Educating Children Outdoors: ECO Level 2 Standards Based Nature Immersion Graduate Course Level 2

Learning

Educating Children Outdoors: ECO Level 2 Standards Based Nature Immersion Graduate Course Level 2

Educating Children Outdoors: ECO Level 2 immerses participants in the practice of nature-based technical field skills as familiar routines for managing the elementary outdoor classroom. Participants will engage in inquiry-based learning through intensive experiential lessons, activities, and discussions held entirely outdoors. During this course participants will develop outdoor classroom expectations based on their indoor classroom expectations.

Participants will sharpen skills in how to guide outdoor projects using the whole body to build, dig, craft and create nature-based materials. We explore the difference between focused lessons in an outdoor setting and guided workshop time during which adults observe how their students work and learn together. This course will focus on using story as directive in an effort to evoke curiosity from the student who is engaged in fun and creativity. Participants also apply science based journaling techniques and tactics on guiding inquiry-based journaling routines with students as an indoor reflection to their outdoor classroom.

All lessons given to participants to use in their own classroom will be aligned to Next Generation Science Standards and the Common Core when applicable.