During my 490 practicum at Southridge Elementary, I got the unique opportunity to accompany the class on a field trip to the Fort St. James National Historic Site to gain first-hand knowledge regarding what life would have been like during the fur trade in the 19th century. Before this field trip, my coaching teacher frontloaded the students by providing information as to what fur trading was like, what furs were traded for, what fur trading posts looked like, and more. During the trip, I was in charge of a group of 8 students and took them to some of the most important buildings in this fur trading location including the Officer’s Dwelling, the General Warehouse, the Men’s House, the Trade Store, and more. As we were moving from building to building, I was consciously relating what we were learning from the historically authentic and accurate tour guides back to what we had already learned in class, asking questions when something came up that we had already learned about, and asking how things we had not learned about were similar or different to the material we had covered in class together. The students were so excited about making connections to the material they knew and this translated to active engagement in the activities conducted by the historical tour guides.
I was very thankful to have the opportunity to participate in this field trip. One of the main messages that has stuck out to me since the beginning of the education program is that we learn best by doing so it is important to incorporate an experiential learning component in lessons wherever possible. By doing this, the learning the students are engaging in will deepen leading to a greater connection with the material and a greater chance that the material will be understood and will stick with the students for a longer period of time. This was the first field trip of this nature I have taken as a teacher candidate and soon to be teacher and I will definitely be actively searching for opportunities like this trip that I could take my future classes on to deepen learning, engagement, and connection to the content that I am teaching.
