Outdoor Learning Structures
There are a number of things to consider and utilize when teaching in the out-of-classroom and outdoor environment including:
- Learning Teams (Go to Collaboration under Engagement Menu)
- Boundaries
- Walking and Moving
- Gathering Everyone In
- Circle Formation
- Equipment
BoundariesHow far are you going to let your students spread out to play or work? It is a decision that you are going to have to make and it is one that can change as your students demonstrate competency and responsibility. Start small. You can either mark out the area with pylon cones or use existing physical structures identify how far the students could go. Be prepared for students to find loopholes. One time I used a fence and a pathway as a boundary but there a bit of gap between the two so sure enough, the students went through the gap. Nothing a few pylon cones couldn’t fix and a more specific conversation about the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law. As your students demonstrate success, enlarge your boundaries. The size of your area is dependent on your comfort level and your student’s competence with a little bit of age in there for good measure. With my grade 8 students, we could go to a mall or a grocery store, and I would let them roam free working on their various projects with specific check in times every 30 to 60 minutes. I would be wandering around checking on their progress, but they were without direct supervision for long periods of time. I am not sure if grade 1 students would be ready for this, but I do know that we more often than not, underestimate the capabilities of our students. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that I am not sure that their parents or our school and division administration would be ready for it.
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Walking and Moving
You are going to have to walk as a group to get to where you are going. It sounds simple enough but as any teacher of any grade level knows, even just moving from one room to another inside the school can be fraught with issues and problems. Outside, the issues might be different but there are still things to consider.
Be at the front: You should always be at the front of the line. Do not allow anyone to lead who doesn’t know exactly where you are going. It’s ok to allow a student to lead or another adult as long as they know exactly where they are going and how to pace the group so as to keep it together. I have a great story about an intern of ours who allowed the students to go ahead of her on a wilderness hike at one of our provincial parks. It’s a great story because in the end, it turned out fine. It could have been a horrible story if it hadn’t. As it was, a 30 minute walk turned into a 2 hour walk that ended at the highest point in Saskatchewan because the students didn’t know where they were supposed to stop and the intern couldn’t catch up to them until they stopped on their own at what seemed a natural stopping point. In other words, do not let them get ahead of you.
Who's at the back: Have a responsible person, student or adult at the back of the line. Someone has to bring up the rear and keep things moving. There will often be a few students who will dawdle, stop to tie their shoe, etc. Have a responsible person who will let you know that the group needs to stop and will encourage the dawdlers to speed up also means that when you do stop or get to your destination, you can check on your group by checking in with this person. If they did their job, the whole group is still together. With a larger group or a biking trip, I always make sure this person has a cell phone or walkie talkie that connects to mine so we can keep in instant contact. With younger students, I identify a responsible, even 'bossy' student as the 'caboose' and make it their job to let no one get behind them and to encourage the students in front of them to keep moving and keep up with the rest of the students. Lots of practice makes this work best.
Trail and sidewalk etiquette: If you are out walking on a sidewalk or a walking trail and you let your students bunch up and walk side by side, you become a mob. Walking single file, or two by two, may seem babyish but it’s about being public friendly so that other people can pass by your group in either direction without feeling intimidated or having to stop on the side to let your group pass by. You want the community at large to feel good about seeing your class outside. It makes for good PR for your school and your division.
Avoid gaps: I strongly encourage you not to let your group spread out for a variety of reasons including cars. I actually make it mandatory for all of my walking and biking. If you allow a large enough gap to form between your students, people in their cars who have been waiting to go as you cross the intersection will attempt to go and possibly endanger your students. The students at the rear of the line may lose track of where the group is actually going. You don’t build a sense of belonging and team by having all your fast walkers and bikers up at the front with you getting further and further ahead while your stragglers are getting more and more tired and further behind. This is poor risk management and poor relationship development. I have even heard of a group on a wilderness hike that allowed a gap to form. The mama bear waited for the front group to pass and when it had, stepped out on the path with her cubs only to come face to face with the dawdling group that was being left behind. Hmmm. No thanks. After sharing the bear story with me students, they started to refer to any gap as a 'bear gap', regardless of whether they were with me or not. It seems to help them understand the importance of not allowing a gap to form.
