Steps in Project-Based Learning for Educational Travel Adventures

I have been involved in educational travel for over a decade - traveling myself, coordinating our high school's travel program, and now building resources for and offering tips to homeschool traveling families, summer high school travel programs, school travel programs, youth groups, and more.  This passion and love for learning through travel started in Costa Rica. 

I spent a semester of college in Costa Rica. My study abroad group traveled around the country exploring topics in tropical biology. This educational travel experience changed my life so much so that I was determined to teach at a school that had an educational travel program. And this Costa Rica travel experience came around full circle, when I took my high school ecology students back there in 2013. 

I've seen the benefits of educational travel, especially for young people. Traveling is an incredible learning experience in itself. But as a high school teacher, I used travel to enhance learning. I used our travel destinations as a resource and learning lab. I have found that the best way to enhance learning while traveling is through project-based learning.

I have designed project-based learning experiences for my travel groups, but more often than not, my students do self-directed project-based learning. Each student or small group of students designs and leads their own PBL projects.

What is Project-Based Learning?

I have done an entire blog series on project-based learning, so I won't get too into that here, but if you're interested in the ins and outs of project-based learning, especially self-directed, check out these posts to get you started. Each applies to travel.

• Elements of Project-Based Learning
• How to Facilitate Self-Directed Project-Based Learning in 7 Easy Steps
• How to Evaluate Project-Based Learning

Why Project-Based Learning During Travel?

There are enormous benefits to using project-based learning as the curriculum for educational travel experiences:
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• Project-based learning is naturally place-based so students are immersed in the community and culture of the travel destination rather than simply observing it.
• PBL integrates subjects, so even if you have specific standards in mind, project-based learning crosses content lines. Rather than knock out a couple of learning targets they develop a robust portfolio of content knowledge, including those targeted concepts.
• Traveling offers opportunities for building 21st-century competencies in ways that nothing else can. When paired with project-based learning, students gain those essential 21st-century skills such as collaboration and communication. 

How to Apply Project-Based Learning to Educational Travel

The process of facilitating travel-based PBL is more or less the same as implementing project-based learning in your classroom or home. The difference is in the learning environment and the resources available to students. 

​Students design their projects around the trip purpose and travel destination rather than their home community. Keep that in mind as you read through the steps of facilitating travel-based PBL. 

​I have an educational travel project-based learning tool kit that I will reference as I work through the steps of facilitating travel-based PBL. 

​​​Project Design:

Students will design their projects before they leave on their educational travel adventure. ​

• Explore topics: Students will brainstorm topics of interest as the basis for their project-based learning experiences. This might be open-ended or based on a specific theme or subject that you assign them. Check out this video for an example of a project-based learning brainstorming session between a teacher and a student.
• Develop a project focus: Once students have a general topic in mind they can begin to develop a project focus. Students look at learning goals and standards (if applicable) to further hone in on a more specific topic or project focus.
• Create a final product and authentic presentation plan: Students will decide how they will demonstrate learning (final product), who they will share that final product with (authentic audience), and how they will reach that audience (authentic presentation) all while traveling. 
• Write a Driving Question: A driving question helps students stay focused on the process and find purpose in the experience. This question literally drives the experience. Check out this blog post on how to write a driving question for project-based learning experiences.​

• Develop a research guide: At this point I have students write a list of questions that they can explore under the umbrella of their driving question. For example, if the focus is plant diversity in the Maderas Rainforest, a student might need to research how that diversity came to be. 
• Inquiry plan: At this point students will develop a plan for how they will answer these research questions on site. Students will use community experts from their destination and plan authentic learning experiences on site, such as a visit to a botanical garden or outing with a rainforest ecologist. 
• Project plan summary: Now that students have a purpose and a focus in place, as well as a plan for gathering information, demonstrating learning, and reaching their authentic audience, they can summarize the plan. My students use a project proposal where they summarize their PBL plan, share it with me, at which point I either approve it or recommend modifications. 

Project-Prep:

​Once students have a purpose, focus, and detailed plan in place, they can begin to prepare for the experience once they have arrived at their destination. Students (or you if you designed the experience) will need to communicate with community experts and research and coordinate authentic learning experiences. Have these detailed ironed out and plans in place BEFORE you arrive at your destination.

​​​On-Site Experiences​:
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• Research: Because these PBL experiences are travel-based, students will do the bulk of the inquiry and research while traveling. Students will communicate with community experts, collaborate with destination community members, have authentic learning experiences, etc. while they are traveling. 
• Final product and authentic presentation: Depending on project design, students may create their final products while traveling. Others may assemble their final products when they return home from the trip. It depends on the project plan. This should be clear before destination departure.

I highly recommend a project-based learning digital planner for these experiences. It is nice to be able to coordinate all student's experiences, needs, meetings, etc. in one location. I have a self-directed project-based learning digital planner sample that you can grab for free!

Free Sample Project-Based Learning Digital Planner

Documentation and Evaluation:

​Finalizing project-based learning is an important piece of the process. This is my wrap-up framework:

• Reflections: My students reflect using travel-based project-based learning reflection questions that I give to them. That reflection is included in the travel PBL tool kit mentioned above.
• ​Evaluations: My students self-assess using a generic project-based learning rubric or a self-generated rubric that they create as a reflection of their unique experience. The generic rubric is included in the tool kit. I have a one-on-one evaluation meeting with each traveler to go over their self-assessment and evaluate their experience myself using the same rubric. 
• Learning portfolio: My students add all of their learning outcomes to a digital project-based learning assessment portfolio (you can grab this portfolio for FREE). They add their rubrics, reflections, photos of final products, authentic learning experiences, etc. 
• Sharing the experience: I usually host an exhibition or presentation night where students can showcase the trip experience and share their projects. 

Looking back over this post I can see how this might feel overwhelming. I get it. My hope is that you try it, because the worst thing that could happen is that there are a few hiccups.

​I never expect my students projects to be the gold standard right away. Feeling comfortable with project-based learning, especially when self-directed, takes time. Look at growth above all and just enjoy the experience. If you ever have questions, send me an email. I'm happy to help. 

Experiential Learning Depot Educational Travel Resources:

• Free Educational Travel Planning Checklist
• Educational Travel Planning Templates
• Free Educational Travel Reflection Questions
• Free Travel-Based PBL Topic Brainstorming Activity 
• Educational Travel Project-Based Learning Tool Kit

Follow Experiential Learning Depot on Pinterest, Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram for more on experiential education, and check out my TpT store for experiential learning resources. 

Did you know there is an experiential learning Facebook group? Check that out - Experiential Learning Community for K12 Teachers - and join in the discussion about experiential learning ideas such as citizen science.