Companies Like Equity School Travel Could Help Bridge the Achievement Gap

A recent study conducted in the United States has shown that field trips such as those provided by Equity School Travel can help improve achievement levels among school children. The survey showed day outings can improve skills such as memory, retention, critical thinking skills and historical empathy.

The study, developed by non-profit organisation Applied Scholastics International, was conducted during a one-hour visit to an art museum. On this outing, students were given room to discuss the paintings among themselves, with the museum staff intervening only when requested. Three weeks after the trip the children were presented with a survey on the trip, in order to assess what they had retained and how the trip had impacted their view of museums and field trips in general.

The results were clear: students showed a high level of retention pertaining to the material on show at the museum, improved critical thinking skills, and a better understanding of life during other eras in history, all stemming from looking at paintings and absorbing information during their museum school trip.

According to the study, this is due to the fact that field trips offer hands-on contact with the subject at hand, allowing students to experience it, and thus gain a better understanding of it than they would have in an abstract learning situation. They can, therefore, close the experience gap that contributes to the poor academic achievements many students display. Companies such as Equity School Travel are therefore important to the development of schoolchildren, since they offer new destinations and opportunities for school trips, beyond those the school itself can offer.

Applied Scholastics International has existed since 1972, and is a non-profit organisation specialising in teaching strategies and proficiency-based learning. Their ‘ASAP’ programme has proven results in helping teachers and schools improve the lives and learning levels of their students, particularly those with learning difficulties and socio-economic issues.

About Equity School Travel:

Equity School Travel offers educational trips worldwide, focussing on a wide variety of subject matters. Find them at http://www.equityschooltravel.co.uk/

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