What is Outdoor Education?
Outdoor education (OE) can mean any number of instructional styles as it is not a formalized course in all of Canada. Asfeldt et al. (2020) in their qualitative study of OE programs across six geographical regions in Canada found that there is "a lack of standardized OE curriculum or professional association [which] means that many OE programs are driven by the vision and skill of a local teacher" (p. 3). In spite of a lack of standardization, five common philosophies and themes emerge from across the country. OE programs in Canada are often initially executed by a passionate teacher, focus on experiential learning, include travelling to multiple locations, touch on religion and spirituality, teach life-skills, approach teaching in a non-traditional way, and emphasize a connection between life and the environment (Asfeldt et al., 2020). OE lessons and activities focus on personal growth, employability & skill development, people & place consciousness, community building, and environmental stewardship (Asfeldt et al., 2020).
Two robust research summary studies conducted by The Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario identified four pillars of OE. These are education for curriculum, education for character, education for well-being, and education for the environment (Foster, 2007 & Humphreys, 2018).
How it Began & Propagates
Outdoor education (OE) has been around for over a century. It began as summer camps in Ontario in the early 1900s and then was eventually integrated into the school system as its own distinct program. The integration was aided by public interest during the 19050s with the rise of environmentalism (Asfeldt, 2020). The first high school OE programs were in Ontario and Manitoba and the first post-secondary institution to adopt it was the University of Alberta. Today, OE is reinvigorated by increased public interest in climate change and sustainable living. A quick search through hashtag trends on social media reveal that students today deeply care about the environment and that educators around the world are beginning to yearn for curriculum that reflects this.
The popularity of OE also coincides with some current trends in education. In the last two decades, there has been increased demand, from both parents and educators, to change the traditional structure of K-12 formal education. This movement was further catalyzed by the 2010 TED talk, Changing Education Paradigms by Sir Ken Robinson, a video that was viewed over 2 million times and re-shared a countless number more. OE is one promising solution that may break the traditional classroom walls, literally speaking, and bring relevance to a dated curriculum. Students can learn by doing, by experiencing, and by living in nature, which are an exciting alternative to sitting, listening, and writing inside a classroom. Spending time outdoors also benefits mental and physical well-being, another focus in schools today. Lastly, as educators scramble to implement BC's new curriculum, which calls for incorporating Indigenous knowledge into our classrooms as part of Canada's Reconciliation, OE provides an organic medium to do so. Indigenous values such as caring for space, importance of community, sustainable living, and the notion of place can be naturally emphasized outdoors.
Technology & Outdoor Education
For a program focused on outdoor delivery and connecting students to the environment, at first thought it seems counterintuitive to bring technology into the design. After all, students should focus on each other and on their surroundings, and not on their mobile devices. However, students today live with technology so fully integrated into their lives that technology and learning are closely intertwined in today's classrooms. Research show that technology does not have to be a disruptive force in OE, but rather, can enhance experiential learning when used properly. Crawford et al. (2007) studied over 700 students and discovered that mobile technologies were just as effective in connecting students with the environment as non-technology assisted environmental education; Land & Zimmerman (2015) found that mobile technology positively influenced science education outdoors; and Lai et al. (2007) found that mobile technologies improve knowledge creation during experiential learning. In addition, mobile technologies were found to have made learning more fun, which increased student motivation and were successful in teaching students ecological knowledge (Crawford et al., 2017). The positive influence of mobile technologies on OE, if used properly, is well supported by research.
Holistic technology assists the learner by enhancing students’ sense experience and autonomy in learning. Prescriptive technology, on the other hand, replaces sense and lived experience with technological experience. In a similar line of thought, Louv (2016) advises parents and teachers to make a distinction between when children and youth are ‘creating’ with these devices and when they are being ‘consumed’ by these devices“ (Humphreys, 2018, p.22)
Current Offerings in BC
Current OE programs in BC are mostly offered through independent schools and private organizations. Independent schools are more aggressive in pursuing changes in education and tend to listen more closely to the needs of parents. They have more flexibility in their programming and scheduling as they often have a smaller study body to work with. OE programs can be expensive depending on where students travel to. All of these factors have resulted in OE programs being largely offered in private schools for a long time. However, in recent years, OE programs are developing in public schools. In 2017, the North Vancouver School District and the West Vancouver School District has created an Outdoor Academy. BC also has an OE curriculum for Gr. 11 and Gr. 12.
Stand Alone Organizations
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