Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience
(Kolb, 1984, p. 38).
Field trips, as a type of experiential learning, help in enhancing deep, active learning, and developing not only cognitive skills, but also social skills (such as the ability to cooperate). Much of the research on the impact of experiential learning suggests that it can have substantial effects on long-term retention, student success in the course, and related skills development. Moreover, getting students away from the traditional classroom setting and into a new environment facilitates community building and creates a shared experience for the students, which allows them to, as a learning community, deeply engage with and further explore the course material.
CTL Postdoctoral Fellow Gorana Misic and Daniel Izsak, Visiting Professor at the CEU Department of International Relations collaborated on designing a field trip for the MA students taking part in the course Europe in Crises: Integration under International and Internal Threat. The students visited the border town of Esztergom, Northwest of Budapest, and Sturovo/Párkány on the Slovak side of the River Danube, where they had the chance to explore how various policies and concepts of EU integration function in real life, and how they 'create integration' in previously split communities.