Student Tour Mastery
Is there anything more rewarding than leading student tours? Is there anything more exhausting? No, and no! This self-paced course is all about rising to the challenges and opportunities we have when working with student groups.
This requires a lot of tricks and tools up your sleeve, and that’s what we’ll share in this workshop! Both Mitch Bach and Alan Armijo have led student groups for nearly 20 years, and have assembled techniques and strategies for delivering the most engaging, transformative tours possible.
What you'll learn
- How to bond and connect with your groups
- Bus Games, Scavenger Hunts, Memorial & Museum engagement, and more
- Transforming your commentary into powerful storytelling that connects with students
- Destination-specific Ideas for crafting wow moments that make your groups love the trip (and you!)
Taught by Mitch Bach & Alan Armijo
Mitch & Alan co-teach this course. They’ve each lead student tours for longer than you can imagine! Over the years they’ve tried everything and anything to educate and entertain students, and have developed a whole range of unique tools, strategies, games, and ideas to change student travel.
A Transformative Course
Expand your student tour toolkit.
Is there anything more rewarding than leading student tours? Is there anything more exhausting? No, and no! This workshop is all about rising to the challenges and opportunities we have when working with student groups.
This requires a lot of tricks and tools up your sleeve, and that’s what we’ll share in this workshop! Both Mitch Bach and Alan Armijo have led student groups for nearly 20 years, and have assembled techniques and strategies for delivering the most engaging, transformative tours possible.
New ideas for fun, from technology to ice breakers and bus games.
Student travel is hard work. We’ll share everything from the smartphone apps and ways we display videos on the bus, to our ideas for bus games, learning names, ice breakers, ghost stories, scavenger hunts, and more.
Go deeper with wow moments and powerful storytelling.
Student tours are all about connection and transformation. Elevate your commentary. Connect on a deeper level with your students using our collection of wow moments and storytelling strategies that make an impact.
Destination-specific tips
In addition to our tips and ideas that work everywhere, we’ll dive into our specific strategies, wow moments and stories for New York City, Washington, D.C. and Boston. By focusing on these destinations, we’ll talk ways of engaging students in everything from museums and monuments to large cities and historical sites.
Course Outline
- Your Role as a Student Tour Director
- Place-Based Learning
- It’s All About The Experience
- Meeting Students Where They’re At
- At the Airport
- The First Bus Ride
- Making Your Group Feel Special
- Learning Names
- Know Your Boundaries
- Treats & Prizes
- Handling Arrivals
- Transfer Buses
- Starting a Day
- Structuring the Day
- Timing an Activity
- Finishing a Day
- Mapping
- Communicating with the Teacher(s)
- Keeping Track of Students
- How Much to Talk?
- Filling Time
- Interacting with Students
- Working With Your Driver
- “Working the Bus”
- Safety
- Varieties of Tour Talking
- Interactive Strategies
- Delivery
- Developing Themes
- Diversity & Storytelling
- Our Best Tips
- Strategies for engaging a group while at a sight
- Memorials
- Museums
- National Parks & Nature
- Battlefields
- Sights in City Environments
- Group Discussions & Reflections
- The Power of Play
- Ice Breakers
- Scavenger Hunts
- Waiting in Line
- “Hands Up”
- Quizzes
- On the Bus
- Photo Contest
- Fun Outdoors
- Alphabet Game
- 5 Minute Expert
- Music
- The Laugh Lounge
- …much more!
- How to handle Kids & Phones!
- Group Communication
- Video on the Bus
- Quizzes
- QR Codes
- Scavenger Hunts
- Airdrop
- Music
- Photo Contests
- Who’s in Charge?
- Types of Group Leaders
- Traps to Avoid
- The LEAST Method
- Multiple Group Leaders
- How to Offer Choices
- Finding Venues
- Kinds of Meals
- Choosing Appropriate Options
- Allergies & Other Issues
- Meal Timing
- Taking Orders
- Being a Leader: The Captain vs. The Friend
- Group Management Styles
- Counting Students
- Structuring Free Time
- What’s your job, and what isn’t?
- What is safe, what is acceptable?
- Group Leader Expectations
- Walking on Streets
- Free Time Rules & Boundaries
- Taking Public Transportation
- Understanding Traffic
- Positioning the Group
- When to call the office?
- Misbehaving Students
- Late Students
- Emergencies
- Consolidated Groups
We end the course with some powerful inspiration.
There is no better feeling than knowing that you’ve played a part in transforming a young person’s life.
- 40+ videos, 5+ hours of content
- Articles on Games, Logistics, Meals & More
- Mitch Bach & Alan Armijo
Lifetime Access
Certificate of Completion
100% Online
Access to Community Discussion Group
Enroll Any Time
You really opened my eyes to how powerful student travel can be!
-Scott
