Its purpose was to motivate schools and districts to adopt outdoorlearning.
What Is Outdoor Learning?
Outdoor learning refers to education that occurs outside of a classroom.
LWA / Dann Tardif / Getty Images
Despite this, Rhode Island doctors wanted children tocontinue receiving an education.
They launched an open-air school in Providence in 1908, the first of its kind.
However, the advent of antibiotics meant the last open-air schools closed by 1957 in Providence.
How could students still keep up with lessons and receive an education, without spreading the virus?
The National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative re-introduced the concept of outdoor learning, which has evidence-based support.
Outdoor learning has also been praised by mental health experts, school officials, and educators.
These findings were particularly pronounced for students from ethnic minorities and low-income households.
What Are the Benefits of Outdoor Learning?
Below, mental health experts, school administrators, and teachers discuss the benefits of outdoor learning.
Young children learn words for things they experience, such as colors, smells, and textures.
This allows them to learn vocabulary in context, versus through a textbook," says Dr. Rolland.
This helps children build language andrelate to one anothermore easily.
Carolyn Hines, School Director
It [outdoor learning] teaches kids to have agrowth mindset.
It also helps them buildconfidenceandresilience.
Outdoor learning can also give children a chance to be challenged in a nurturing environment, Hines says.
Improved Focus and Behavior
Furthermore, Janet says that she noticed fewer distractions.
Herspecial educationstudents often require limited distractions.
A lot of that is eliminated outside.
I found that my students were actually able to focus a lot better outdoors than in.
Finally, Janets students demonstrated improved behavior.
Since she works in groups, theyre usually seated close together around a small table.
This close proximity results in behavior challenges.
They also seem more relaxed, Janet says.
I observed very few problem behaviors during our time outdoors.
Outdoor Learning Resources
To learn more about outdoor learning, visit theNational COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative website.
Here you will find more information about the research and policies behind this initiative.
Rhode Island Medical Journal.Fighting TB with Fresh-Air Schools.
Slee V, Allan JF.Purposeful Outdoor Learning Empowers Children to Deal with School Transitions.Sports (Basel).
2019 May 31;7(6):134. doi: 10.3390/sports7060134.
2022 May 16;10:877058. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.877058.