Avoid walking on other people’s property: When you are out walking along a sidewalk, it is very easy for students to start walking on the road (dangerous) and on people’s lawns (rude). You will need to train your students not to do these things. It might seem like a small thing but it doesn’t leave a good impression on your community if your students are constantly walking on people’s lawns. This goes for garbage as well. The opposite of this would be going out for a regular ‘clean-up’ walk and have your students pick up trash around your school community.
Encourage talking: One of the biggest benefits of walking outside, aside from the natural physical activity, is that your students can talk with each other, and you, as much as they want, and within reason, as loud as they want. I have learned as much about my various students, in addition to improving peer relationships, through spontaneous conversations during walks as through any planned structure in the classroom.
Be at the front: You should always be at the front of the line. Do not allow anyone to lead who doesn’t know exactly where you are going. It’s ok to allow a student to lead or another adult as long as they know exactly where they are going and how to pace the group so as to keep it together. I have a great story about an intern of ours who allowed the students to go ahead of her on a wilderness hike at one of our provincial parks. It’s a great story because in the end, it turned out fine. It could have been a horrible story if it hadn’t. As it was, a 30 minute walk turned into a 2 hour walk that ended at the highest point in Saskatchewan because the students didn’t know where they were supposed to stop and the intern couldn’t catch up to them until they stopped on their own at what seemed a natural stopping point. In other words, do not let them get ahead of you.
Who's at the back: Have a responsible person, student or adult at the back of the line. Someone has to bring up the rear and keep things moving. There will often be a few students who will dawdle, stop to tie their shoe, etc. Have a responsible person who will let you know that the group needs to stop and will encourage the dawdlers to speed up also means that when you do stop or get to your destination, you can check on your group by checking in with this person. If they did their job, the whole group is still together. With a larger group or a biking trip, I always make sure this person has a cell phone or walkie talkie that connects to mine so we can keep in instant contact. With younger students, I identify a responsible, even 'bossy' student as the 'caboose' and make it their job to let no one get behind them and to encourage the students in front of them to keep moving and keep up with the rest of the students. Lots of practice makes this work best.
Trail and sidewalk etiquette: If you are out walking on a sidewalk or a walking trail and you let your students bunch up and walk side by side, you become a mob. Walking single file, or two by two, may seem babyish but it’s about being public friendly so that other people can pass by your group in either direction without feeling intimidated or having to stop on the side to let your group pass by. You want the community at large to feel good about seeing your class outside. It makes for good PR for your school and your division.
Avoid gaps: I strongly encourage you not to let your group spread out for a variety of reasons including cars. I actually make it mandatory for all of my walking and biking. If you allow a large enough gap to form between your students, people in their cars who have been waiting to go as you cross the intersection will attempt to go and possibly endanger your students. The students at the rear of the line may lose track of where the group is actually going. You don’t build a sense of belonging and team by having all your fast walkers and bikers up at the front with you getting further and further ahead while your stragglers are getting more and more tired and further behind. This is poor risk management and poor relationship development. I have even heard of a group on a wilderness hike that allowed a gap to form. The mama bear waited for the front group to pass and when it had, stepped out on the path with her cubs only to come face to face with the dawdling group that was being left behind. Hmmm. No thanks. After sharing the bear story with me students, they started to refer to any gap as a 'bear gap', regardless of whether they were with me or not. It seems to help them understand the importance of not allowing a gap to form.
Avoid walking on other people’s property: When you are out walking along a sidewalk, it is very easy for students to start walking on the road (dangerous) and on people’s lawns (rude). You will need to train your students not to do these things. It might seem like a small thing but it doesn’t leave a good impression on your community if your students are constantly walking on people’s lawns. This goes for garbage as well. The opposite of this would be going out for a regular ‘clean-up’ walk and have your students pick up trash around your school community.
Encourage talking: One of the biggest benefits of walking outside, aside from the natural physical activity, is that your students can talk with each other, and you, as much as they want, and within reason, as loud as they want. I have learned as much about my various students, in addition to improving peer relationships, through spontaneous conversations during walks as through any planned structure in the classroom.
Gathering Everyone In
When you are outdoors, you will need to have a way to gather your students together so that you can give instructions, return to the school, do a safety / attendance check. There are many different ways and they depend on your capabilities and personality. A whistle signal is probably one of the easiest. You can even work out different signals with your students. Now if you have gone on an excursion to the mall or another public place, I wouldn’t recommend you blow your whistle, but that’s up to you. You could also just use your voice (I do) or after a certain time, everyone gathers in. This of course requires everyone to have a watch or smart phone and be able to use it. It is also affected by your boundaries.
