As the COVID-19 pandemic continues into the start of a new school year, schools are faced with an opportunity to engage their students in in-person teaching while maintaining health as a top priority—via outdoor learning.
There is often some hesitancy in embracing outdoor learning as a viable and even beneficial option, but studies on its effects can put these worries at ease. Researchers have found that outdoor learning can promote students’ motivation to learn and capacity to retain information, as well as positively impact their overall opinion of their schooling experience. Additionally, as most schools are considering online instruction in lieu of regular learning this semester, outdoor instruction helps to limit the spread of germs without sacrificing the value of social interaction for kids and young adults. And, ultimately, outdoor education is more accessible for schools to implement than you might think.
For schools with outdoor space, there is a whole spectrum of what outdoor classes might look like, from installing tents to teaching under the shade of a tree, or sitting outside on a grassy patch. See WHYY’s story on outdoor education for more information on how Philadelphia Schools are tackling the prospect.
Philadelphia’s William Penn Charter School plans to install outdoor tents on campus this coming semester. On poor weather days, the tent flaps can be lowered while still maintaining ventilation. On nicer days, students and teachers can forego the tent for the spacious outdoors, even utilizing their natural surroundings as a writing prompt or an ecology lesson. Penn Charter’s Tom Rickards, Coordinator of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability notes, “While outdoor classrooms are often connected to science curricula...every discipline-- literature, math, languages-- can find ways for students to explore and make connections in their learning in outdoor settings.”
There are a number of considerations when establishing outdoor learning at your school. Sourced from Green Schoolyard America.
There are also significant opportunities for infrastructure projects to support outdoor instruction. Chester Arthur School has established trails bedded with natural plant species, as well as a hill to serve as an amphitheater for versatile student engagement. Moreover, Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants has been working with Reading Senior High School to transform the school’s courtyard into an outdoor learning space, featuring a pollinator garden, pond, and upcycled hardscaping for tables and stools. Not only will this area serve students for years to come, but the student body was deeply involved in the conceptualization and design of the courtyard, providing them a hands-on learning experience in sustainability and the importance of natural spaces.
Craig Johnson & William Cramp students refill the school’s bird feeder.
Craig Johnson, Director and Habiteer at Interpret Green, works closely with William Cramp Community School and other Philadelphia schools on “greening” their school-grounds. He emphasizes the positive benefits of investing in nature around school campuses: “We’re working to reimagine school grounds as natural habitats and learning landscapes, to actually cultivate the environment so that “nature” thrives around the school. Students won’t have to go to a nature center, it’s just there at the school all the time, as a source of discovery and curiosity and growth.”
And even young students will be learning outside this school year. The Schuylkill Center of Environmental Education’s Nature Preschool in Philadelphia will be conducting their kindergarten class entirely outdoors this fall, utilizing the campus’ 340 acres of woods, meadows, streams and trails as sources of learning. Interim Nature Preschool Director Dr. Marilyn Tinari observes, "Our students engage in active stewardship of the land and its resources as they experience nature first hand every day in kindergarten. They do so with insatiable curiosity, taking on the roles as observers, researchers, naturalists as they explore the woods on trails and on their bellies around the ponds. This nature-context becomes "how" our forest explorers build their skills across the learning domains for this age group."
Kindergarten students at the Schuylkill Center’s Nature Preschool hike along the many nature trails located on their campus during class.
Additionally, while their infrastructure options are more limited, city schools are certainly not exempt from pursuing outdoor education. During the tuberculosis outbreak in the early 20th century, some New York City schools began holding classes outside, utilizing roofs and even ferries. Certainly not every school can bring their student bodies to Central Park, but even just using outdoor spaces for half of your students at a time can help accommodate social distancing requirements. There are other creative and inexpensive ways for city kids to learn in the outdoors as well; for example, the Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation runs a Citizen Science program, lending “AirBeam” devices out to NYC schools for students to measure and learn about air pollution in their area.
While there are options in how to execute your outdoor classroom, there are a few infrastructure details that must be addressed across the board. Sourced from Green Schoolyard America.
The bottom line here is simply that outdoor learning doesn’t take one cookie-cutter shape; it can be adapted to nearly any educational setting. As schools reflect on what the best options are for student learning, outdoor instruction should be seen as a serious contender, both during the current public health crisis and beyond. For more ideas and guidance on how to integrate outdoor education at your own school, visit the Green Schoolyards America website.
By Casey Maslan, a recent graduate from Boston College pursuing a career in sustainability consulting, and guest writer for Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants.
