Don't Lead Student Trips for Them

Are You a Leader or a Tour Guide? The Art of the Student-Led Excursion

What's the point of setting up an outdoor education program aimed at building leadership, teamwork, and initiative, then providing no opportunities for students to actually take responsibility for any of it themselves? 

So often, I see teachers "run" programs where they think for the students, navigate for them, and determine the entire schedule. Realistically, students can get that sort of experience at home or in the classroom. Experiential education is not about running fun activities for the sake of it; it’s about the opportunity to lead, not to be led.

The 'Command and Control' Trap

This "command and control" style is often starkly noticeable when contracting out to a third party. Many organisations process groups the way you'd process cattle through a dairy—they're herded in, run through a process, and led out the other end none the wiser. The student, like the cow, might have an okay time, but has anything been learned or achieved? Not really.

Some teachers just can't let go of control, dishing out breakfast cereal flake by flake. If you're like this, it's time to stop. You're not helping.

The Facilitator's Mindset: Let Go of the Reins

To create real learning, you need to stand back and allow your students to take the risk of leadership, decision-making, and self-management. Let them have the chance to shine and the chance to fail. They will learn more from this than they ever will if you jump in to catch them. This mindset is a core part of advanced risk management training for teachers.

Putting it into Practice

This approach requires a different role from the teacher. Your role shifts from director to risk manager, ensuring that major risks are monitored and addressed without intervening in the group's decision-making process. You only step in if a potentially unmanageable risk arises that requires your experience to manage.

This is where school excursion risk assessment software is a powerful enabler. A platform like Xcursion Planner allows you to meticulously plan all the background logistics for your sports, camps, and trips medicals, contacts, emergency plans, and contingencies. With the administrative and logistical load managed by the software, it frees you, the educator, from being a micro-manager and allows you to step into the more valuable role of a facilitator.

For your next experiential education activity, try this: Set it up once, let go of the reins, and allow your students to take the initiative and shine. When you do, you can achieve more growth and development than you ever could by doing it for them. You will be amazed at the difference it makes.