Taking your students out of the classroom walls and into the immersive environment of learning first-hand on the ground, is an unforgettable experience. The benefits and world knowledge they take from this sort of trip is more than any video or virtual reality goggles could impart.
For this reason, you no doubt want to get as many members of your class involved as possible. In this post, we will share some tips on how to grow your student educational travel group size so that you can enrich more lives through learning exploration.
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It is never too early to start planning.
Even if you feel that it is too soon for anyone to commit, talking to students and parents about the trip in advance, can help to drum up interest. By the second or third time you hold a meeting or forward on details, they will have had time to consider everything.
Additionally, those who sign up for the student educational travel trip early on in your campaigning will likely appreciate the extra time given to save up the required funds for payments.
Parents or students who express interest in your educational travel trip are essentially showing that they are willing to place trust, and their money, in your ideas. Therefore, it is only fair to make yourself available to them to discuss your ideas and plans for the group, as well as to answer any questions.
Set up meeting evenings, or invite them in to chat in your classroom during lunchtime or when lessons are over. This way, you can showcase the incredible sites your group is going to see, and help to convert any unsure minds into takers for the trip.
If you feel that sign-ups are happening too slowly despite the interest being there, set a deadline date to motivate action in parents and students. The sense of urgency should get them to commit and save you from having to put everything together last minute.
While this may not be suitable for all student educational travel trips, it can open up doors and increase attendance if you are able to include another class while keeping the offering relevant.
As an example, you might only teach one of your school or college’s advanced History classes. Speak to other teachers with classes in the advanced History program to see if they would be interested in promoting your trip to their students.
The other benefit to this is that you can ask the teacher to come along as a chaperone for the group, or even assist with organization.
Drum up excitement about your planned trip by sharing the details of it online. Both parents and students access your school or college’s website to find out the latest news, making this the ideal platform to promote it.
Include a blurb which gives an overview of what the trip is about, who it is suitable for, and where and when it will be happening.
You can also take the opportunity to engage interested parents and students by posting beautiful images or videos taken from previous student educational travel trips online. This will help them to better visualize what they can expect to see and learn when traveling with you.
Be sure to provide your contact details so that everyone knows how to get in touch if they want more information.
This has a similar effect to posting online and on social media channels. Placing visible posters around campus or the school grounds will help to grab students’ attention and make them more aware of your trip.
It is also a way for you to drum up excitement and get everyone talking. In the years to come, when students see the posters go up, they will be reminded of the life-changing trip they had and will help to convince others who are not yet sure of whether to sign up.
There is no better marketing method than social-proof. People value a first-hand opinion, especially when it comes from friends or classmates. Getting alumni from your student educational travel trips to speak at your parent and student meeting evenings can, therefore, work in your favor.
Ask the past travelers to share what they found valuable from their experience, and give an overview of what the trip was like for them. It could be the personal touch needed to get more confirmations from the students and parents who haven’t yet made the call.
Many classes organize fundraisers to supplement the cost of a trip. Providing some financial relief can be just the thing required for more students to experience your tour.
Discuss fundraising ideas with the students involved, and figure out how much money you need to raise to make the trip a reality. It will be the difference between knowing whether your efforts are going to need to involve a bake sale or raffle, over appealing to donors.
Growing your student educational travel group size is about including more young travelers in a life-changing experience. As the teacher, you get to share your knowledge in a conducive learning environment with students who are primed and eager to learn. Seeing new things through their eyes is an exciting thing too.
Although a decent amount of work is required to create excitement and generate interest for a student tour, rest assured that it will become easier over time as your successful trips begin to speak for themselves.