Taking Learning Outdoors
What is Outdoor Journeys?
Outdoor Journeys enables pupils to learn about the people and place in which they live. By planning and undertaking local journeys, pupils are able to learn across the curriculum in a manner that is active, holistic and contextualised.
Teachers can use the Outdoor Journeys framework and resources as a means of ‘bringing curricula alive’ by taking learning outdoors. It involves three phases that can be repeated over and over:
Questioning
Researching
Sharing
Background
The Outdoor Journeys approach was specifically designed to address critiques of outdoor learning practice, while demonstrating that teachers’ perceived barriers to taking pupils outdoors can effectively be overcome.
Since 2008, students from Primary 1 to university postgrads have experienced Outdoor Journeys. Training sessions have been delivered to over 2000 educators in countries that include Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Finland, Australia, Canada and Singapore.
It is possible to deliver regular, low cost, meaningful, cross-curricula outdoor learning within the constraints of conventional schooling. No expert staff, special equipment, and expensive buses are needed.