Category Archives: Outdoor learning

Challenge, Outdoor learning

John Muir Education Pack

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This resource aims to help teachers understand outdoor learning opportunities, and give confidence to use outdoor spaces for teaching a wide range of experiences and outcomes. The pack for Second Level encourages structured learning in the outdoors, along with a deeper understanding of John Muir’s writings and philosophies. The pack can be used flexibility as stand-alone activities to cover certain aspects of the topic or as activities leading into each other as a programme of learning. The Second Level pack can help with an introduction to the John Muir Award.

Click here for more information.

Competition, Outdoor learning, Primary schools, Science, Secondary schools, Social Studies

Would you like to win £1000 for your school or group?

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Enter Scotland’s Environment Website Youth Discussion competition by 31 March for a chance to win.

We have £1000 to award to the best school/group entry and £100 for the best individual entry. We have lots of other exciting prizes including HP tablets, educational experience days with a “green” theme, a backstage tour of The Hydro and tickets to the Irn Bru Carnival 2014.

To enter, just answer the following question: “What needs to change in your local community that will make a positive difference to your environment and what role can you play in making it happen?”then submit your answer in an imaginative way.

Follow the link for further information about this competition and to get an entry form:www.environment.scotland.gov.uk/yd

The competition is easy to enter and is relevant to many areas of the curriculum including drama, art, science, English and even modern languages.  This means entering the competition can easily be dovetailed into current project work or class topics.   The competition entry rules are very flexible which enables teachers to choose the level of input they feel is appropriate and suitable for their pupils. A number of useful teaching aids and resources have been developed that provide a good starting point.

You can choose to present your answer in a number of formats from a simple drawing, painting or report to something more complex such as a video, website or photographic essay; be as creative as you want!

The competition is open to all young Scots aged between 5 and 18 years old and you can enter as an individual or as a group e.g. Eco Group, class, youth group. The closing date is 31 March 2014 so there is still time to enter – what are you waiting for?

Your entry may also be eligible for the Young Reporters for the Environment competition. It is being run in Scotland by Keep Scotland Beautiful and is open to young people aged 11 to 21 years.

CPD, Creative practitioners, Curriculum for Excellence, Health and Wellbeing, Opportunities, Outdoor learning, Primary schools, Scotland Colleges, Secondary schools

Without Walls: The Outdoor Classroom

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16-18 June 2014

Never tried outdoor learning?  College Development Network, John Muir Award, The Outward Bound Trust and Youth Scotland invite you to break out into the most exhilarating, imaginative, thought-provoking environment that you will ever experience.  Challenge yourself to think differently about outdoor learning, the curriculum and what it takes to develop the outdoor classroom.

What’s on offer:

3 days, 2 nights at The Well Road Centre, Moffat, where you will experience a range of outdoor learning experiences and consider how you can build your own outdoor learning class.

Who it is for:
Priority will be given to those who do not have experience of outdoor learning.  In keeping with the philosophy of The Emporium of Dangerous Ideas, we will be looking for a mix of participants from education providers.

Cost:
£100 per person – covers accommodation, food and outdoor learning experiences.

How to apply:

Please email Kelly Fitzpatrick with a short piece (200 words) describing what you would hope to get out of this residential, and clarifying what your role and work setting is by Friday 14 February 2014.

CPD, Creative practitioners, Curriculum for Excellence, Education Scotland, Health and Wellbeing, Outdoor learning, Science, Secondary schools

Supporting Outdoor Learning in Secondary Schools (event)

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Saturday 1 March 2014, 9.30 am – 4.00 pm

St Joseph’s Academy, Kilmarnock

In the revised GTCS Standards for Career Long Professional Learning teachers are required to ‘understand and develop the most appropriate contexts for learning including outdoor learningand be able to apply appropriate pedagogies for these environments’. This event aims to support this and build confidence and capacity in the delivery of outdoor learning in secondary schools in particular within Broad General Education (S1-S3).

This is a free event open to secondary teachers in Scotland – in particular those who are starting out on their outdoor learning journey and wish to develop their confidence in taking the curriculum outdoors. There is an expectation that those who attend this event will be willing to share their learning with colleagues in their establishment.

