outdoor+education

teaching and learning toc =What is "outdoor education"? = The term is easily understood by those who have been involved in it but relatively difficult to define concisely. To say it is education that takes place outdoors is true but does not fully describe it.

It overlaps with adventurous training - where the aim is to push participants outside their comfort zone to help them develop - and with environmental education - where the aim is increased understanding of the environment and the risks it faces.

**"Growth through challenge"** is a definition that would be applicable to many outdoor educational activities.

**"There is more in you than you think" ** Motto used by Kurt Hahn



"Outdoor education is seen as a teaching approach which can enhance and integrate a broad range of core experiences across the whole curriculum – a wide variety of activities which connect learners with their environment, their community, their society and themselves. It engages and motivates learners through first-hand experiences which demonstrate the relevance of knowledge, understanding and skills, and can help to underpin better attainment and achievement across the curriculum." from [|Taking Learning Outdoors]

Some personal thoughts:
It should be education or learning that could not effectively take place indoors (i.e. just delivering a seminar outside is not "real" outdoor education). There will often be a component of challenge - in this respect it will often have some adventurous training The underlying philosophy or approach will often be that of experiential learning - a period of facilitated reflection after any challenge is fundamental There may be a component of environmental education - e.g.increasing knowledge about he environment or increasing awareness about the dangers facing the environment Effective outdoor education will increase the "self-efficacy" of the participants.

Research about outdoor education
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">A meta-analysis (study that combines the results of other studies) by Hattie is widely cited - [|link] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">A notable attribute of outdoor education is that its benefits seem to continue to increase after it has finished.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Outdoor education tactics:
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Safety first <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Establish need <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Teach concepts <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Activities should be primary component <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Maintain a challenging learning environment <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Protect students from social and emotional injury as well as physical injury <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Structure time for processing <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Responsibility <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Empower students <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> see [|here] for more details

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Links
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Outward bound international] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Kurt Hahn quotes] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Nature deficit disorder] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|High quality outdoor education]

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Recommended books
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Beyond adventure]