Risk Management
There is support for 'risky play' in the outdoor learning literature. Recently, the Canadian Paediatric Society released a position paper supporting the importance and value of outdoor risky play with young people. The position paper can be found here:
https://cps.ca/en/documents/position/outdoor-risky-play Prepare Your Students
|
Prepare your Parents & Administration
|
Structures
Use effective class formations and structures. There is a time and a place for relaxing free time and a time for structure.
Circle Formation Having everyone sit in a circle means that everyone can see everyone and make sure that everyone is paying attention. You can find more information on Circle Formations here. Learning Teams To keep track of everyone. You can find more information on Learning Teams here. Walking Formation Leading: If walking somewhere. I am always at the front or another responsible adult or student who knows exactly where we are going and is able to set the pace that isn't too fast and spreads people out. (See Teacher Leading story.) Caboose: Either another adult is at the back or a self-selected responsible student who others will listen to is the ‘caboose’ and no one gets behind the caboose. This caboose is one of the most important roles. If done right, when the caboose arrives, you know that everyone is there. Gaps: I do not allow my group to spread out or have big gaps when biking or walking. We all stick together. This is important for safety (falling behind, cars, bears) and for a sense of togetherness. If you allow gaps to form in the line, groups of students can fall further and further behind which increases the risk and decreased your students' sense of belonging. Gaps also invite the risk of cars or bears trying to cut through the gap and possibly injuring students. Free Explore Structures How to allow a class to go off on their own without direct supervision. Start in small doses. Everyone knows the main meeting spot where I stay. They must be in teams or maybe pairs. I let them go out for a short period of time (15-30 minutes). They must be back and check in at certain time. It’s a test. Pass and get more autonomy. Fail and get less. This is one of those expect perfection times. If they are late by even 1 minute, they don't get to go back out that day. |
Teacher Leading Story
We had a beginning teacher on one of our camping trips who was given the task of leading our class on a short hike while one of our lead teachers brought up the rear. This teacher allowed a couple of our energetic boys to get in front of her during the hike. They got so far in front of her that she couldn't see them anymore and had to keep hiking to catch up to them which meant that the entire class had to keep hiking. In the end, the entire class hiked for over 2 hours before the boys got to a beautiful high point on the trail that had an amazing view, so they stopped to enjoy the view which allowed the teacher to finally catch up to them. To say the least, from then on, even if we are just going for a walk in the local park, nobody is allowed to get in front of the teacher. |
Safety Plans
|
Leaving A Student Behind
|
Educational Benefit To Risk
|