Why are field trips valuable experiences for students? Practical experience is why; the kind of learning by doing that cannot be accomplished in a classroom. This holds true within many different academic disciplines, of the value of hands-on experience vs. a basic classroom lecture. I will give you one experience from the Political Science Department as an example.
Recently, my Politics of the European Union (EU) class took a trip to Buffalo, New York for EuroSim09, the 22nd annual European Parliament simulation exercise. About 240 students from colleges all over the U.S. and Europe joined us there, and together we formed a complete EU government. The entire exercise was student run, as there were no professors there to oversee any of the simulation.
We were all given alter-ego roles as members of the European Parliament, heads of government (the EU Council) and EU Commission members. A student-authored piece of legislation was introduced, one concerning cross-border cooperation in fighting organized crime and terrorism. The simulation surrounded the process that the bill took to be debated, amended and hopefully passed, first by parliament and then by the European Council, which holds the final veto power. The students spent the weekend attending party, council and committee meetings, endlessly debating and fine-tuning this important piece of legislation.
Through the exercise we learned the hard way of just how politics really works. We had to reach out to our fellow committee members and get them to understand our point of view. If any of us had ideas to present, we had to do research and back them up with facts and strong reasoning. If one did not articulate their point in a clear and complete fashion, other participants struck down their ideas and moved on.
My professor, Dr. DeBruyn, explained why he thinks field trips are important, “Simulations tap into experiential learning. The idea is that a different type of learning is going on, that there’s simply some things that cannot be taught, you just have to do it.” Indeed he was right, as we learned about the political process, with its components of public speaking, negotiations and compromise.
My own experience I can only categorize as priceless. There were so many things I experienced that I could never have learned in a classroom. Before leaving for Buffalo, I prepared for the simulation by doing research on my own and reading through the proposed legislation. Several items stuck out in my mind, so I wrote them down. On the first day of the legislation I proposed my ideas and concerns, some of which had also been proposed by other members in their own parties.
One concept I was particularly proud of. After I pushed it aggressively in my parliamentary committee, someone else took up the idea and wrote it out as a proposed amendment to the bill. Then to my joyous surprise it was passed by my political party and later approved unanimously by a joint session of parliament. I was very proud of myself, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction from having accomplished something important.
Unfortunately, the council later rejected the amendment, so on the last day I joined the majority of parliament in a vote of no confidence and a dramatic walkout. In real life this doesn’t happen often, but it does happen, so I was proud to be a part of it. It was exciting and rewarding, and as exhausting as the whole exercise was, it was an unforgettable and invaluable learning experience. If I had the whole stressful weekend to do over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.
I have heard that NEIU has many barriers to cross, and little interdepartmental cooperation concerning out-of-town field trips. Add to that the huge amount of red tape that a professor, club or department must go through to organize a trip, and you wonder how any of these excursions happen at all. Funding also plays a big part in the equation, as does the administration’s concerns about liability in case a student gets hurt. Yet in any department, these trips fill the same role that I have described. They are an integral and irreplaceable part of the learning experience.
There is the cold, hard knowledge that a lecture or exam will teach you, but those methods cannot replace the practical experience of a field trip. As my fellow “Eurosimmer” Trisha Conley told me, in reference to politicians, “It is one thing to read textbooks and familiarize yourself with theories, but it is not until you’ve actually tried to walk a mile in their shoes that you grasp the importance of their role in society.”
There is also the concept of diversity that this university holds so dear. EuroSim09 helped me to get out in the world and interact with students from all across Europe, with democracy and good governance as a common goal. A larger, more global perspective of the world was opened to us. Each of us learned something valuable about the world at large, cooperating with others, and hopefully about something within ourselves as well.