Remember your elementary school days when you were so excited when the teacher announced that you all would be going on a field trip the next day.  She or he share where the class was going to go and what you would see and do.  The next 24 hours seemed like forever before you boarded the bus and you were on your way.  As a student I know I was always excited about field trips for two reasons, one we got to leave the school grounds and in many cases the field trip site was where food was prepared.  This meant that I was going to get something to eat which for an elementary age boy that was as good as it got.   My childhood memories flash back to my favorite field trip of all time when we toured a bakery that produced creme filled cupcakes.  The smell of items baking, the excitement of seeing the production area and then getting to eat all of the cupcakes I wanted is what made that experience a Hall of Fame field trip of a life time.

Career college students like field trips as well.  There may not be food involved but seeing the sites that they will soon be working in make such events come alive.  If at all possible try to incorporate a field trip or two into your courses.  Through field trips students get to see the relevancy of what they are learning in their classes and labs.  In addition, they see individuals making applications of the knowledge and skill sets they are acquiring.  Motivation is always much higher in the class after a field trip.  Planning and conducting a field trip is not hard to do and the rewards are great.  Field trips have been around forever so it may be easy to forget to include this learning tool in your instructional planning.  So as you get ready for your next course phase look for places you can take your students so they can see the "real world" in operation in their career field.