Q: Is there any benefit to be had from school trips? My children had a run of these last June and they cost a lot and all they seemed to do was travel from one place to another. They seem to have got nothing from the actual visit.
Clare mother.
So well you might ask. Every teacher in the country must ask this question especially on the way home in the bus. When few parents had their own car, school trips were a great novelty but now most families go on their own trips so it's more difficult to bring 50 children on an outing that's sufficiently different and stimulating. Family outings will most likely have covered all the local museums, heritage centres etc.
However, I do think these trips are worthwhile. They get children and teachers out of the classroom - and children are totally different outside school. They can gain much from the social side of an outing - as much if not more than from the educational side.
There's no better feeling than talking about the trip and then sitting on the bus beside your best friend with your lunch eaten by 10 o'clock, having a whole day out seeing new things or old things through your friend's eyes. But good trips need planning and explanation beforehand and a good follow-up afterwards.
Children need a hands-on approach which links into their minds and ideas - trips must be about more than just looking. They need to feel and touch and see and hear so that they can think actively and respond. There's no point going around a display of artefacts with miles of reading to be done and then filling in dreary work-sheets.
Children need to interact with exhibits, touch them, imagine they are part of their world, press some buttons to change the situation and react to that. Some exhibitions invite the children to participate in role play so that they can grasp the concept, but this too has to be geared to different age groups.
Others provide problem-solving situations but some interaction must be involved. Children might respond to your question of what was the trip like with "We were on the bus for ages" or "boring" but they will certainly have learnt something and more importantly enjoyed the day.
Q: I work in a third-level college and find that the real problem with students is that their ability to pursue independent study is decreasing yearly. This is probably due to the concentration on point scoring in the Leaving Cert and because an increasing number of senior pupils are leaving traditional schools at the end of fourth and fifth year to study for Leaving Cert in grind schools. Can you recommend any good study guide?
Galway lecturer
A good practical guide for Irish students, Managing Your own Learning at University, was written by Aidan Moran of UCD and published by University College Dublin Press at £5.95. Aimed at students facing the challenges of new subjects, intimidating reading lists and huge numbers at lectures, it tries to set them on the road to developing vital skills such as organising study time, taking lecture notes efficiently, reading for maximum understanding, concentrating deeply, thinking critically, understanding and remembering clearly, planning and writing research assignments, doing their best in exams and very importantly getting down to study and managing their own learning.
Moran argues that successful students are people with questions in search of answers, whereas lazy students have pre-packaged answers in search of questions. There you have your point about the concentration on point scoring. He takes each of the learning tasks which are encountered when studying in college and details a system which will help students to become more active and independent critical thinkers.
Starting from the base that the most significant difficulty is that of managing one's own learning, Moran says that this may be the area in which students have probably received least formal preparation in school. By using study as a form of deliberate learning, students can become successful in their goals. The book is well set out and easy to follow.
Q: I'm in my final year of a degree programme but I was not eligible for a higher education grant though I have a disability. I don't want my parents to have to pay for me. Is any funding available?
Donegal student.
There are three possibilities. First, though you didn't get a grant for your undergraduate study, you could qualify for one for post-graduate study as long as it's an approved course and you're entering for the first time.
You should apply to Donegal Co Council, County House, Lifford. Funding may be available for one or two years, depending on the course length.
Second, the Central Remedial Clinic on Vernon Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin, awards a scholarship for students with disabilities once you are sitting your final exam or have graduated from a recognised third-level college. Each applicant must be nominated by a professor or head of research and the research proposal must be accepted as part of a postgraduate thesis by that college.
The scholarship will be worth a minimum of £3,000 to cover one academic year but, depending on the subject, it may be increased or a longer period may be agreed if the study warrants an extension.
Third, the National Rehabilitation Board offers scholarships to promote research on disability or rehabilitation and these are open to all students, irrespective of disability. Those sitting final exams may apply as well as those who have already done some post graduate or professional work. These scholarships are worth between £1,000 and £6,000 a year depending on the subject and nature of the proposed study.
Further information is available from the Manager, Planning and Development and Independent Living Services, NRB, Clyde Road, Dublin 4.
You should also contact the Disability Liaison Officer in your college and the Association for Higher Education Access and Disability (AHEAD), Newman House, 86 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2 - phone (01) 475 2386.
Queries can be answered only through this column and not by phone or post. Write to Sile Sheehy, Education & Living, The Irish Times, D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 - or by email to education@irish-times.ie
