This week was awesome! I loved the change of environment, especially since we got to go outside. Brianna, Jackie, Katy, and Lexi did an amazing job this week as it was shown that a lot of work was put into their team teach. From the start of class, I was engaged and excited. Not to mention, I noticed that I was much more energized throughout the day. Although at some point the teach teachers were all at different areas of the campus, they were still well-organized and on the same page with one another.
Outdoor education is clearly essential. It is important for teachers to incorporate outdoor education to their lesson plan. A good way to do this is by, know the surroundings and the community around your school. The girls this week definitely knew the campus and was taken to different parts of the school grounds where I never been to before. Although this is a PE class, I really enjoyed how the whole class was not based around physical literacy and sports, rather it was based around the outdoors. The way the four activities were set up was different. It involved teamwork, air and exploration, which are all aspects that students should use on a daily basis. Mary has brought up a point that I had never thought about on Friday. Outdoor education does connect to our Aboriginal learnings of the community and land. This may be a great way to incorporate Aboriginal education to your students while changing the environment. Students are only given a certain amount of time to spend outside and I think outdoor education is a valuable way for teachers to incorporate more of the outdoors in their lesson plan.
Well done this week ladies!
I agree with everything you said, Nicole. I definitely saw the amount of time, organization, and effort that was put into their team teach. I was really happy to be out of the gym and outside in the open air. In grade 10 I was involved in an outdoor education program at my high school called TREK. It involved half a year doing classwork (typical classes plus classes about nutrition, survival instincts, first aid, nature, low impact camping, and about Aboriginal influence) and the other half of the year you applied everything you learned to your outdoor trips (7-day kayaking trip, 4-day hike, etc). I really believe that being immersed in your community and involving yourself in the outdoors is extremely important in raising children to be aware of their surroundings and respecting the land we live on. As was stated during the group teach, most children are not getting the daily requirement of 30 minutes of activity. This needs to change and it CAN and WILL change with the new generation of teachers (GO CITE!).