This year, I wrote my master’s educational leadership MBA thesis on the positive impact that nature can have on pupils.

As such, even if the circumstances that led to it are far from ideal, I am pleased to see outdoor learning becoming a feature of school efforts in aiming to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission.

This is not just a “nice” thing to do either - outdoor learning can have a real link to core skills that will serve pupils well into later life and the sort of future careers that may exist.

The benefits of outdoor learning

Here are three ways it does just that.

1. The relationship between Stem and nature

Stem sessions translate seamlessly to outdoor locations and this helps to place key learning ideas in an immediately clear, real-world context.

Whether your topic is 2D shape recognition in foundation stage, height and length in key stage 1 or measuring angles in key stage 2, the natural environment holds an infinite amount of shape, space and measure links across all age ranges.

For example, a favourite scientific-maths lesson among previous classes has been a simple data investigation into local plant species.

This activity also integrates the element of critical thinking, as children are not only able to apply their knowledge of plants but also contrast and sort them based on their own criteria.

Finnish storyteller and computer science expert Linda Liukas suggests further ideas in her Hello Ruby series, found on YouTube.

Her simple, targeted activities can take place outdoors and be adapted for all ages.

One example explores human senses as a backdrop for robotic design. Another uses the sticker of an on/off switch to prompt investigations into the technical possibilities of living and non-living things - could the natural behaviour of a fox be predicted using an algorithm?

Discussing these ideas outdoors can bring these abstract thought experiments to life and boost complex, philosophical thinking - a skill always worth having.

2. Igniting creativity beyond the classroom

Even in pre-Covid times, it was often argued that young writers and artists struggle to imagine settings without real-life “awe and wonder” to build upon. Could Robert Frost have composed as much poetic literature without spending time outdoors?

Natural locations provide ample opportunities for learners to develop the foundational skills required for storytelling, as well as expressive arts and design.

Not only is this through the acquisition of a “visual settings” bank, but also by encouraging a descriptive vocabulary.

Enriching experiences can be as simple as observing changing weather from beyond the classroom walls.

Students are not only able to practise using new language in a truly fitting context, but they can also imagine the senses of fictional characters. How did Sherlock Holmes feel as he paced through the light summer rain that evening?

3. Preparing collaborative learners

Character qualities such as collaboration will always be applicable to learners’ personal and professional needs.

However, our Covid-compliant classrooms are innately void of peer interaction, whereas relationships and conversational phenomena thrive abundantly in outdoor contexts.

As such, teachers should take advantage of the opportunities for evidencing enhanced communication skills beyond the confines of our classrooms.

Applications such as Flipgrid have surged in school popularity during the pandemic, due to the ease of securely sharing short videos between students, who are, in turn, able to respond via user-generated clips.

Tools such as this provide the perfect means of narrating activities such as those in forest schools settings, including tree identification or constructing shelters.

Children have the ability to create content that develops their verbal reasoning and conversation skills, enabling them to ask questions as well as answer others’.

The element of recorded action and dialogue also alleviates the pressure of written communication while creating equal opportunities for all.

In an outdoor context, pupil-recorded media can feature any learning experience designed to promote discussion and develop interpersonal skills.

From theory past to solutions present

Throughout history, many educational theorists have advocated natural settings as prime locations for facilitating learning: Montessori, Froebel and Steiner to name a few.

However, usually this has been somewhat overlooked by the mainstream. But, now, more than ever before, educators and school leaders must bravely think outside of the box, seeking innovative solutions and critically assessing their suitability.

Outdoor learning is a world waiting to be explored.

Charlotte Dawson is an early years teacher in Dubai. She has taught internationally for eight years and is completing a master’s degree in educational leadership at Tampere University of Applied Sciences in Finland