Registering for this event: If you wish to attend this event please register online byWednesday 19 February @ https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VSCB9NP

Early registration is advised as this event is likely to be very popular. Workshop choices will be sent out mid-February.

If you would like further information about this event please contact: Fiona Cruickshanks, Development Officer, Outdoor Learning Fiona.Cruickshanks@educationscotland.gov.uk

Education Scotland, Health and Wellbeing, Outdoor learning, Science

Grounds for Learning film resource

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This resource is for anyone who has an interest in children’s wellbeing at school although it has been designed to be particularly relevant to support staff. It explores how outdoor play in schools supports children’s learning and development, identifies a range of ideas for enriching play and shares practical advice from schools that have developed good play practice.

For more information click here.

Creative Partners, Creativity, Curriculum for Excellence, Learning, Opportunities, Outdoor learning, Science, Secondary schools, Social Studies, Technologies

Millennium Youth Camp 2014

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Applications for the fifth international Millennium Youth Camp have begun.

The 2014 Millennium Youth Camp will be held during 3–11 June 2014 in the Greater Helsinki area in Finland. The one week camp takes place in Finland every summer and is organised by the Technology Academy Finland, the Finnish Science Education Centre LUMA (University of Helsinki) and Aalto University.

The camp offers young people from across Europe, aged between 16-19, who are interested in mathematics, the natural sciences and technology, an opportunity to learn more about Finnish expertise and top level research in these areas.  It’s also a great opportunity to meet other young people who share similar interests.

Click here for more information.

CPD, Creative Partners, Creative practitioners, Creativity, Opportunities, Outdoor learning

Youth Spaces Conference – Three weeks to go!

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This year and with support from SNH, TCV Scotland is hosting ‘Youth Spaces’ – an outdoor-based networking conference to be held on 3 October 2013. This free event will  bring together youth sector agencies and environmental organisations in order to learn more about how working outdoors in nature can increase skills and employability for disadvantaged young people as well as improve health and well being. The event will be a springboard for future partnership activity, providing participants with the opportunity to meet new people and learn about Scotland’s natural environment.  Developing skills and creating enhanced employability for disadvantaged young people is an area of work that is growing for TCV Scotland and also a topic of national concern with youth unemployment figures at historically high levels. Youth Spaces will be held at Redhall Walled Garden (SAMH) in Edinburgh on Thursday 3 October from 9.30 am till 4.15 pm.

Youth Spaces is aimed at practitioners in the Youth Sector who would like to support disadvantaged young people (16-24 year olds) by integrating environmental and outdoor based activity into their programme of work.

Youth Spaces will provide:

  • The chance to learn more about outdoor-based environmental activity and the many volunteering and placement opportunities available
  • Future access to a powerfully effective, free resource to add to their portfolio for working with and inspiring young people

If you would like to book a place, please use link below to access the booking formhttp://bit.ly/YouthSpaces2013.

If you would like more information about the event please contact Julia Duncanj.duncan@tcv.org.uk

Creative Partners, Creativity, Curriculum for Excellence, Events, Expressive Arts, Glow TV, Outdoor learning, Science

Look, Capture, Create – B is for Biodiversity and Beauty, 4 June

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During week 3 of the ‘Look, capture, create’ interdisciplinary learning experience we will be joined by a scientist/mathematician from Dundee University live in the Dundee Botanic Gardens to learn more about the importance of Scottish Biodiversity and how we can do simple things to help nature survive and grow. We will look in particular at the types and purposes of the beautiful patterns nature creates.

To sign up for this event, click here.
Find out more about this interdisciplinary learning experience below and visit the Look, Capture, Create Glow group here.

CPD, Education Scotland, Opportunities, Outdoor learning

Adventures in Improvised Living – building wellbeing, resilience and learning power through outdoor exploration and discovery

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Click on the image for more infoEducation Scotland would like to invite practitioners working in upper primary and secondary to this event, particularly those interested in developing their outdoor practice to achieve Professional Recognition in Outdoor Learning from GTCS.

To attend this event, please complete the registration form here.

You will need the name and contact details of the lead officer nominating you for this event in order to register. We will confirm places on 4 March and send you a detailed programme for the day then.

Find out more here