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Mauritius: Excursions As an Incentive for More in-Depth Learning
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L'Express (Port Louis)
14 August 2007
Posted to the web 14 August 2007
Pauline Etienne
Port Louis
Excursions are often a source of excitement and fun for children who love spending time with their friends outside school. But they also provide opportunities for learning differently.
The visit to the Martello Tower was an opportunity for the participants in the Yes Programme to learn through fun activities.
"They really had fun," guarantees Nina Gopaul, in charge of the Corporate Social Responsibility project of a large local group. Pupils taking part in the 'Youth Engaged In Service' programme had the opportunity to go on an excursion to the Martello Tower and the Black River Gorges last week. A time for having fun with their friends but also a golden opportunity to see what they had been taught during lectures between the four walls of their class-room.
Pupils are most of the time over-excited when they are told that they are going on an excursion. It is a special event in their school routine. Teachers may find in such occasions a perfect opportunity to teach them something important.
Getting ready for an excursion related to a science lesson for instance is a great opportunity to enable pupils to learn about the flora and fauna of Mauritius. Knowing that they will go and experience the lesson afterwards may give them more motivation to learn. But more importantly, the excursion is meant to enable pupils to do some research on a specific topic and explore a particular aspect of nature.
A visit to a museum is equally a way of increasing pupils' interest in history - as learning in the field and seeing things with one's own eyes makes it much easier to remember afterwards. A pupil may not remember specific dates learnt in the classroom a few months after the course but definitely keeps in mind visits to a museum or a specific site years afterwards.
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In fact, schools generally participate in excursions to enhance and support classroom studies. They often provide practical experiences to extend learning in a particular area. This is particularly true for secondary schools where excursions have a clear pedagogical objective, which is to establish a link with a specific unit of work.
As for primary pupils, they could be taken out occasionally for fun. But going out with such young children requires careful preparation well before, as it raises fundamental safety issues. Getting out of the school premises brings many benefits for pupils but may also become a source of stress for teachers who need to make sure they have planned everything properly. Extra people - including parents - to support teachers are welcome to make sure there are enough adults to keep an eye on all the children.
However there is no doubt that excursions will benefit both teachers and learners at the end of the day. Taking children out of the classroom will give them an incentive to work on the specific topic before the excursion. Likewise, it will give all the pupils and the teachers a breath of fresh air and they will learn more about each other outside their usual environment. It may even help create a friendlier atmosphere at school in the future.
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