Extracurricular Activities: The Role Of Group Excursions

By Author: Randy Wheeler
Total Articles: 332
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The list of potential extracurricular activities that can be performed during study cannot be counted. In that regard, such activities are not necessarily connected to interest clubs or groups with pre-determined activities. Any arrangements outside of the curriculum, which nevertheless, has educational purposes, can be considered as an extracurricular activity. The present article will attempt to explain such activity as travel and group excursions.

Overview

Group excursions are tours conducted by teachers and/or the administration of the educational institution to a specific location, which significance is related to a particular class material and learning outcomes. In that regard, such excursions are not connected to a specific discipline or subject, with each discipline choosing a location relevant to their specific courses. The list of potential locations and their respective subjects might include the following:

1.History - museums, historic locations, meetings with war veterans, etc.

2.English - plays, movies, musicals, meetings with famous authors, etc.

3.Science - museums, laboratories, ...
... factories, etc.

4.Geography - tours to famous geographic locations.

The Benefits

The benefits of such extracurricular activities can be seen in emphasizing the learning outcomes through visual representation. The role of visualization in learning cannot be overestimated, where students might comprehend information in a faster pace. Accordingly, combining learning outcomes with leisure will lead to the information being assessed in a natural way. Additionally, it can be stated that students are more likely to participate in group discussions when such discussions are held during extracurricular activities. The role of the teacher, in that matter, is to compose a list of topics that can be discussed during the visit and provide an assessment instrument that will evaluate the achieved goals in the class. Most disciplines imply writing a reflection paper after the visit, as one of assessment instruments.