Learning Outside The Classroom
“Launched in 2006, the LOTC Manifesto is a shared vision to
raise achievement through an organised and powerful approach to learning in which
direct experience is of prime importance.”
http://www.lotc.org.uk/about/manifesto/
LOTC is now part of the Welsh
curriculum for all children between the ages of three and nineteen. There is a
wide range of activities that can be completed with pupils both within the
school grounds and also off school grounds. The idea is for the children to experience the world beyond the classroom.
“The survey also found examples of the positive effects of
learning outside the classroom on young people who had not been stimulated or
motivated sufficiently by mainstream education.”
Ofsted, Learning
Outside the Classroom Report, Oct 2008
Activities that can take place within the school can include
exploration of the world around you, forest school, incorporating maths,
English and science to the outside world in various ways and also collecting
materials to make collages or models back in the classroom. These activities can
give the child an opportunity to learn about the environment around them and
gain a sense of place in their school and local community. These activities
allow the children to use available resources including digital cameras and
data loggers.
"If materials are brought into the classroom, while the
children may learn about some of their features through direct experience, they
do not also learn where they occur in the world. Experiences outside the
classroom may therefore seem more 'authentic' and grounded in 'reality' and
certainly some of the children in our own research (Waite 2011) have talked of
knowing that something is 'real' in the sense of believable through first-hand
experience rather than just being told. Perhaps then reference to 'reality' and
'authenticity' is understood in the relation to life beyond the Educational
setting." (Waite, 2011)
Excursions that could take pupils out of the school grounds
include trips to museums, historical venues, factories, cities and much more.
The Council for LOTC demonstrate
learning outside the classroom options very clearly in the diagram on the
following link:
LOTC really can benefit each
child, you will often find that a child will come out of their shell more when
in the outdoor environment. These outdoor lessons can also improve the
relationship between pupils and teachers with better understanding of each
other which often makes an impact when returning to the classroom.
There is a scheme in place called the quality badge this is
awarded to educational establishments that meet the learning and safety
requirements for schools visits.
Local schools are known to make regular visits to
many quality badge holders venues in South Wales, but one in particular is
Techniquest.
Techniquest is
located in Cardiff Bay and provides educational programmes for pupils from the
foundation phase right through to post 16. Their aim is to educate children
about science, technology, engineering and mathematics through discovery during
their tour. Specifically for The Foundation Phase and Key Stage 2 there is a
planetarium which encourages children to investigate the night sky.
I can definitely agree that LOTC
is a great benefit to pupils and students of all ages. I remember being taken
outside of the school by teachers and this always felt rewarding and made our
learning interesting. LOTC can also benefit children with behavioural problems,
there is a certain sense of freedom when working outside the classroom, this
can give the pupil time to explore and ask questions.
References:
Ofsted, Learning Outside the Classroom Report, Oct 2008
Waite.S, (2011) Children learning outside the classroom from birth to eleven, Sage
● The Foundation Phase 
● The Foundation Phase 
