Abstract
Field Experiences are often considered extracurricular, and not always a part of traditional college programs. However, these experiences can provide unique opportunities for learning, increase student confidence, broaden student perspectives of their chosen profession, and connect students with their environments, professors, and classmates. Because these programs often require a deep commitment from faculty, administrators, and the students, it is sometimes difficult to justify the resources required to successfully implement these courses. This project sought to identify several of the impacts that a field course may have on students, and to summarize these findings into sharable data for potential college and university administrators, interested faculty, and other stakeholders.
Data was collected via an online survey administered shortly after completion of a five-day field experience. Information was gathered on student concerns prior to the trip, satisfaction of experiences during the trip, and lasting impacts on students from the field experience. Students indicated the highest concerns preceding the field learning experience were being able to complete their academic project, and balancing living and learning while on the trip. After the field experience students reported the highest impacts as helped me to better understand my academic goals, and created a sense of accomplishment. Overall, students were highly satisfied with all aspects of the field experience, though travel to/from the site was rated lowest.
Keywords
Experiential learning, student perceptions, impacts of field courses
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Carroll, Ph.D., Joshua
(2025)
"From the Field to the Future: How Experiential Learning Supports Student Success,"
Proceedings of the Recreation Experience Community Network Research Symposium: Vol. 1:
Iss.
1, Article 2.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/recnet_proceedings/vol1/iss1/2