In preparation for the new school year, I am creating a
to-do list of items that need to be taken care of before August 18th.
This year, one of those items is new: write a grant for field trip.
In the spring, I was working on my master’s degree, and I was
inspired to put theory into practice. Research has proven that students learn
best by doing. Authentic learning experiences allow them to act out their
exploration (Oblinger, 2007). Although this is not radical news, I decided to
try to theory into full action for an upcoming botany unit. One of the
fundamental objectives of this unit is that students will understand that parts
on a parts have a specific goal in the functioning of the plant. Around the school,
there are a handful of different plant species, but in some museum, there are
countless. Three hours north of my school lies the Field Museum of Chicago.
What is special about the Field Museum is that it host the largest diversity of
plant species in the world! In my mind, I imagined a lesson in which students acted as scientists trying to learn
about new plants. They walked through the museum, carefully drawing an
illustration of the plant, as well as determine what each unique duty must be
of each part. Another goal of the unit was to learn about the uses that people
employ of plants. Also, in the Field Museum, there are simulations in which
students can see plays and act like they are using the plants for traditional
purposes. In my mind, this was a perfect example of learning by doing.
The only catch was the cost. To send seventy-five kids north
three hours to the Field Museum of Natural History did not come without a
price. Therefore, I began my search for grants. I thankfully soon learned that
the Illinois Department of Natural Resources funds field trip projects,
specifically like the one I had in mine. If you are an Illinois teacher and
have goals for your students to learn about Illinois biodiversity, you can fill
out the grant proposal here. After several months after submitting the
grant, I finally learned that I have received the grant! Click here to see all of the
famous grant school recipients. After a month
of scrambling to get permission trips, buses, lunches, chaperones, and
everything fun that comes with a field trip, we were on our way north!
At the museum, the kids had a blast. One of the students
came up to me during the day and said, “Mrs. Repking, I feel like a real
scientist”. Kids laughed (appropriately, which is always a plus) at the skits
that demonstrated how plants were used for human purposes, and others were busy
spending hours drawing plants in their botany world. It was a great feeling to
know that the kids had so much fun and absolutely loved the museum, but more
importantly the kids had the opportunity to learn about so many plant species
through acting like a scientist would. They truly had the opportunity to
experience authentic learning. I was always a believer in authentic learning,
but I never saw the immense power and excitement that comes with it until that
day, which brings me back to my checklist. My wish for you is that you will put
one thing on your back-to-school checklist that will allow students to
experience authentic learning to the fullest. There is no way that as human beings
we can make every day like the Field Museum experience. However, if we do one
added thing each year, we can slowly and manageably turn our classrooms into 21st
century places, where students mimic the real world. So go forth, my teacher
friends and warriors, and put that extra item on your to-do list under getting
school supplies.
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