Op-ed by Nadine Ives

There is nothing quite like that back-to-school feeling.


But what if you could capture the freedom of summer days, the exploration of experimenting and learning outside, year round?

New Brunswick is home to a dedicated and innovative group of outdoor nature educators who know how to teach, outside.

The educators behind the Great Minds Think Outside program of the New Brunswick Environmental Network (NBEN) come from a broad range of backgrounds and disciplines, and they know their stuff. These educators know, for example, that a child who learns outside reaps benefits in physical, mental, emotional, and social development, in addition to improved academic outcomes. Math? Plot a graph of the plants found in different areas of the playground. Group objects found in nature according to colour, shape and texture.

Science and climate change? Measure temperature, rain, and snowfall and track changes over time.  Observe the life cycle of frogs in a local wetland.

Literacy? Write a story imagining a day in the life of a bug, or a tree. Use adjectives to describe the clouds.

Sometimes those who struggle in the classroom blossom when given opportunities to learn outside - and pretty well everyone loves exploring outdoors.

So it is good news that as teachers, parents and students across the province head back to class for another school year, our team of outdoor nature educators is gearing up for another season of helping teachers connect their students to the wealth of learning opportunities just outside their classroom walls. After all, in New Brunswick, nature is never far from our doorstep.

Since 2015, the Great Minds Think Outside team has visited more than 40 schools across the province to help teachers make lessons leap off the page and come alive before students' eyes in the outdoors.

The training sessions are activity-filled opportunities for teachers to experience for themselves the excitement of taking curriculum outside to see how effective it is for making memories full of important learning moments that will stay with children for years.

The activities can be adapted for any subject area, tying memorable hands-on experiential learning opportunities to the important skills and development goals outlined in the provincial curriculum. As one teacher from Sackville's Salem Elementary School said after taking the training, "this is the future of education." Many teachers who've participated in Great Minds Think Outside sessions say it is a fantastic way to reach kids who just learn better by doing, while reinforcing lessons learned previously inside the classroom. One teacher from a recent session put it best: "The more senses involved, the more movement and positive experiences, the better the learning." After taking a lesson outside, students return to the classroom with more focus and creativity, stronger recall and memory, and are better at problem-solving and working cooperatively with classmates. And it's not just the children who benefit. Teaching outside gives teachers a renewed enthusiasm for their work and promotes more innovative teaching strategies. A teacher who takes the class outside for a science lesson suddenly starts seeing ways to connect it to math, language arts, social studies and more. Talk to your child's teacher about inviting the Great Minds Think Outside team to your school. You can book a session by contacting Pascale Ouellette, the Education and Outreach Programs Coordinator with the New Brunswick Environmental Network, at 506-855-4144 or by emailing nben@nben.ca. Learn more about the program at www.nben.ca/greatminds.

Let's make sure that this year, at more and more schools across the province, going back to class does not mean going back inside!

Nadine I
ves, The Learning Outside Coordinator for the Conservation Council of New Brunswick and a founding member of the New Brunswick Environmental Network's Great Minds Think Outside program.

Learning Outside Nov2016 75
 © 2018 NBEN / RENB