Outstanding in the Field

Field trips used to have an image problem. Students saw them primarily as reprieves from regular assignments, and other teachers resented having students pulled out of their classes. Often, students' most significant memories of these trips concerned who threw up on the bus.

In recent years, the humble field trip has had a makeover thanks to dedicated teachers who recognize great opportunities for learning outside the classroom. In this section, three of these teachers pass along some of their ideas for making field trips into real-life learning experiences. John Dupuis and Cal Kullman tell readers how they create adventures that fit into the existing curriculum. In a more radical approach, Robert Sharp tells us how he redesigned curriculum delivery around in-depth field studies.

• Take me to the river…

  John Dupuis
  Bishop Pinkham Junior High School
  Calgary, Alberta

  Cal Kullman
  Louis Riel School, Calgary, Alberta

• Life, laundry and learning

  Robert Sharp
  F. H. Collins Secondary School
  Whitehorse, Yukon