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We share evidence-based K-12 learning strategies that empower you to improve education.

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School Transformation Through Arts Integration at Bates Middle School

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Constance Steinkuehler on Interest-Driven Learning (Big Thinkers Series)

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Blogs on Field Trips

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Five-Minute Film Festival: Travel for Teachers

Amy Erin Borovoy (aka VideoAmy)June 1, 2012

Tags Field Trips, Global Education, Teacher Development, Travel, International

I'm the proud daughter of a lifelong public school teacher, and one of the things my mom loved best about being an educator was the opportunity to travel in the spring and summer. She brought artifacts, photographs, language, and lessons from every place she traveled back into her classroom, and her students were richer for it. Now retired, my mom made a goal of visiting every continent, and she goes to schools in nearly every country she visits, enchanting the children there with bubble bottles, pencils, and her trademark stuffed-animal backpack purses.

So I know that teachers are natural adventurers. I'm sure you don't need convincing to see that whether you have the resources to travel internationally or just take a short local trip, traveling can be enriching both personally and professionally for educators. Just watch the videos in this week's playlist for some ideas!

The Last 40 Days Until Summer

Danielle Moss LeeMarch 14, 2012

Tags Classroom Management, Field Trips, Lesson Plans, Primary (K-2), Teacher Development, Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

Late one afternoon last week, I found a student smiling a smile of sheer relief at the Harlem Educational Activities Fund (HEAF). "Only 40 days left," she grinned. She was meticulously counting down the days to the end of the school year.

I smiled to myself. As much as I enjoyed the years I spent teaching in New York City, I have to admit that I, too, hit The Wall around this time of year. Sometimes it takes nothing less than sheer will and determination to make it through.

National Parks: Project-Based Learning in Our Most Important Places

Milton ChenSeptember 16, 2011

Tags Expeditionary Learning, Field Trips, Health, Project-Based Learning, Teacher Development, Middle (6-8), High (9-12), English Language Arts, Geography, History, Physical Education, Science, Visual Arts

This summer, when millions of families took the iconic American vacation in our National Parks, I had a chance to visit with many educators who are using the Parks for place-based learning. In June, I spoke at the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom conference, a passionate group of teachers, park rangers, and nonprofit educators who are giving students a deeper, more meaningful connection to the history of slavery in our nation. The Underground Railroad Network is not a single National Park but, as its name indicates, a network of places far more extensive than I was aware of.

The Absolute Awesomeness of Field Trips

Elena AguilarJuly 12, 2011

Tags Field Trips, Teacher Development, All Grades, California

I am writing this post from the mountains of northern Thailand, ten days into a four-week adventure with my seven-year-old son and husband. This is the first serious travel we've done with our son -- the first time in a country where we don't speak the language, don't have family, and don't understand many of the customs. Pre-child, I was a traveler.

Snapshots of Innovation: Travels With Chen (After Steinbeck's Travels with Charley)

Milton ChenNovember 3, 2010

One of my favorite books in high school was John Steinbeck's Travels With Charley, his account of his road trip around the U. S., late in his career, accompanied only by his French poodle Charley. Not having traveled much as a boy beyond my home state of Illinois, into Wisconsin and Indiana, I was mesmerized by his stories of the vastness and diversity of our country.

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