29/05/2017
Outdoor Summer School
It is with great pleasure that I introduce my new fantastic outdoor learning space. I am a teacher with 25 years+ experience in mainstream education and I have recently embarked on a career in Private Tuition (I currently have 20 pupils who come to me on a weekly basis). In my time working in schools I have seen the undoubted benefits that working outdoors has on ALL pupils. However, if you are in any doubt, please take a moment to look at this research which highlights the proven benefits.
1 Better Grades
After studying on an outdoor curriculum basis, students from 11 schools scored higher than students of traditional systems in 72% of assessments in everything from math and science to attendance. The same year, Dennis Eaton published in his book Cognitive and Affective Learning in Outdoor Education his finding that students’ cognitive abilities are better developed outside the classroom than in.
2 Health
Anecdotally we all know getting up and moving around outside is not only good for kids but necessary for their health, and the data backs it up. A study of 10- to 12-year-olds in Australia published in the International Journal of Obesity found outdoor education can be a key factor in avoiding childhood obesity. Author Richard Louv has coined the phrase “nature-deficit disorder” to describe the harmful effects on kids of too much indoor overstimulation, including attention-deficit disorder, anxiety, depression, and yes, obesity. As he puts it, “As young people spend less of their lives in natural surroundings, their senses narrow, physiologically and psychologically, and we deny them access to a fundamental part of their humanity.”
3 Decreased Stress Levels
When serotonin is released in the brain, it produces feelings of safety and well-being, earning it the nickname “the happy hormone.” Activities that cause this release are listening to music, receiving a high-five, or (the relevant one to this discussion) hearing sounds of nature. The “pleasure chemical” dopamine is released by repetitive actions, so educational activities like monitoring a plant’s progress in a garden every day are great for stimulating dopamine’s production. With what we now know about the dangers of stress on children’s bodies, parents should be looking for every opportunity to protect them in this area.
4 Increased Motivation
Kids are naturally mobile and geared toward moving around. A 2008 study of Hollywood kindergartners found “a significant amount” of the kids showed enhanced enthusiasm about learning, which the researchers cited as proof kids do want to learn, just perhaps not in the way they are usually required to do so. Moreover, they found that the positive effects on the students’ motivation levels carried over to traditional indoor learning after the outdoor learning had concluded.
5 Better Overall Behaviour
Not only are kids’ environmental behaviors improved by learning outside the classroom, but their ability to behave in an educational setting is improved as well. The Hollywood elementary study found as much, as the number of on-task students increased when the education moved outside. Other studies have found social adjustment, self-concept, and group cohesion — all potential pitfalls that result in poor classroom behavior — improved through outdoor education. Even handling misbehavior becomes easier for teachers when the education is out of the traditional classroom. ”I can’t tell you how many times teachers have told me that the troublemaker in their classroom becomes the leader in an outdoor setting.”
6 Improved Memory
A proven way to improve recall is to experience something new and unfamiliar, which releases dopamine into the hippocampus where memories are created. Obviously, classrooms where day in and day out the lighting, temperature, layout, and scenery are always the same does not have much to offer in this area. But moving the class outside opens up a world of fresh stimuli for the senses that have an amazing power to lock into the brain and secure whatever information was being learned at the time along with it.
For further information or to book a slot this summer holidays call me on 07733360410, message me through Facebook or email to [email protected]
