It is known to almost every teacher that the students must get involved completely in learning so that the lessons can be absorbed by them in the best way. Otherwise, they may get disturbed and distracted in the classroom as well as disturb others in the class. This can be solved with outdoor teaching. Let’s have a look at outdoor teaching in details.
Issues faced by children today
Various critical issues that the children face today are:
- Occupied with electronic media
- Exercise Lacking
- Fear and Isolation from nature
- Perception of outdoors to be unsafe for playing
- More use of drugs meant for behaviour modifying on children
- No connection with the external world of nature
The vision of the Outdoor Classroom on Outdoor School Stage is quite simple. When children spend more time under nature, they are benefitted. Thus, the main objective of the outdoor classroom is increasing quality, quantity, and too many outdoor experiences for children. Below are few benefits of the outdoor classroom for children:
While addressing various challenges, outdoor learning facilitates these traditional advantages like:
- Getting children more active and outsides
- Making the children connect with nature deeply
- Offering opportunities to let them know the outdoor risk handling safely
- Offering children with huge activity range that facilitates holistic development in them
- Making the children learn about the interpersonal and outdoor activities
Freedom to Play on Own
The right of the children to begin their own activities is a fundamental principle offered by Outdoor Classroom. Children need to learn, try new things, explore and imagine with friends or alone. Ultimately, they learn the things very easily and efficiently which they have explored.
The Outdoors is a Crucial Environment for Learning
Learning that can happen outdoors can’t be expected from indoor learning. Thus, it is essential that the outdoor environment is equipped well as the indoor one. Seamless movement of children between outdoor and indoor must be facilitated. Their learning and playing outdoor should be easy. Parents or teacher must not consider one location as more beneficial or education than the other.
Physical Activity is Essential for Children
For the development of health and mind, physical activity is essential. Physical activity is necessary for children’s development and health. Opportunities for exploring small and big, social play as well as big movement are offered by an open space or Outdoor School Stage. Their motor skills get refined and they get acquainted with the rest world too.
Time is needed for Learning
Many adults working with the children hurry them. Hurrying the children up doesn’t accelerate their gaining knowledge. Children learn efficiently when they are in a calm and open state of mind. They create activities on their own when relaxed. They need refining time and anchoring new skills. The outdoor learning enables the children to spend more time outside and makes them have a feeling of freedom.
Emergent, Holistic, and Comprehensive Curriculum
One of the most trick elements is Curriculum. The curriculum in the outdoor classroom is viewed more as an adult-designed course of activities or study. Instead, everything that occurs during a day of a child and every item the child comes in contact with is Curriculum. Adults respond to and observe children’s interests and needs. The complete curriculum understanding is taken into account.
Activities of Full Range
It is believed that whatever you can do in indoor learning can be done in outdoor learning too. You can do even more. Outdoor learning also has a vision of creating a single environment in both outdoor and indoor space.
Engaged Teachers and Children
The key to learning is engagement. Only when the children get indulged with the environment and people around them, learning occurs in real term. They perform various activities and enable themselves to begin. The teachers who are really engaged just observe and respond to the children activities rather than leading. They help the children who are initiating on their own.
