There is a rich body of evidence supporting the inclusion of Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) experiences in education. From tackling social mobility, to addressing inequality, as well as developing resilience, team working and self-awareness, which in turn contribute to improved attainment. Members of the (Institute of Education) Centre for Secondary and Post Compulsory Education team have been taking action to promote and develop LOtC in their PGCE (teacher training) courses.
The Geography, History and RE lecturers have collaborated on a number of LOtC opportunities from a Cathedral visit (with subject specific workshops to include stone masonry and archive visit), a tour of The Hive to explore the fantastic teaching library resources, a visit to the local mosque to learn about Islam and have their questions about supporting Muslim students answered, as well as a day of team building activities delivered by the supportive UoW Lakeside team. A broad spectrum of Secondary lecturers, representing many curriculum areas, identified the following examples in their PGCE programme of LOtC in a recent workshop held during a Centre Development Day:
Treasure hunts- Barefoot garden
- Exploring habitats
- Living graphs
- Visit to the theatre
- Three Counties Show
- Visit to the Think Tank.
There are many obstacles to taking teaching outside, for instance, length of lessons, availability of subject time, staff protective of curriculum time, weather, administrative burden and the outside is perceived as a “risk”. However, the workshop also provided an opportunity to identify ways in which we might encourage our trainee educators to build LOtC experiences into their programmes. From myth busting the risk assessment to signposting relevant, curriculum rich, locations to explore. LOtC is not limited to spending time in the natural environment, nor to expensive attractions. LOtC can be as simple as a walk and talk revision session in the playground, to a micro-climate investigation around the school buildings. We need to ensure that all educators have the permission and confidence they need to take their curricula outside the classroom. Instead of trying to justify our decisions to take learning outside, let’s try and flip our thinking to ask ‘Why are we doing this indoors?’
Elena Lengthorn, Rebecca Davidge and Simon Butler
Secondary PGCE Lecturers
Useful links:
http://www.LOtC.org.uk/ Council for learning outside the classroom
http://www.LOtC.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Ofsted-Report-Oct-2008.pdf Ofsted report highlighting the importance of learning outside the classroom
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/news/the-humble-stick-revealed-as-the-must-have-toy-for-summer National Trust survey on time spent outdoors
http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/6636651036540928 Natural connections demonstration project 2012 – 2016
https://www.outdoor-learning-research.org/Portals/0/Research%20Documents/Research%20Reports/outdoor-learning-giving-evidence-revised-final-report-nov-2015-etc-v21.pdf?ver=2017-06-26-110330-480 Institute of Outdoor Learning: The Existing Evidence-Base about the Effectiveness of Outdoor Learning
https://www.demos.co.uk/project/learning-by-doing/ Learning by Doing survey
