Are outdoor learning environments the smart answer for your school?

How does building an outdoor learning environment compare to building a traditional classroom?

A typical bricks and mortar classroom project can often take more than 12 months to design, develop and construct . An outdoor learning environment can be built within 2-3 months.

Outdoor learning environments have fewer restrictions; some states even have exemptions from Council for outdoor learning environments which can reduce project cost and fast track delivery.

How does an outdoor learning environment provide flexibility to timetabling?

As student numbers in Australia continue to increase, schools only have a certain amount of real estate to build on and wet or hot weather only compounds the problem. Schools are starting to run out of options.

Informal or formal outdoor learning environment provide flexibility by allowing a school to schedule a lesson in the outdoor environment or utilize it as a meeting point to conduct inquiry-based learning programs. Weather is no barrier with peripheral devices such as outdoor heating, waterproof fabrics and heat transfer technology in design. Students like a change of environment , the teacher has the chance to deliver the lesson in a different way, and the school benefits from the flexibility.

How can an outdoor learning environment benefit students?

Switching to another learning environment is effective in changing the mood of the class. It can limit disruptive behavior or distracted students by getting them out of the situation they’re in and recapturing their attention.

How do outdoor learning environments enhance a student’s education?

Creating a different environment from a traditional classroom allows a teachers to facilitate self-directed learning of the students which intertwines several curriculum areas in a project-based approach. The role of teaching beyond the classroom was a feature of future learning that was discussed by several experts.

Different students learn in different ways. Some by hearing, some by seeing it happen, some by trying – so an outdoor learning environment provides opportunities for different forms of delivery in an exciting and interactive way.