Gray Matters, March 2026

Notes from the Field: Our Approach to Experiential Learning

As many of you know, I have three “personal children.” All three are Capitol Hill Day School graduates, having started at our School in Early Childhood. Recently, my middle child, Timothy, a second semester senior at Lafayette College, spent the month of January in Hawaii studying geology. 

For the full-credit course, Timothy’s class climbed volcanoes, snorkeled to examine land formation at the coastline, studied sand, and much more. In other words, they were immersed in geology. Arriving home, amazed by the experience, my son proclaimed that this was the college course during which he felt like he learned the most. This was experiential education at its best. 

Since Capitol Hill Day School’s founding in 1968, field education has been core to our approach to teaching and learning. Listening to Timothy enthusiastically describe all that he had done and learned, I could not help but make the connection to Capitol Hill Day School’s Field Education Program. A program that is unparalleled and grounded in progressive education. A pedagogy that reflects the belief that children learn best through authentic, hands-on experiences that connect classroom learning to the world beyond.

Our Field Education Coordinator, Liza Esser, intentionally finds experiences that are both engaging and directly tied to classroom curriculum. Liza says, “Field education is really the bedrock of teaching and learning here at CHDS. As educators, we’re always looking for ways to make learning stick, and we know that learning happens in your brain, but remembering happens in your heart. Field education is that bridge from your brain to your heart. It makes learning meaningful, it makes it authentic, and it makes it something that students will remember for years and years to come.”

With the recent excitement of the Winter Olympics, it feels especially fitting to share an example from Eighth Grade. As part of their “Contact Forces” unit in physics, students visit a local curling club to explore friction in action. Seventh and Eighth Grade Science Teacher Chris Miller recently reflected, “We have a blast on the ice, and even better, the experience becomes a key reference point for students, helping them connect the concepts they learned in the classroom to the way friction works in the real world.” Without question, field education is an important way learning is both joyful and deeply meaningful at Capitol Hill Day School.

One of the things that makes Capitol Hill Day School unique is how our Field Education Program ties our curriculum together with people and places throughout the DMV, helping our students see themselves as a part of a broader community. In no other program are kids regularly engaged in learning opportunities at Smithsonian Museums, Historic Jamestowne, a music store, the Library of Congress, and the Planet Word Museum (and this was all just last week!). One of the most important responsibilities we have is teaching children to see themselves as part of a greater whole. At Capitol Hill Day School, Field Education does this beautifully, connecting the brain, heart, and community in meaningful, authentic ways.