Many educators and pedagogical practitioners are seeking ways to make learning more effective, engaging, and student-centered. One of the most impactful approaches is outdoor education, which literally takes teaching and learning beyond the walls of the classroom.
Outdoor education, also known as adventure pedagogy, is grounded in the principles of John Dewey and emphasizes active, experiential learning. By engaging students in authentic, hands-on activities in natural environments, outdoor education not only enhances knowledge acquisition but also fosters soft skills, teamwork, and positive relationships with nature. Classes conducted outdoors provide fresh air, opportunities for meaningful social interaction, and the chance to rebuild connections between humans and the natural environment, helping prevent the “civilization illnesses” associated with sedentary indoor lifestyles.
Participants of this course will learn how to design and facilitate outdoor learning experiences that are engaging, safe, and developmentally supportive for students of all ages.
Learning Outcomes – What Participants Will Learn:
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Learning by Doing: Understand that active participation outweighs traditional teaching; teachers act as mentors and guides rather than sole knowledge providers.
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Collaborative Learning: Harness the power of group learning; students learn more effectively and safely when working together.
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Challenge by Choice: Enable learners to choose how they achieve learning goals, fostering autonomy and motivation.
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Real-Life Application: Design activities where knowledge and skills can be directly transferred to real-life contexts.
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Emotional Awareness: Recognize the importance of emotions in learning; reflect on what learners feel in addition to what they know.
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Soft Skills Development: Promote teamwork, negotiation, leadership, and group resource management alongside academic learning.
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Constructive Feedback: Replace traditional grading with comprehensive feedback, viewing errors as natural and valuable components of the learning process.
This course equips educators with practical strategies to create outdoor learning experiences that are engaging, meaningful, and supportive of students’ holistic development. Participants will leave ready to inspire curiosity, foster collaboration, and strengthen students’ connection with both learning and nature.
After the course the participant will know that:
1. we learn, but we are not taught- the activity of students outweighs the teaching course (the principle of learning by doing),
The teacher does not provide the knowledge but becomes an impeller, mentor, guide in the process of acquiring information and skills,
2. we learn from each other- we learn more effectively, more nicely and safely in a group, because one person never knows or can more than a group of people
3. participants of the learning process have a choice of how they want to achieve the learning goal, i.e. achieve specific knowledge and skills (the challenge by choice principle),
4. we learn how the knowledge or created situations can be used in real life (how to transfer the knowledge into real life),
5. emotions are important- apart from what and how we have learned, we talk about what we feel,
6. the aim of the actions taken is not only to acquire specific knowledge and practice specific skills, but also to develop the so-called soft skills- the ability to cooperate, negotiate, and manage group resources. It is these skills, in addition to the qualifications necessary to occupy specific positions, are the most desirable on the market,
7. we avoid assessments expressed directly by single notes in favor of more comprehensive feedback, and we consider errors (realistically, not decoratively) as a natural element of learning.
Methods and tools:
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Lectures and presentations, exercises, discussions, teamwork, group work, role-playing, study visits , interactive activities
It includes:
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25 hours of classes spread over 5 course days,
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Learning Materials,
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Optional Cultural Activities and Visits,
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Participants’ Evaluation Feedback,
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Certificate of Attendance and Europass mobility
