The essence of art and design pedagogy is balance. Students enter the classroom with a great desire to express their ambitious creativity. But, more often than not, overreaching ambitions and flights of grandeur need to be tempered by method and practised skill. Teachers will frustrate students, but setting them to their setsquares and measurements and principles of form pays off in the end.

Yet, once these tools begin to be instilled, there is a very vital need to maintain the fire of ambition and creativity. This can be done by taking students on tours abroad.

Revel in great works

Many school trips focus on taking art and design students to see great works of art and architecture. The way this inspires and ignites ambitions of creativity is fairly obvious. Time spent in the Louvre or observing architecture in Holland will show students a path to great art and design by observing footsteps and achievements of those who have walked such paths before them. There is great value in actually seeing, touching and experiencing such inspiration on a tour rather than simply second hand through photos and books.

Learn from the best

There are great art and design teachers the world over who work tirelessly to equip their students with the best balance of inspiration and skill. But the boon of school trips is that students can spend time with the best in their field who work daily in art and design. This can open the students’ eyes to new methods but can also point them to the way of perfecting the skills they have been learning in the classroom. In so doing, many students will gain not only more inspiration, but also better respect for the work of their teachers at home.

Be inspired by famous locations

After developing the skills and tools needed to paint or prepare architectural designs, students will no doubt look to great works as inspiration. But these works are a product of their times and context, and hence a true understanding of the classic and modern history of art and design can be attained from school trips. Students will be able to imbibe and absorb the cultural and historical milieu from which the works they admire so much sprung.

Understand the history

Another broad goal of art and design school trips is to show students the grand story of how important principles developed. There is a connected history to art and design, and from this history teachers teach important principles and show students a way to measure quality and greatness. Travelling to various locations and investigating the history behind great works will give students a much fuller sense of this overarching story than a simple narrative told in the classroom. In turn, this will help students not only be more inspired by direct contact with the locations of this history, but they will also appreciate the principles which have been picked up from this grand story.