Why this matters
We usually think of learning as flowing from adults to children. But anyone who has led a group of 10-year-olds knows children teach us things too. What do new environmental educators actually learn from the children in their care?
What the researchers did
Shaver's Creek's outdoor school is a four-day, three-night residential program for fifth graders from rural Pennsylvania school districts. University students and recent graduates staff it in two roles:
- Counselors, who sleep in the cabins with the children.
- Lead educators, who usually have more experience.
After their week, the researchers interviewed 27 of these educators: 10 first-time counselors, 7 returning counselors and 10 lead educators. They asked what each had expected to learn from the children and what they actually learned.
What they found
- Children had the biggest influence, even when staff didn't expect it. Afterward, most educators who raised the subject said the campers influenced their experience more than anyone else. Returning counselors had expected to learn most from the lead educators, but they too named the children.
- Many expected to learn nothing, but everyone learned something. Nearly half the educators started with few or no expectations of learning from children. Afterward, none said they had learned nothing.
- Children made them better teachers and leaders. Educators learned to adapt plans to children's energy, interests and knowledge, and to manage groups. This was the most common lesson for lead educators.
- Children brought back a sense of play and wonder. Educators described playing tag again and seeing nature through children's eyes. One counselor recalled a girl holding up pine needles and calling them "nature's eyelashes." Returning counselors mentioned this most.
- Watching children built their people skills. Educators learned from how campers worked out disputes and handled their feelings, and about building relationships. Lead educators mentioned this often.
- Children taught them about other lives and other knowledge. First-time counselors especially learned from campers' knowledge, such as naming a bird from its call, and from their interests and home lives. One counselor felt new gratitude for her parents after a camper said she lived with her grandparents.
- The work also eased stress and shaped futures. Some educators said time with children helped them relax and stop worrying. Others found the work deeply meaningful, and a few decided to pursue careers in environmental education.
What this means for your practice
- Go in expecting to learn. Many educators didn't expect children to teach them anything, yet all reported learning. The researchers encourage educators to stay open and curious about what young people can teach them.
- Invite children to share what they know. After a girl named a bird from its call, one counselor started asking campers, "What else do you know?" This is one counselor's example; the study didn't test it. Simple invitations like this let children be the experts.
- Build reflection into staff training. These educators often discovered how much they had learned only when asked about it. Consider asking new staff before and after a program what they expect to learn from children, and what they did learn.
- Let yourself play. Joining in children's play helped educators relax and see nature with fresh eyes. The researchers suggest this playfulness and curiosity can carry over into teaching.
- See staffing as training for new educators. The researchers suggest a week like this gives beginning educators a strong start: teaching skills, people skills and a sense of purpose. Program leaders could design staff roles with this growth in mind.
- Expect different staff to learn different things.
- First-time counselors learned most about children's lives.
- Returning counselors rediscovered play.
- Lead educators sharpened their teaching and people skills.
- Tailor staff support to experience level.
RETURN TO RESIDENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION EERESEARCH COLLECTION
The Bottom Line
The researchers interviewed 27 university students and recent graduates after they taught at a four-day residential outdoor school. Most educators said the children had influenced their experience more than anyone else, even though many had expected to learn nothing from them. The children helped them become better teachers and leaders, understand how groups and emotions work, and learn about lives different from their own. Being around children also brought back a playful, curious way of seeing nature and eased their stress. For some, it shaped their career plans. For educators and program leaders, the study is a reminder that learning flows both ways. Being open to learning from young people benefits staff and, in turn, the children they teach.