| dc.description.abstract | The benefits of spending time outdoors and connecting with the natural world are
becoming increasingly recognized, with outdoor education gaining more acceptance and
visibility in our society. Unfortunately, traditional schools in Ontario, Canada have not yet
shown that they are well-equipped to offer all students access to the benefits provided by outdoor
instruction. In my experience as an intermediate teacher, I have found that grade 7 and 8 students
feel disconnected from the natural world, yet I and my fellow educators make few attempts to
give them the tools they need to see how interconnected they are with the environment around
them. In order to understand why other intermediate educators stay indoors and do not take
advantage of the outdoor learning spaces and tools around them, I interviewed seven grade 7 and
8 teachers. The teachers all work for the same school board, range in age and experience, and
teach in both rural and urban settings. Most of the teachers interviewed had never really
considered the advantages of taking their students outdoors. They identified barriers to getting
outdoors like curricular expectations, reliance on technology for instruction, and their students’
reactions to learning outdoors. In order for intermediate teachers to get outside to instruct their
students, they will require professional development, including building their knowledge of the
benefits of going outside to meet curricular expectations, and time to work on how best to
integrate outdoor instruction into their teaching practices. Until the education system fully
acknowledges the importance of students learning outside and better supports teachers to do so,
it will be up to individual teachers to do what is best for their intermediate students and get
outside as often as possible to meet curricular expectations. | en_US |
