Benefits Of Learning Outside The Classroom

Roskos and Neuman (1994) too note that "from Pestalozzi to the present there has been an abiding belief in the importance of the physical environment as an agent in young children's learning" (p. 251) And that this belief forms "the cornerstone of an interactionist view of human development" (ibid). Skilled teachers, therefore, working with the age that is mentioned in this module, devise ways of doing so focusing on a variety of listening, talking, reading, and writing activities.

We could encourage the best qualities of youthfulness - curiosity, adventure, resilience, the capacity for surprising insight - simply by being more flexible about time, texts, and tests, by introducing kids to truly competent adults, and by giving each student what autonomy he or she needs in order to take a risk every now and then” (Gatto 4).

It is my sincere hope that every student should look forward to coming into the classroom ready for new adventures and a whole new world of information every day. Education continually brings us new adventures just waiting for us to experience its wonder and possibilities. I believe that students, when presented with a wide variety of interesting lessons, can become interested and motivated in a way that they never have before.

Children and Young people need to be allowed to explore their environment and learn for themselves, but that environment must be safe and as healthy as possible for them to be able to play and learn.

The theme of this reflective account is engaging children in participation, and enabling children to have a voice. The Every child matters documentation (Department for Education 2010) focuses on the important role of the adult in enabling children to make decisions and encouraging them to participate and make a positive contribution. As a result through this account, how children in my setting are encouraged to participate in the outdoor play space will be explored. A small piece of research was carried out which will be reflected on, as will theory relating to children making a positive contribution in the early years.

Practitioners who show good practice understand the early years educators theories and take inspiration from them. They also identify the benefits of outdoor play and promote it at their settings for children’s learning and development.

Outdoor learning provides the children an informal way to learn that educates them while allowing

When exploring water and gardens, it is important to apply the EYLF to children’s learning and development. Outcome two, children are connected with and contribute to their world allows children to develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities, respond to diversity with respect, be aware of fairness, and show respect for the environment (DEEWR, 2009). By developing these outcomes children begin to broaden their understanding of the world they live in. This can be explored by providing children with opportunities to explore the environment through gardening or water play and promote positive responses

All learning and exploring is positive and nurturing. The environment needs to encourage children’s development. It’s how children feel positive and confident about their sense of self and their individual accomplishments. Their space needs to provide a balance of challenge, risk and safety.

Equipment and Environment: The lesson will take place in a large area outside of the school free of any obstruction. There will be bright orange place markers so the children know not to wonder out of the designated areas.

Research has proven that the debate of “nature vs nurture” is obsolete, with development being the product of both a unique genetic endowment as well as the influence of the environment (Shonkoff, 2003), and that the first five years of a child are crucial to learning and behaviour modification (Blakemore & Frith, 2008). It is therefore incumbent on families and teachers to provide an environment conducive and stimulating for children to grow and learn within. In response to these crucial findings, guidelines and frameworks like the Early Years Learning Framework (“EYLF”) and the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (“VEYLDF”) have been developed to incorporate play-based learning and teaching.

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) defines ‘Learning Outside the Classroom’ (“LOTC”) as ‘… the use of places other than the classroom for teaching and learning’ (Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, 2017: online). The use of LOTC in schools has proven to contribute to children’s whole development ensuring that they; are healthy and safe, enjoy

Finding ways to keep students interested in schoolwork and increasing their cognitive abilities has been a constant struggle for teachers. It is common knowledge that when a child’s interest wanes, it becomes harder for them to learn and retain knowledge on the subject. One tool that can be used to combat this issue would be the use of an outdoor classroom or learning outdoors. During the late 60’s and 70’s outdoor education was highly recommended in curriculum guidelines to enrich educational experiences, but later declined in the 80’s (Eaton, 1998). Today, outdoor education only plays a small role in children’s education experiences, despite the benefits it could provide. Teachers should take advantage of outdoor education to increase children’s cognitive skills, provide physical and emotional benefits, and decrease the bio phobia many children seemed to have developed.

Although Roger’s experiential learning theory has provided many examples of advantages, there are some limitations that follow in his outlined theory. When discussing the implications of experiential learning, we often wonder what the full meaning represents. “The main problem about experience, a problem which precedes questions about how we can learn best from experience, lies in a double unsaid: a silence about the implication of experience in language and a silence about the implication of experiential learning in discourse” (Boud, Cohen & Walker, 1993, p. 169). This author explains that through the very subconscious thoughts, we often approach events believing that they have to acquire a particular meaning. Sometimes

Learning is more than just receiving information. Traditionally learning was to be in campus, where students would interact with one a another, there were no other ways for learners to get educated beside going to the classroom and listening to the instructor. Nowadays the Internet has brought different ways for people to receive information, such as getting education and degrees online. A few years ago online education was never thinkable, and yet it has become to reality and it is widely expanding with popularity. Online education is a type of educational instruction that delivers learning to individuals to their own homes, and it is getting very popular among nontraditional student and others. Individuals prefer online education