EP222 Bring back joy by teaching outdoors: A how-to guide for any classroom
Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers
Angela Watson
4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 4 April 2021
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What if this is the perfect time to normalize outdoor learning and make it a permanent part of how we do school?
What exactly does outdoor learning look like, and how can we provide equitable access to it?
These are questions I've been mulling over for quite some time, and I've collected some fantastic photos, links, resources, and case studies to help you find a way to bring your classes outside.
I'll share a bit of the history of the "open air schooling movement" from the 1900s and 1910s, when the fear of tuberculosis and later the Spanish Flu created a shift in how some children were educated. We'll touch briefly on the historical (and current) inequities in how outdoor learning is offered, and examine how to bring classes outside even in areas where nature access is limited.
You'll then hear 2 case stories directly from the teachers who made outdoor learning happen in their schools (a high school teacher in Texas and a first grade teacher in Massachusetts).
Outdoor learning doesn't have to be complicated, and as you'll hear in this episode, even short periods of being outside have proven benefits for both teachers and children.
Access images, links, and resources in the blog post here.
Join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to episode 222 of Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers. I'm your host, Angela Watson, |
| 0:08.0 | and I'm here to speak life, encouragement, and truth into the minds and hearts of educators |
| 0:13.8 | and get you energized for the week ahead. Today, I'm going to share a how-to guide for teaching |
| 0:19.8 | outdoors in order to infuse more joy into learning and into teaching. Visit truthforteachers.com |
| 0:27.4 | to get the transcript or find our truth for teachers podcast community on Facebook. |
| 0:33.6 | A big thanks to advancement courses for sponsoring today's show. You can earn graduate credits or |
| 0:39.4 | CEUs through over 280 online PD courses in 20 different subject areas for K-12 teachers. |
| 0:46.7 | Everything is online and self-paced and you have six months to complete. Right now, you can save |
| 0:52.4 | 20% off any course with the code truth. That's less than $120 per graduate credit hour. |
| 0:59.6 | To learn more, visit advancementcourses.com. Have you ever wondered what career options are |
| 1:06.4 | possible for former teachers? Daphne Williams of the teacher career coach has lots of resources |
| 1:11.9 | to help you translate your classroom work experience into skills that are highly sought after |
| 1:17.0 | in the corporate world. Her course includes resume templates and guidance, contact information |
| 1:22.3 | for companies that frequently hire teachers, and all the support and community you need to find |
| 1:28.0 | your next career, or just build a side hustle until you're ready to leave the classroom. |
| 1:33.2 | If you're just curious about your options or sort of on the fence about leaving, |
| 1:37.2 | start with the free quiz to identify careers that might be a good fit. Just go to teachercareercoach.com |
| 1:44.5 | forward slash truth for teachers. You can also just click the link in the show notes. |
| 1:49.2 | You'll find special free resources that Daphne designed for truth for teachers listeners, |
| 1:53.9 | and information about her teacher career coach course. That's teachercareercoach.com forward slash |
| 2:00.8 | truth for teachers. So I have always been a nature lover, and in fact, I planned this episode |
| 2:09.1 | from my front porch and only came inside so that I could record. I try to work outside as often |
... |
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