Outdoor field experiences are another essential element of the MWEE and a great place to practice those investigative questions to learn more about the environmental issue. Within appropriate safety guidelines, students are actively involved in planning and conducting these investigations, including developing supporting questions to explore the driving question in the field.
During the MWEE, students participate in multiple outdoor field experiences to investigate the issue. They can take place on the schoolyard or at locations close to the school, such as streams or local parks. They can also take place at off-site locations such as state or national parks, wildlife refuges, marine protected areas, or nature centers that are often staffed by experts and may provide access to field equipment and facilities.
Outdoor field experiences can also happen at any time during the MWEE and can serve a variety of purposes, including: setting the local context, developing supporting questions, as part of an investigation, and location for action. During field experiences, students can use their senses, scientific equipment, and technology to make observations, collect data or measurements, and conduct experiments necessary to answer their supporting questions and inform environmental action. Students who have opportunities to learn in, thrive in, and appreciate the outdoors can become informed and engaged champions for our natural resources.
This video follows the three case studies as they approach outdoor field experiences in their MWEE. Notice how the experiences vary based on location and available resources. You'll see that some teachers choose to work with partners while others feel comfortable leading the outdoor investigations themselves.
Watch the video on this page or view it HERE.
“It’s really using the environment as the context. How are you going to use the environment to help teach this standard?” Ms. Rouget
We heard the teachers in the video say that outdoor field experiences are important for investigating local issues. Outdoor field experiences situate the learning in the context in which it happens.
If you're looking for outdoor field experiences for your students, talk with organization that already partner with your school or visit these great resources to get ideas:
From the Toolbox
The Incorporating Outdoor Field Experiences tool was developed to help evaluate potential sites for outdoor field experiences, including how these sites can support the issue definition and environmental action project essential elements within your MWEE. Like before, we will use the high school MWEE case study to share an example. You can download the Incorporating Outdoor Field Experiences example below if your browser does not display iFrame.
Download your own Incorporating Outdoor Field Experiences Tool (pages 18-20 in the MWEE Guide) to support your MWEE planning.