Greystone’s programs get you career ready, fast. Along with our comprehensive classroom curriculum, great co-op opportunities, instructors with industry experience, and expert talks that happen across our campuses; our students benefit from learning outside the classroom. Many of our instructors organize excursions that take students into different businesses and workplaces, giving them a chance to see specific learning concepts in action. Seeing theories in practise helps our students bridge the gap between their education and the real world of work, and provides so many benefits. Here are a few reasons why excursions and field trips are such an important part of the Greystone College experience.
A chance to see classroom theories in action
Most of us learn best when we can understand how learning concepts fit into a real context. This helps make ideas more memorable; so, one big perk of excursions is that students get to really understand how classroom learning is applied in the real world. Excursions can really help concepts make sense for students.
For example, a popular excursion for Certificate IV International Trade students at Greystone College Brisbane and Melbourne is a visit to the city’s Ports to see firsthand how international importing and exporting works. Inside the classroom, students learn about the legal and logistical requirements of international trade. But exploring the Ports helps students understand the bigger picture of how goods are processed and moved from Australia across borders.
Greystone College Brisbane Students visit the Port of Brisbane for some real life learning!
Getting inspired by different approaches
Companies are unique. They have different types of customers. They may be local, national, or international; big or small (with budgets that match); and they leverage their various strengths and weaknesses in different ways. Exploring how unique companies personalize their business approaches can provide lots of creative learning opportunities for students, and help them see how classroom concepts can be adapted.
Recently, Certificate IV Business students at Greystone College Sydney explored a unique approach to marketing and promotion at The Grounds of Alexandria. The Grounds combines numerous businesses together under one roof, including a bakery, market place, garden, zoo, restaurants, cafés, and a juice shop. While each individual business works to market and promote its own offerings; as a whole, the Grounds of Alexandria also markets a bigger experience that encourages people to spend a few hours exploring the grounds. And it offers variety to engage different age groups and make sure every type of person can find something to enjoy. Learning outside the classroom at the Grounds of Alexandria was a chance to get inspired by business creativity in action.
In Sydney, students explore and discuss the marketing techniques used at the Grounds of Alexandria.
Practising the life-long learning skill of asking questions.
Students at Greystone College are always encouraged to ask questions, and our small class sizes help create a space where students feel comfortable speaking up, and finding answers to the things they want to know – our instructors are always ready to help! Knowing how to ask questions is an important skill for life-long learning and growth. And getting out into a real workplace provides students a fantastic opportunity to practise this skill. Getting to ask questions to workers or business owners can help students go in depth and learn something they couldn’t learn in the classroom.
For example, Diploma in International Business Management students at Greystone College Toronto went on a day trip to TESLA Yorkdale in Toronto. Beyond seeing how this business handles daily operations, students got a chance to ask questions about sustainability, innovation, product development and how a growing public preference for green energy is impacting TESLA’s development approach.
In Toronto, Diploma in International Business Management Students get to explore TESLA and ask lots of questions.
A change of scenery to fire up the mind
While Greystone College’s classroom learning is certainly dynamic, there’s also a lot to be said for a simple change of scenery, and its ability to keep our attention engaged through movement and change. Learning outside the classroom can impact us in a different way than classroom learning.
Students at Greystone College Vancouver got an opportunity to engage in a different kind of learning experience when they explored Managerial Communications through a field trip to the Vancouver CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). Building media relationships is important for any business, and getting press means knowing how to work with and engage media to mutual advantage. For these Vancouver students, seeing first-hand how a major broadcasting station works was a fantastic opportunity to understand how media relationships can be important for business success.
Greystone College Vancouver students get a first hand view of one of Canada’s main media organizations, in a visit to the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).
Learning how to analyze the competition
Innovation is important for success in every industry, not just tech. Excursions that engage students to analyze what’s working at different companies and organizations can help them develop important analysis skills that will help them throughout their career. If you want to be successful in business, look at what the competition is doing well, or doing badly, and find ways to do it better. Greystone College Sydney students got a chance to do just that when they visited the popular Apple store to observe and assess their approach to customer service. Apple is well known for its unique approach to customer service, so in this case, students got to explore a best practises scenario, something that could help them be successful in their own work.
These Greystone College Sydney students got a chance to observe Customer Service best practises at the Apple Store.
A chance to practise skills
Learning outside the classroom is not always about discovering new information or putting it in context, sometimes it’s about practising newly learned skills. Students in Toronto’s Customer Service Program got a chance to put some of their customer service skills to the test by planning, organizing and conducting a tour in an area of Toronto. And they did it with enthusiasm despite rainy weather! Likewise, students in the Certificate IV International Trade Program in Sydney put some newly learned marketing skills into practise by designing and leading night tours of the famous Circular Quay area. Excursions like this can help students take their new skills to the next level!
A little rain couldn’t stop these Greystone College students from creating and delivering a guided tour in Toronto.
As you can see, there are so many benefits to learning outside the classroom, and we’re sure our students would agree!
Where will your education take you? Learn more about our programs and campuses and then come find out for yourself. We’d love to take you on a learning adventure with us!