Society has started to place a higher demand on self-awareness, and the skills students develop while in school. One of the easiest ways to help students is to introduce them to different learning environments. Taking what students would traditionally learn in a classroom and incorporating that experience outside the classroom can change their understanding of real-life applications of what they’ve learned in the classroom. The following are just some of the places teachers can take their students to continue learning.

Field Trips

Field trips sometimes mean long bus rides, packed lunches, and museum tours. Field trips take a variety of forms and meet a variety of needs and learning styles. Along with engagement concepts and experiences, students can bond and use learning experiences to create learning communities to help each other. Learning in the field also allows instructors to get to know their students outside of the confines of the classroom, and it will enable students to see the world differently than the instructor. 

Community Engagement and Service Learning

To escape the four walls of a classroom and to allow your students to learn and serve others in their community, teachers can introduce service-learning and community engagement opportunities. This gets students out into the community and will enable them to have discussions with community members or local experts. These experiences help students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. 

Technology Outside the Classroom

With the use of smartphones and tablets, learning over the summer or during longer breaks has become easier than ever. With the right apps, it’s easy for students to access content that is tied to what they are learning in the classroom or brush up on skills that they need extra help with. 

Study Abroad

Once in college, students will have the opportunity to study abroad and enroll in foreign universities to take classes. Students who go overseas are more willing to take courses outside of their major and become more confident about traveling and often choose to stay for longer-term programs once they are comfortable. In turn, universities are internationalizing their curriculum and offer faculty-led programs to help students increase their understanding of the world.