Often during our discussions on field-sites a lot of confusion regarding the difference between a field trip and a field-site emerges. While they have similar names, their purpose is very different. In Young Investigators: The Project Approach in the Early Years, Judy Harris Helm and Lilian G. Katz describe the purpose of field-site visits:
“Field-site visits are specifically designed for the conduct of field work. It is the part of the project that provides children with an opportunity to investigate the field-site and to become engaged in thinking in real depth about the topic. During fieldwork, young investigators attempt to find answers to their own specific questions.”
With the purpose, you can see that one of the key differences is the focus. Field trips are often focused on exploring the new location, while field-sites are focused on finding answers to student questions about a topic.
Another difference is in the planning. Field trips are usually planned by the teacher or location host plans, while field-sites involve children planning what they want to see, ask, and investigate.
The focus and planning, also affect how the experience is recorded through documentation. During field trips, frequently only adults take pictures of students enjoying their time at the location, while during field-sites students take pictures, drawings, and notes, adults may also document areas so that the students can continue to examine them in the classroom.
Some other great comparisons are made in Chapter 3 of Young Investigators, so be sure to check it out.
Some other common questions we receive each year about field-sites:
How many times do we need to visit a field-site?
This depends on your students and their questions. Most teachers have found it is beneficial to have a local site that they can revisit as new questions pop up. Depending how many questions your students have and if they are able to get them all answered will affect how many visits.
What if we can only visit a field-site once?
Document, document, document! Take pictures and videos, as well as have students do drawings and take notes, so that students can use them as a reference as they continue to investigate their topic.
Do all the students need to attend the field-site at the same time?
If your field site is local and you have additional staff and student support, we have had teachers in the past take small groups of students to a field site. This can assist with focus during the visit and space for investigating if the field-site is small. Field-sites can also be assigned as a homework for parents to take their child to a field site to answer certain questions, and to then bring in documentation to share what they found out.
What if my students are not allowed to leave the building?
Depending your topic, you may be able to find a field site within your building. For example, if you are studying how water moves, students can go around the building investigating all the different places there is water and pipes and how they move. Some past projects have even visited boiler rooms. For a mail project, students can investigate the area of the building where you get mail and interview the mail carrier when they arrive instead of having to go to a post office. If you are unable to find a space in your building you can bring in more experts and artifacts to compensate for the inability to do a field site visit.
Looking for more examples on field-sites? Check out this article
Limited in your ability to do field sites? Check out this article with more examples of experts
Written by Amelia Troutman