If you want to truly motivate your students to be cooperative and to improve well in their performance, you must incorporate outdoor learning in your class. In this setting, people can learn more because nature is the best place for our brain, for it to be in a more relaxed state therefore, can comprehend better and to be more creatively imaginative. It is normal for students as humans to work more if they are together in groups rather than being alone or few in buildings all throughout the semester. It has been found out that students doing the outdoor class learn more and are more efficient in managing their conflicts, in communication, and in their relationships with other students.
By making students exposed more to nature rather than computers or other digital devices for learning, it helps them become better in their attention and their perceptions. This is why the idea of outdoor class is getting more popular these days especially in many schools applying sustainable practices. This allows students to process information better because nature counteracts the stress and the anxiety caused by different things in this post-modern environment. So if you want to see better results in your teaching method, it is worth considering the idea of outdoor learning as many people, students and teachers alike, have already benefited from it. In addition, exposure to nature and right amount of sunshine has also been proven to be very beneficial to our eyesight and to our emotional health.
Some teachers also discovered that children’s exposure to clean outdoor environment makes them more active, positive minded, and motivated. Compared to routines like daily usage of cell phones and computers, not to mention their long hours of exposure to social media, children who experienced outdoor class are more inspired and happier; and they have very less academic issues. Of course, there is a link between health and the way we live our lives every day. And things that students do in schools daily are not an exception. This is why we really have to come up with more non-counterproductive methods for educating the young generations. If you continue to let high technology take over your role as effective teachers, for sure it will lead to more problems in the youth’s psychology and learning process in the future.
Lastly, students who are taking outdoor class benefit a lot especially with the hands-on learning. As biological specie, we humans still have a lot to experience when it comes to our natural place, our home. And in order to protect our environment and our coming generations, we must educate the children of today in order to prepare them to face the challenges in their times. And outdoor environment is the right place and setting for this as it provides not only a perfect place to process important information but also the experience of real fresh air, natural beauty of the flowers, insects, animals and various kinds of sights in nature that our brain needs. If schools or teachers provide this type of learning environment, there will be more chances for students to develop themselves and become a better person.
Reference:
- 7 Surprising Benefits of Outdoor Learning
- Featured Photo: tes.com/news/its-obvious-learning-outside-classroom-works
