Learning on zoo field trips: The interaction of the agendas and practices of students, teachers, and zoo educators

Abstract

This paper reports on the findings of a case study that investigated the interaction of the agendas and practices of students, teachers, and zoo educators during a class field trip to a zoo. The study reports on findings of the analysis of two case classes of students and their perceptions of their learning experiences during the field trip. The goals, expectations, and perceived outcomes of the trip for students, their classroom teachers, and the zoo educators were elicited through interviews, surveys, student work, and observations. Both cases demonstrated how students placed high value and importance on social interactions with their peers. In addition, classroom teachers' pedagogical practices and the learning agendas they held for their students had a significant influence on students' subsequent learning and perceptions of the experience. This was in contrast to the zoo educators' practices and agendas that appeared not to be significant influences on student learning and perceptions. Implications for field trip planning and implementation are discussed.

Upper Secondary Students’ Situational Interest: A case study of the role of a zoo visit in a biology class

“…promotes student motivation (S. Hidi, Weiss, Berndorff, & Nolan, 1998;Paris, Yambor, & Packard, 1998) and learning (Cox-Petersen, Marsh, Kisiel, & Melber, 2003;Mortensen & Smart, 2007;Tofield, et al, 2003). Educational impact is increased by post-visit activities (D. Anderson, et al, 2000;Davidson, et al, 2010;Griffin, 1994). In the present study, the students participated in pre-trip preparation activities supplied by their teacher and were engaged in field trip laboratory work.…”

“…A substantial body of research on field trips has accumulated over the past years, much of which has attempted to identify to what degree field trips contribute to school-based instruction and learning, including teachers' variety of reasons for arranging field trips: as an enrichment experience, as a supplement to school curriculum, or as a reward, as illustrated by Davidson, Passmore and Anderson (2010) and Tofield, Coll, Vyle and Bolstad (2003). Sørensen and Kofoed (2003) has classified school field trips in four categories: a) the 'day out' tour, with no preparation and no follow-up; b) the 'classroom' tour, where students follow a docent or teacher around the venue and often do a worksheet; c) the 'inspiration' tour, where students explore the exhibits on their own to obtain ideas for post-trip activities back at school; and d) the 'learning resource' tour, where the visit is part of the work at school with pre-and post-trip activities.…”

Students’ Digital Photography Behaviors during a Multiday Environmental Science Field Trip and Their Recollections of Photographed Science Content

“…Field trips are an important vehicle through which classrooms of students and teachers are able to engage with and learn about the natural world through integrated processes of immersion and direct observation [1,2]. They are noteworthy for educators because they may lead to improved content understanding of and attitudes relevant to the natural environment [3,4] and also because they can produce longterm memories of specific learning experiences that have the potential of enduring for several years [5][6][7].…”

Understanding Teachers’ and their Learners’ Perceptions about Museums Visits in South Africa

“…These and other studies show that determining visitors' motivation for their visits to museums provides insight into what and how they will learn during the visit. Relatively few studies on students' perspectives during fieldtrips have been carried out (Davidson, et al, 2010), so any insight into their learning agendas, which this paper provides, is of value for the field.…”

“…Anderson, Kisiel, & Storksdieck, 2006;Davidson, Passmore, & Anderson, 2010;Falk, Moussouri, & Coulson, 1998). These and other studies show that determining visitors' motivation for their visits to museums provides insight into what and how they will learn during the visit.…”