Most of the activities in the project “My box of STEAM” are designed to be carried out in the classroom. The setting is often easier to control and more comfortable for a teacher working alone with a class. But is this the only way to use our resources?
Outdoor activities have many advantages. First of all, it’s easier for learners to get involved in non-formal learning, as they won’t be in their usual classroom: being close to the teacher or facilitator means that some of them will be more ‘comfortable’ to take an active part in the experiments. Being in a large space also makes it easier for the organisers to divide the participants into sub-groups, which can be very useful for certain activities, and also makes it possible to work with larger groups.
Of course, this doesn’t just have advantages: being outdoors means that the group can be more easily dissipated and, depending on the size of your group, it may be necessary to ask one of your colleagues or assistants for support with the activity. Also, depending on the season, the weather can disrupt the activity: remember to keep a close eye on the weather in the days before the activity, and if in doubt, have a plan B indoors 🙂
As part of our tests with the Albert Camus school in Tourcoing (France) and the teacher Laurent, we organised an outdoor sundial activity.
We divided the full class into 2 groups to draw 2 large sundials in the school playground using chalk. Because of the size of the sundial, it was easy to create sub-groups to include all the pupils: while some guided the marker, others marked the lines symbolising the hours and a final group named each line. With 2 supervisors and the support of the teacher, we had no trouble managing such a large number of pupils and everyone was able to contribute to the activity!
With this activity, we can highlight that outdoor activities are good for the learner’s interest: it has a beneficial effect on their involvement and learning outside the classroom!