Talking about Outdoor Education is not only about organizing learning in an outdoor setting. Outdoor Learning has become a more contemporary term for arguably the same thing, but it reflects well the distinction between discovery/active learning and didactic education, which is more the domain of mainstream education.
Our Outdoor education program involves our teachers experiencing and participating in various adventures and memorable challenges.
Last week we had the pleasure of training eight teachers from different countries: France, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, and Spain.
The course was well structured in different phases, the theoretical part and (by the way) the outdoor session during the following days. After they improved their theoretical knowledge, I let the teachers be active in their practices through different outdoor activities.
We also talked about what the United Nations is promoting together with the European Union.
The Quality Education as a Sustainable Development Goal in the 2030 Agenda.
Quality education, understood as one of the most powerful and proven drivers for ensuring sustainable development, can be applied in various educational contexts, formal and non-formal, and can generate multiple benefits for the general public. Given its relevance, this course wanted to present what Sustainable Development Goal 4 achieves:
“Ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human
rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and culture’s contribution to sustainable development”.
During the outdoor days, I tried to share with our teachers the importance and the benefits of Outdoor Education & experiential learning.
During the outdoor days, I tried to instill in our teachers the importance of Outdoor Education & experiential learning.
Dr. S. Priest’s and David A. Kolb’s theories were both introduced.
Learning, in all instances, is driven by the engine of experiential education: a philosophy and method of teaching fuelled by the energy of an outdoor setting, in which through a concrete experience, people learn to know themselves and, or others to understand the reciprocity in nature, comprehending their kinship role for the planet and taking action to make the difference.
That is the reason why I end my article with one of my favorite quotes:
“Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are. We are often like rivers: careless and forceful, timid and dangerous, lucid and muddied, eddying, gleaming, still”.
Gretel Ehrlich, The Solace of Open Spaces
Roberta Muratore, JUMP Trainer