If students are really close to you, it could be as simple as sitting down. When you sit down on the ground, they all know that they need to hurry back and sit down in the class circle too. Turn it into a game. How fast can they as a class respond to you sitting down and be back in the whole circle. Also works on their focus and paying attention and requires no whistles and raised voices. This one works really well if you have them working in small groups or learning teams near you. I typically have a centre circle that as soon as I am in the center circle, all of my students have to be back in their formation (either a circle or pylon cone corners) sitting and quiet. This works especially well when I have a large group (the whole school) outside doing an activity. It kind of freaked out a few interns one year when I stepped into the centre circle and 70 kids stopped what they were doing and ran to their corners, sat down and were completely silent. The poor interns were frantically trying to figure out how I made that happen. Consistent structures my friends. |
Circle Formation
One of the most natural group formations that allows everyone to see everyone at all times and be and feel part of the entire group is being in a circle. There is no front of the circle. No one gets left behind. I insist that everyone is part of the circle and equally spaced. If someone comes late, the group know to make the room to allow them to join and be part of the circle. In these social distancing times, a properly spaced circle needs to be practiced if you are going to have them sit unmasked. A socially distanced circle will end up being pretty large but can be useful to practice if you want to have unmasked discussion time. A class circle is a very inclusive and holistic learning formations that works especially well outdoors.
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Equipment
In the beginning, you and your students can pretty much outside without any equipment at all other than what you would normally take for recess. If you are only going to be out for 15 minutes before or after recess, you will be fine. As you go outside for longer periods, farther distances, more inclement weather, you will want to start having yourself and your students take a few more things.
First Aid Kit: I have a small basic first aid pouch in every one of my backpacks with a few gauze rolls, gauze pad, triangular bandages and lots of band-aids. If my students and I are out on a half or full day excursion and I need more than those basic first aid supplies to deal with what has happened, I should probably be calling 911. Most things that you will experience on a day trip can be handled with a well-placed band-aid. Backpack: Everyone in the group should have a backpack to hold the few things that they will need and the better designed and fitting the backpack, the more comfortable and useful it will be. You don’t have to spend a lot of money for a useful backpack and I have students use the darndest things in our excursions including shoulder bags and fanny packs. It worked. The bag does need to be big enough to carry the materials that they will need for the day. Sitting pad: They don’t need to have a sitting pad but if the ground is damp from rain or dew or cold or dirty, they might want one. You can even make it a class project. If you Google ‘sit upons’, you will find all sorts of pages dedicated to the making of comfortable and easy to transport sitting pads. Writing Materials: A basic notebook or journaling book along with a pen or pencil is pretty much all your students will need. I encourage them to get a hard cover journaling book as it makes it easier for them to write without a hard table. You could also encourage them to have a clipboard which will allow them to store sheets and notes and act as a hard surface. Water Bottle: Everyone should have a filled water bottle and you should be doing some monitoring and education around drinking water consistently throughout the day. Humans of all ages will forget to drink water until they feel thirsty by which point, it is a little late. Staying hydrated is important for keeping the brain and body working properly. Of course, it does tend to encourage the body to want to use the bathroom which also needs to be taken into consideration when planning outdoor learning. Clothing: Clothes that are appropriate for the weather and outdoor conditions are also something that needs to be planned for. This includes the potential weather conditions. Students don’t need to come prepared for everything but hats, proper outer wear (rain jacket) and footwear are important for a successful and enjoyable outing. Fancy sandals, dress shoes, dressy clothes etc. are not recommended and should be discouraged. Human beings will do what human beings will do though but usually after the first trek across a dirty field or playground and spending all morning outside, even teenagers often come better prepared the next time. Depending on the season and your local conditions, sunscreen and bug spray might also come in handy. Everything is relative though. I can remember teaching outdoor learning in another country, and they asked if I wanted some bugspray for the mosquitos. I asked them for what mosquitos? Where I come from (Saskatchewan), the mosquitos are so big and numerous that we have to keep a close eye on small children, so they don’t get flown away. Needless to say, I declined their offer. |