Outdoor Learning – Page 3 – Learning for Sustainability

Beyond the Panda Education Programme

The RZSS Beyond the Panda education programme aims to provide children with an understanding of China, its language, geography, habitats, flora and fauna and in particular learn about the giant panda and the RZSS China/UK research.

Beyond the Panda travels to schools across Scotland in our new vehicle kindly donated by Arnold Clark. We provide a combination of outreach sessions, teacher training and ‘panda boxes’ for loan. The boxes are filled with games, jigsaws and other fun activities which stimulate learning and classroom discussions. The learning resources enable students to investigate, study and explore a variety of topics within the overall context of giant pandas and China; linking with CfE experiences and outcomes in science, topical science, social studies, language and literacy. With the generous funding from the Confucius Institute for Scotland at the University of Edinburgh our programmes also provide an introduction to the learning of Mandarin Chinese.

Sandie Robb, RZSS Senior Education Officer, said: “The RZSS Beyond the Panda is a fantastic and truly unique outreach learning experience. Through the China Mobile Library, students are able to learn about Chinese history, geography, culture and language as well as about giant pandas and the conservation work of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. The children really enjoy the educational games, whilst learning at the same time. The RZSS Beyond the Panda allows us to inspire the next generation of nature conservationists.”

Miss MacDonald, St. Peter’s RC Primary, said: “After doing the panda box activities with three classes, I can really see the positive impact it had on children’s learning. All classes were engaged and enthusiastic throughout and when speaking with the children after they completed the tasks, they could tell me lots of things that they had learned.”

In addition, classes who wish to progress further in the Beyond the Panda programme are able to work towards a Pambassador Class Award at bronze, silver and gold levels.

See Beyond the Panda in action –

On the road with Beyond the Panda

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdxcO0ohbZE

RZSS China Mobile Library

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60DmB8Yk5yQ

Contact Sandie Robb for further information:

srobb@rzss.org.uk

@Sandie_Robb #BeyondthePanda

Make your voice heard in national survey

Schools are being asked to share their views on “Edible Gardening” as part of a research project in association with the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE). The five minute questionnaire aims to gather feedback from all schools, regardless of whether they have a school garden or not.

Terry Griffiths, who is leading the research, explains “There is strong research evidence of the benefits of school gardening, particularly in learning, behaviour and emotion and in food choices. Organisations such as RHS Scotland, RBGE and the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society are increasingly providing interdisciplinary learning initiatives to develop gardening in schools. These include direct involvement in schools with pupil groups, career-long professional learning for staff, as well as educational materials and free seeds. This survey aims to build a comprehensive picture of the extent of school gardening across Scotland and will help assess the benefits and the difficulties associated with developing gardening in schools.”

Responses will be anonymised for analysis and reporting. A small number of schools may be contacted for further enquiries once the initial survey has been completed.

The survey is online at https://goo.gl/AXypRp . For further information, please contact Mrs Terry Griffiths at T.Griffiths@rbge.ac.uk .

LfS and the Shieling Project

Before outdoor learning there was the shieling. For hundreds of years, each summer young people all over Scotland would take the livestock up to hill or moorland pastures, camping there in small bothies, learning about the world beyond the village. The Shieling Project brings the shieling back to life for young people and teachers, through outdoor learning, resources and professional learning for teachers.

Sam Harrison, who runs the Shieling Project explains “Through this tradition we can look at so many subjects across the curriculum, and work skills from archaeology to forestry, as well as exploring global sustainability themes through hands on local learning experiences.”

The Shieling Project professional learning programme in learning for sustainability will run again from this May. The year long course leads to professional recognition from the GTCS in Learning for Sustainability.

Based in Glen Strathfarrar, near Beauly, four weekend workshops, two days of outdoor learning with your class and an online forum provide an opportunity to build a critical, supportive and collaborative community. The course costs £900.

For more information, including a video of the first cohort of teachers presenting their learning journeys, click here.

For a full list of courses that can lead to professional recognition, visit the GTCS website .

LfS national practitioner network launched

The first meeting of the Learning for Sustainability national practitioner network took place on Friday 30th October. Practitioners representing nineteen different local authorities worked alongside partner organisations (including Keep Scotland Beautiful, WOSDEC, LfS Scotland and Architecture and Design Scotland) during a very productive day of conversation, sharing and planning. Class teachers, faculty and department heads, principal teachers, head teachers, depute heads, curriculum support officers and child development officers got together to share some of the fantastic work already taking place.

The wealth of experience and commitment to LfS was wholly evident, as was the enthusiasm and determination of delegates to ensure that their efforts have an impact in their local authorities and beyond. Comments on the LfS Newsfeed included:

“Loved hearing about all the excellent LfS projects going on across Scotland…inspiring stuff! Looking forward to collaborating with like minded people to spread the good work more widely.”

“Great to share practice and successes across different sectors. Need to identify gaps and future opportunities for Learning for Sustainability (LfS) to ensure we keep the momentum going.”

“Great morning so far at the LfS practitioners network. Lots of really inspiring work going on all across Scotland!”

