With so many eye-opening destinations to choose from, it is essential to have an anchoring objective when deciding where to go on your next school trip. Every place offers something unique, and your students will get more out of the experience if you align your destination with a few concrete goals. Here are some questions that will help you narrow down your options and settle on the perfect destination to provide your students with an enriching and enlightening experience.
Why do you want to plan a school trip abroad?
Having a firm idea regarding the nature of the trip you hope to have is necessary. Your trip may be geared toward a Service Learning program that will provide maximum opportunity to engage in socially beneficial activities. Alternatively, a primarily educational tour will focus more on learning that could allow your students to explore new ideas and determine future courses of study. An outdoorsy trip, meanwhile, may expose students to new levels of biodiversity and help cultivate a deeper appreciation for sustainability and the natural world. If you have the time and resources, you may also want to combine all of these aspects into one action-packing learning adventure! Whatever the case, it is helpful to contemplate and decide how you view the nature of your trip before settling on a destination.
What are your educational goals?
You will generate a more satisfying experience for everyone involved if you start with some goals to achieve. Goals may include working on an extended assignment, such as the CAS project, discovering a new learning environment, or introducing students to a new culture or activity. Determining the learning subjects or activities you would like to cover is a great way to get started and will help you refine possible destinations or trip ideas.
Do you want your students to enhance their language skills through an immersion program?
Being immersed fully in the cultural context and rhythm can help make tremendous strides when learning a language. Furthermore, when students have the chance to practice their language skills in an organic and fluid environment, they gain the confidence needed to mobilize their knowledge and become fluent speakers. On the other hand, planning to teach at least the basic structure of the language spoken in your destination can be a great way to introduce students to different language families and conventions.
Do you want students to be exposed to a culture with different lifestyles, customs, and traditions that are difficult to cover during regular classes?
Witnessing the dynamics of another culture firsthand can be a transformative experience for young minds. By aligning your trip with topics you are already covering in the classroom, you can get students excited about seeing how what they study at school is relevant and present in the world around them. Immersion in a new culture also allows for it to be understood in its complete and multifaceted expression, resisting reduction to a few main characteristics or stereotypes.
What are your students interested in?
Of course, students have a wide variety of interests, and you will not be able to fulfill the exact inclinations of every individual. Nevertheless, thinking about how a given destination could help inspire your students’ interest— be that in the sciences, art, music, social sciences, or entrepreneurship and commerce—will help make your trip more meaningful. You can list ideas for how each destination could fulfill different requirements and see where you will be best suited to meet the students’ needs.
Are your students required to meet community service requirements, or do you simply want them to impact their host community positively?
One of the most beneficial and memorable components of educational trips is the opportunity to get a hands-on experience. Whether that entails participating in marine conservation, rather than just reading about the impact of global warming, or getting the chance to interact with the local people who work to make an impact each day in their communities—the personal experience amplifies learning. Ensuring that your students can get the most from their service contributions while traveling will invoke energized action that will continue long after the trip has ended.
When will your students benefit most from a trip?
A trip’s timing must be correct if students are to get the most out of the experience. With a rigorous list of requirements to fulfill, students may be distracted or even stressed if the trip is scheduled at the wrong time. Depending on your academic calendar and exam period, there will be a few clear windows of travel throughout the year. It is also worth keeping in mind that flight rates tend to increase around holiday times, and you will usually be able to secure a lower price if you plan your trip well in advance!
What budget range will be accessible to all of your students?
Speaking of flight rates—affordability is, of course, a necessary consideration for any trip. An educational school trip offers far-reaching benefits but also requires monetary commitment. To be able to provide an accessible and optimal school trip, costs need to be determined carefully. At CAS Trips, we strive to keep costs within the affordable bracket while offering a truly exceptional travel experience. Our organization has many years of engagement with responsible and experiential travel. As a result, we can offer affordable educational trips that benefit from extensive industry knowledge and established relationships with verifiable and reliable providers.
Keeping the above considerations in mind will assist in arriving at the perfect destination for your next school trip. For further inquiries regarding inclusions, costs, and trip activities, please get in touch with one of our student travel experts and begin the journey!
