KS3, KS4
Years 7-11
Outdoor learning might be most commonly associated with early years and primary, but it can be just effective at Key Stages 3 and 4. This PDF contains outdoor learning ideas across a range of different subject areas…
Going outdoors to learn can feel like an unnecessary addition to a challenging day. However, there are many benefits to learning outside that will subsequently help with indoor teaching and learning.
This PDF contains outdoor learning ideas for:
- Maths
- D&T
- Science
- History
- English
- Expressive arts
Hints and tips for learning outside
- Make sure you are prepared and have all of your resources with you as it will take time to go back into the classrooms for any missing items.
- Use the skills of local businesses to help enhance your outdoor learning; involve builders, food growers, designers, architects, landscape architects and leisure providers.
- Pre-warn students if at all possible if you are planning to go outside, especially if the weather is poor. This will enable them to come dressed in less fashionable and more effective outdoor clothing!
- Ensure that your long-term planning includes regular use of the outdoors; it only works in a sustained way when planned into your curriculum delivery.
- Don’t just rely on pre-prepared curriculum resources. Use the outside as an extension of your learning environment and think about the possibilities right across the curriculum.
- Engage your school’s senior leadership team – buy in from the highest level will ensure that this work is sustained and the best outcomes for all students realised right across the school. When presenting your experiences, be clear about what educational gain you are seeking to make and be clear in the evidence that you have made that gain. Stay across the data.
- When in doubt – think bigger.
- Don’t be put off by the weather, however unwelcoming it seems. It will be worth it once you get outside.
Juno Hollyhock has been executive director at Learning Through Landscapes (LTL) since 2012.