The full range of discussions, approaches and resources shared can be found in the LfS professional learning community . However, the list below picks out some of the tasks that network members are planning to take forward through a process of collaboration and co-creation:

Getting started : LfS whole school strategic approaches in the secondary school
Professional review and development resource: getting the most out of LfS in the standards
Progression and transitions: programmes of support to build on LfS successes
LfS in National Qualifications
Progression in secondary using the John Muir Award
Planning and progression in ASL sector
Using new GLOW functionality (Delve) to organise curricular resources
LfS-specific Resource Calendar
Outdoor learning skills progression

Please join in the discussions if you are keen to be part of this process. If your local authority is not already represented on this network, please contact Anthony.Hutcheson@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk for further information.

‘Out to Play’ with Eco Drama

During a number of recent events and presentations about learning for sustainability, I have displayed the above word cloud with the question “Where do we start?”. Different practitioners offer different responses. My response is to assure everyone that where you start is far less important than actually getting started and making the connections between the many exciting areas of this agenda.

Making connections is exactly what Ben Mali MacFadyen from Eco Drama has been doing throughout the Out to Play project. Working with children and teachers across Glasgow, Out to Play seeks to facilitate interaction with the natural world through quality artistic experiences, re-thinking traditional views of nature as merely ‘sites’ and ‘reserves’, noticing and appreciating nature on our doorstep.

Sessions have been tailored to the unique surroundings of each school, and through imaginative play & adventurous learning, Out to Play aims to deepen young people’s connection to our natural world.

Ben’s blog offers a detailed and reflective account of the process thus far, providing some wonderful insights into the children’s learning. He has also shared a number of very practical ideas and approaches for engaging pupils in the outdoors.

For further information on Education Scotland support for outdoor learning, click here.

Kenyan Connections Conference: Inverness, Monday 8th June

Kenyan Connections is a partnership between Crofting Connections and NECOFA Kenya School Gardens Initiative which works with rural schools and communities in the Eastern Rift Valley of Kenya.

Four Crofting Connections schools have been awarded funding through the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms programme to host exchange teacher visits with Kenyan schools, using food growing in the school gardens as a starting point for learning about local food production and for delivering learning for sustainability.

This conference is part of a visit to Scotland by Kenyan teachers to the participating Crofting Connections schools. It provides a valuable CLPL opportunity for teachers, as the Scottish and Kenyan partner schools share their learning with other schools.

Speakers include Dr Margaret Bennett, writer, folklorist, singer and broadcaster; Dr Rehema White, lecturer in Sustainable Development at the University of St Andrews; Samuel Muhunyu, director of NECOFA Kenya, and Catriona Willis, Global Learning coordinator at Highland One World.

For further information and to book a place at this event, click here.

Learning for sustainability: outdoor learning showcase

Dreghorn Primary School in North Ayshire will host an LfS-focussed outdoor learning showcase on Thursday 28th May from 4pm to 6pm. The event is aimed at practitioners and leaders across North, East and South Ayrshire and is bookable via the North Ayshire CPD service.

Presentations from practitioners, learners and Education Scotland staff will be followed by a “market place” event where delegates can discuss outdoor learning approaches with a range of key partners. Grounds for Learning, the Soil Association, the Royal Highland Education Trust, the John Muir Trust, Outdoor and Woodland Learning Scotland, Keep Scotland Beautiful and the Adventure Centre for Education will be joined by the North Ayrshire Ranger service.

These providers will be on hand to offer advice and support on delivering outdoor learning as a regular, progressive curriculum-led experience for all learners.

For further information, contact Julia Kerr at Dreghorn Primary School.

John Muir Graphic Novel – Teaching Resources Available

Will your school be celebrating John Muir Day on the 20th April? Looking for resources to explore the life of the “Father of our National Parks”? A graphic novel based upon the life of John Muir and produced by the Scottish Book Trust is available to download. Teaching support notes and pupil activities across all curricular areas also accompany the book. Muir’s story is brought to life in a new way, and the novel is intended to develop a deeper understanding and awareness of the natural environment and the importance of protecting wild places.

For further information on the John Muir Award click here.

‘Our Environment’ competition deadline extended.

The ‘Our Environment Competition’ is a great way of engaging young people with their local environment and conservation issues.

Children identify and collect information about an issue in their local environment, collate the information and propose a solution.

Submit your entry as a presentation, poster, leaflet, video or photo storyboard – or maybe you can think of another creative way.

Have you already been working on an environmental project? You can use what you have found out and produced for this competition!

The winning entry will get £1000!

Find out more here.

http://www.environment.scotland.gov.uk/get-involved/the-big-discussion/

After much interest the closing date has been extended to Friday April 10th.

Developing your outdoor learning space

It can be challenging to find fresh and interesting approaches to learning when consumed by the daily business of education. Even when there is time to find alternative approaches, having the support and space to implement it thoughtfully in your context can also be tricky.

The national recommendations on learning for sustainability (LfS) and the GTCS professional standards set out clear expectations of practitioners demonstrating LfS in their practice. The recommendations also make clear that learners should have an opportunity for contact with nature in their grounds on a daily basis and throughout the seasons through provision of green space for outdoor learning and play (Recommendation 4.1).

A new case study from the Children and Families team at Education Scotland offers an inspiring insight into how one early years establishment has developed a high-quality outdoor learning environment. The video and reflective questions that accompany it provide an excellent stiumulus for professional dialogue. This dialogue and the activites and action points that stem from it are exactly the kind of meaningful examples of CLPL referred to in the LfS report. Through engaging in a thougtful, reflective and focussed professional discussion of exisiting innovative practice, we can move another step closer to ensuring that learning for sustainability is “experienced in a transformative way by every learner in Scotland”.