In our recent blog, we highlighted six key reasons why now is the time for schools to revolutionise their touring programs. In a nutshell, the current ever-evolving global travel landscape, post COVID, has made it an imperative for the school executive to carefully consider how it moves forward with its school tour program.
In this article, we will explore the second of those reasons in greater depth – increasing educational merit and outcomes through individually crafted, curriculum-linked itineraries, full of experiential learning activities. What should a specialised educational tour operator be able to contribute, to enhance the educational value of tours, achieving learning outcomes that meet the curriculum requirements as taught in your school, as well as supplementing classroom learning? What can a specialised travel partner bring to the table that is a significant gamechanger?
While we’ve long been advocates for creating touring experiences with genuine educational outcomes, we know this hasn’t always been the case for every school. Over the years, we have spoken with educators who confided their frustrations about touring experiences that focussed primarily on sightseeing, rather than curriculum-linked, learning activities.
Post COVID, we believe it is going to become non-negotiable for schools to offer programs that are rich in meaning and integrity of experience.
A reset of your touring program, in conjunction with the right partner, will offer students the opportunity to meaningfully enrich their classroom learning, with real-world experiences and exposure to experts in their subject fields.
What to consider when selecting a school touring partner
- We recommend selecting a partner with a deep understanding of the importance of including experiential learning activities in your itinerary and significant expertise in the design and delivery of these incredible learning opportunities.
- We suggest selecting a partner that has demonstrated the capacity to understand the relevant curriculum (State, Australian, IB or international) and can use that knowledge to individually craft itineraries and educationally meaningful activities.
- A great partner will listen carefully to the brief, in order to understand the desired learning outcomes, cultural needs and any other requirements, and will deliver an itinerary that meets or exceeds the school’s expectations.
- The best partner will also have sound knowledge of the cross-curriculum priorities and general capabilities and how they can be embedded into the tour.
- Your touring partner ought to be able to suggest ways of potentially combining any subjects on tour, to increase numbers and help with budgeting. They should be able to design complex itineraries that will run smoothly and deliver to each subject group the meaningful learning expected.
Conclusion
When travel resumes after the current restrictions are eased, we believe there will be an even greater focus on providing students with meaningful, responsible, experiential-learning based educational tours. These outcomes are best achieved with the help of an experienced, longer-term touring partner.
Get in touch to find out how Latitude Group Travel can help you plan and book cutting-edge, educational tours with a strong focus on engendering genuine learning outcomes in 2022 and beyond.
Related articles:
If you missed the previous articles in this series, you can catch up on them here:
6 reasons why now is the time to revolutionise your school touring program
COVID-Safe checklist: 5 questions to ask your educational travel partner