that.

Why plan a field trip?

A field trip generally refers to a learning experience that has students leaving the classroom. SoTL scholarship credits the field trip as a form of experiential learning and active learning that can foster positive attitudes toward a topic, energize students, and promote learning goals, especially when field trips are fully integrated into the curriculum with opportunities for pre-site work and post-site reflection (Kolb & Kolb, 2017; Lee, et al, 2020, Parello & Valentine, 2022; Pattacinni, 2018). Field trips, and other forms of experiential learning, including internships, community-based learning, and study away/abroad, are encouraged at Augustana College as forms of engaged learning.

Planning a trip

There are a number of things to consider when planning a field trip. This webpage will help guide you through the process.

Funding the trip

For many faculty, finding funding for the trip is an important factor. For funding your field trip experience, most faculty first turn to department chairs and academic coordinators. Does your program/department have endowed funds available to support engaged learning and field trip opportunities? From there, division deans have an Academic Initiatives Fund to support academic and teaching activities, including field trips. Humanities faculty have an additional opportunity to get funding through the Humanities Fund.

Budgeting tips:

• There are cost estimates to help you budget. NB: If you want to use Augustana-owned vans, book as early as possible. And remember, Augustana-owned vans can only be used locally (no further than 50 miles from the College).
• You can find all the rates for different vehicles and their sizes on the vehicle rentals webpage.
• Consider entrance fees for museums or specific programs and food costs. Will students have to buy their own lunch? If so, make sure that is communicated to students. 

Whenever possible, field trips should be identified in the course syllabus with as much detail as possible (as to location, time, means of transportation, and with some reference to any inherent risk associated with the particular activity). The syllabus should identify whether the field trip is “required” or not.

Adding to your syllabus

Whenever possible, field trips should be identified in the course syllabus with as much detail as possible (as to location, time, means of transportation, and with some reference to any inherent risk associated with the particular activity). The syllabus should identify whether the field trip is “required” or not. 

Preparing a assignment

Consider the action/reflection connection by having students reflect on the experience and connect it with previous learning and course content. Field trips are most effective at supporting learning goals when there is sufficient preparation and consideration of learning objectives. Scarce even recommends designing the trip around a specific (often short) assignment (Scarce, 1997).

Taking a pre-trip visit

Whenever practical, the faculty/educator should visit the site in advance to evaluate potential risks and to mitigate, to the extent possible through effective planning, risks associated with the location.

Preparing students for the trip

Consider a pre-trip meeting with students.

1. Outline to the participants the itinerary and what is expected of the participants, while describing the risks (if any) they may incur related to the trip. Considerations include:
   1. What do they need to bring? Specific technology? Bug spray? Snacks? Money for food?
   2. What readings/assignments does the trip connect to? Do you want them to have some reading done before the experience?
   3. What are your expectations for student behavior and participation during the day?
2. Communicate clearly how transportation will happen to students. If students are driving themselves, have them complete the “Student Self Transportation Form.” CORE has this form and will provide it to faculty. Contact Lisa Slater if you need this form. (The form is fill-in-the-blank and not a hurdle, but needs to be filled out for each individual event. CORE provides the form to faculty to have students complete, and then faculty hold onto the forms for use if necessary.)
3. Ask students to advise you of any disabilities, problems, or needs that may need to be accommodated and work with Disability & Access Resources.
4. An assumption of risk/liability waiver form is available for students participating in voluntary activities; waivers are not used for mandatory classroom activities or learning events that may occur off campus. Questions regarding the use of waivers may be referred to the College’s General Counsel.

Booking trips

You can book an Augustana-owned vehicle or Enterprise vehicle by completing the vehicle rental request form (at least 10 days before the trip, and more time is highly recommended).

You will need to know:

• Date, time, and destination of the trip
• Type of vehicle needed
• Renter’s name and date of birth
• Department to be billed and account number

The process for how to pick up and where to drop off vehicles are explained on the vehicle rental page (use the “Jump to” section to make navigation easier).

Keep these things in mind:

• Transportation costs, including vehicle rental and fuel, will be charged to the department and account number that are listed on the form.  Be sure your department chair knows and approves of the trip and expense.
• Faculty/staff are responsible for identifying and providing qualified drivers for the trip. Drivers must comply with the College’s Driver and Fleet Safety Policy and any other applicable college policies, including completing any required training or certification. These include the following requirements, but be sure to read the full requirements on the Driver and Fleet Safety Policy.
  • Minimum age requirement is 25 to operate a 10+ passenger van off campus. This includes all campus owned, leased and rented 10+ passenger vans.
  • Drivers must complete the required training module for large passenger vans. This training must be renewed every two years.
  • Drivers must have at least two years of driving experience and complete the online safety training.
  • College vans can only be driven within 50 miles of the College.
• Drivers can request online training here.

Have additional questions or need help?

Don’t hesitate to contact Erin Kempker, Director of the Center for Engaged Learning, Teaching, and Scholarship at erinkempker@augustana.edu.

CELTS and CORE want to help faculty get students in experiential learning opportunities. If you have a question or need help, we want to hear from you.

Citations

Parrello, T., & Valentine, C. L. (2022). Exploring the educational impact of academic field trips over time. Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education, 5(1), Article 10. Available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/elthe/vol5/iss1/10

Scarce, R. (1997). Field trips as short-term experiential education. Teaching Sociology, 25(3), 219. https://doi.org/10.2307/1319398

Lee, H., Stern, M. J., & Powell, R. B. (2020). Do pre-visit preparation and post-visit activities improve student outcomes on field trips? Environmental Education Research, 26(7), 989–1007. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2020.1765991

Behrendt, M., & Franklin, T. (2014). A review of research on school field trips and their value in education. International Journal of Environmental & Science Education, 9(3), 235–245. https://doi.org/10.12973/ijese.2014.213a

Kolb, A. Y., & Kolb, D. A. (2017). Experiential learning theory as a guide for experiential educators in higher education. Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education, 1(1), Article 7. Available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/elthe/vol1/iss1/7

Pattacini, L. (2018). Experiential learning: The field study trip, a student-centred curriculum. Compass: Journal of Learning and Teaching, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.21100/compass.v11i2.815

Farmer, J., Knapp, D., & Benton, G. M. (2007). The effects of primary sources and field trip experience on the knowledge retention of multicultural content. Multicultural Education, 14(3), 27–31.

Kisiel, J. (2010). More than lions and tigers and bears: Creating meaningful field trip lessons. Science Activities, 43(2), 7–10. https://doi.org/10.3200/SATS.43.2.7-10