How not to share information

Today we had a class trip and unfortunately I sat and watched as my learners slowly became disengaged with one of the leaders presenting. The information was great but the way it was being presented really made the children switch off. I was asked often to reign them in and get their attention before the presenter spoke.

  

The problem was they were given information but they didn't have time to process it and then blurt out their knowledge. There were active boys being asked to sit and listen to information that didn't relate to the surroundings we were in. They wanted to break sticks, throw pine cones and explore.
If they could just have 2 minutes to get it out of their system they would have been focused.

As I was thinking what technology would be appropriate I realised you wouldn't need an iPad or computer as it would be out of context in nature for what had been planned for the day. But showing images using one clear file to 39 kids isn't going to help us learn. We also didn't get a chance to find any information even though there were stations already set up around the island. We could have been put into mini groups with clip boards, cameras and colourful images to relate to. We then could have shared some of the information as we found it.

The problem with the trip was there were 2 different organisations whose leaders had 2 different messages; one gave constant information and the other expected the children be more interactive which made the children feel confused. Having freedom to talk about the surroundings and then being held back when the next leader spoke was really challenging.

When we stopped for lunch I followed three learners as they headed off down the beach. In a short time there were 15 of us looking for crabs and shells on the beach.
                                    

There was a lot of learning taking place when the children were given time to explore.

The fun challenge of seeing who really is willing to hold a crab

 

Finding materials around us we wouldn't normally notice led to great discussion

I could see the presenters looking at us but they wisely waited about 10 minutes before they called us in for lunch and moved us on to the next part of the programme.