Most of us have at least some fond memories of school, and many of these involve field trips and those rare occasions when the teacher abandoned the classroom and let everyone take their schoolbooks outside.
There are many reasons why learning outdoors is a positive thing, both for teachers and students. Here are just a few of the main ones:
It’s Fun!
Sitting listening to the teacher in a classroom can at times be a boring routine experience. This is particularly true on those rare spring and early summer days when the classroom becomes stuffy and overheated and the sunshine beckons tantalisingly outside.
Leaving the hot classroom behind and venturing out into the coolness of the breeze, especially if the school is lucky enough to have a field or two to sit in, is in itself a novel and invigorating experience.
Most children, particularly younger ones, enjoy being able to run around and use up some of their energy. If this can be combined with learning about science or maths, then so much the better.
It Helps You Learn
Learning facts through first-hand experience, such as calculating the area of the playground or catching and examining creatures from the school pond, is far more engaging and effective than just reading or hearing about it in class. This is why you can contact a Maths Tutor Gloucester company at sites like https://www.achieverstutoring.org.uk/ to look at getting a private teacher who can teach you in the way you learn best. They can come to you and create a unique learning environment. And it’s not just the pupils who benefit. According to the Children & Nature Network, learning outdoors can positively influence teachers’ attitudes as well as students’ behaviour and engagement.
It’s Relevant
Going out into the local environment to learn about neighbourhood transport issues or the impact of litter or to conduct a survey about local shopping habits makes subjects far more relevant to students’ lives than reading about them in a book.
Many concepts can seem difficult to grasp in a classroom – take students out into the ‘real world’ so they can experience and explore them for themselves, and the issues become clearer.
Of course, not every school is lucky enough to have its own grounds for children to use. However, bespoke buildings, enable designers to build in outdoor spaces such as playgrounds and ponds which can be directly used to facilitate learning.
As the warmer weather approaches, it’s time to get out of the classroom.