This text is part of the special public school notebook
Walk around a school during school hours and you might see an unusual sight. Camped in the middle of the normally deserted courtyard, you will see a teacher here offering a geometry lesson, there a meteorology lesson. Accompanied by birdsong, sunny skies and the occasional roar of the lawnmower, the voices of teachers now also resonate outside the four walls of the school. Portrait of a booming phenomenon.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, due to distancing requirements, more primary school teachers were offering classes outside, a jump corresponding to 43% compared to the previous year, i.e. before the health crisis, revealed a survey conducted in 2020 by two researchers from the University of Sherbrooke.
But while health restrictions have become a thing of the past, teachers do not seem ready to return to their classrooms. On the contrary, new green classes are added to the list every year. An example: at the Patriotes School Service Center, on Montreal’s South Shore, 14 schools have launched outdoor classes in recent years and around twenty others have projects in progress.
“The idea almost always comes from teachers,” notes Luc Lapointe, general director of the Patriotes School Service Center. These pioneers usually start with a testing period with a single class. “When they see interesting benefits, we look at how to develop the exterior to better meet the needs. » It will then be necessary to coordinate the needs of teachers, to ensure that everyone has access to the space.
To offer classes outside, you need to bring together two ingredients: a teacher motivated to adapt their school curriculum for this new environment and a welcoming schoolyard. The latter is created by arranging seats or picnic tables in a semi-circle, which are sometimes protected from the elements with a roof. “Several schools start with benches or even simple logs,” we note in a sheet for the realization of a project to develop a primary school yard produced by the Quebec Ministry of Education . No need to worry: “the best outdoor class is the one that is used!” »
Learn differently
“Varying learning contexts destabilizes students — in a good sense of the word,” notes the director. The change of location makes it possible to promote learning: if you want to memorize a new concept, for example, it is better to study it in several places so that it does not become associated with the precise context in which you learn it. ‘has learned. By leaving their classroom, therefore, students are called upon to strengthen their memory.
By moving outside, students also have access to a place that allows them to “authentic” learning, which is closer to how the knowledge they acquire is reflected in the real world. We can observe insects, calculate the trajectory of a bird’s flight, organize a book club, rehearse a play… “The first instinct is to think about science classes,” agrees Luc Lapointe. But there are no limits. It will all depend on how the teacher exploits the situation. »
The novelty effect also makes it possible to interest even the most reluctant students. “One of the fears was that the students would be more distracted outside,” recalls the principal. “But if we plan an experience where they actually work on a phenomenon, they are captivated. » Another advantage, the schoolyard turns out to be less noisy than a classroom, where sounds are reverberated by the walls — unless a neighbor decides to mow his lawn.
Learn forever
The list of benefits of outdoor education is long and includes the well-being of educators: “teachers who practice outdoor education would not do so only to “connect young people to nature and to use contexts concrete applications of learning”, which are the main reasons generally put forward, but they would do it for themselves, because they also need to go outside”, noted the magazine 100° in March 2021. They plus the opportunity to develop new teaching skills in a pleasant environment.
Much more than a fashion effect, summer and winter, outdoor classes should become a permanent fixture. “We learn all our lives,” concludes Luc Lapointe. This shows students that they can do it somewhere other than within the four walls of their classroom. »
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.