Learning Outside Classroom

Learning outside the classroom can be an effective way to enrich the national curriculum in primary schools and provide children with the opportunities to learn in a practical environment away from the classroom (Education and Skills Select Committee, 2005). Learning outdoors involves engaging children through an experiential approach where they can become involved in physical, emotional, spiritual and cognitive experiences which help them to make connections between their learning taking place inside the classroom and the outdoor environment, (Education Scotland, 2011). Waite (2011) highlights the benefits of learning outside the classroom in primary education, stating first that the outdoors can provide a meaningful context which enables …show more content…
Likewise, the children have a larger space in which to learn and so much larger learning can take place, for example large dens can be constructed in forest schools and large painting and sculptures can be observed and learnt about. The Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto discusses how direct experiences with the environment are of prime importance in developing skills and independence in a range of environments, (Department for Education and Skills [DfES] 2006). A well-planned learning outside the classroom experience can be a way in which children can enjoy learning and be challenged to think in different ways and explore the environment in different ways, (Joyce, 2012). They can also encourage the children to take risks with the learning in a controlled and safe manner which develops pupils who are not afraid to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes when attempting new challenges. This can lead to more reflective learners once back in the classroom environment, (Griggs,