LEARNING IN THE LOCAL AREA
Begin by opening your learning journal for this activity.
PERSPECTIVES ON TEACHING AND LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
Scene: A Staff Room
Teacher A
I really must organise some fieldwork for my class. We have been studying waste management for two weeks and they really need to go and see what is being done locally.
Teacher B
Where will you go?
Teacher C
For this topic I always take my group on a bus trip to the waste treatment depot. I have worked out a good number of questions and things to point out.
Teacher B
I hate fieldwork. It always takes so much time to prepare worksheets and organise the kids. I would much rather go myself and take slides of the important features. Then I can use them in school with my class and make sure they get all their notes complete.
Teacher A
I am not going to have many question sheets for them to fill in. I want them to make accurate observations and ask their own questions.
Teacher C
Why?
Teacher A
In class the other day two students said they saw some dead fish in the river. Others said they had seen a report about this on television. They were really excited because the TV news was about the very topic they had been studying in class – and here was a local example. They want to visit the waste treatment depot to find out how wastes should be collected and treated so the poison is not put into the river any more.