Developing Place-Responsive Pedagogy

This paper's literature review suggests that educational nature trips for youth have been linked to deeper understanding of science, positive environmental attitudes, and the development of environmental actions. Further, teachers can play an important role in facilitating nature experiences for their students. The importance and complexity of out-of-classroom nature excursions requires that teachers scaffold student experiences during these trips to maximize learning. This paper explores the role of teachers in these nature-based excursions and seeks to develop guidelines related to effective practices, with the intention of developing a new theory of place-responsive pedagogy.

The authors use the term place-responsive pedagogy to refer to an educator's efforts to create meaningful experiences by connecting students to specific places through purposeful activities that draw upon elements of the site. The study included 18 teachers from four primary and secondary schools in Scotland. The sites of the excursions included three National Nature Reserves and one other natural area near the schools.

The study involved engaging teachers in activities aimed at better preparing them for place-responsive teaching in the outdoors. All teachers attended a workshop to familiarize them with Scotland's outdoor education standards and current research on planning excursions; the workshops also provided information on Scotland's natural heritage. Teachers were required to participate in at least one planning visit to their excursion sites. After their visits, they were tasked with developing a question that would connect the excursion space with a topic that was meaningful to their students. This question would then guide the development of a curriculum relevant to the excursion site. During the process, teachers also engaged in personal reflection and discussion.

Of the 18 teacher cases, data were collected from nine cases through observation, teacher interviews, and recorded video of groups that were in the process of planning trips, as well as the actual class excursions. Additionally, researchers recorded and transcribed audio from workshop discussions, student-produced work, and reflections from teachers.

After compiling and analyzing data from all nine cases, five main factors were identified as contributing to the success of the excursion: school factors, including school support and finances; wider support factors, such as parental help and curriculum requirements; pupil factors, including personalities and prior nature experiences; teacher factors, e.g., personalities and backgrounds; and place-related factors, such as physical and historical traits of the location. Researchers focused primarily on the last two factors when presenting their findings.

Overall, teachers reported major benefits to their practice outside of the classroom after the program. They valued the collaboration and mutual support from their peers in planning outdoor curricula. The evidence suggested that collaborative planning visits, increased time in natural spaces, and opportunities for reflection were critical to excursion making, particularly for educators with less professional experience. Many teachers altered their practice in outdoor settings to be more participatory, open ended, and student directed. As a result, they reported improved relations among students, as well as between teachers and students, along with a greater respect for individual differences.

The project not only impacted the content and implementation of the excursions, but also impacted the teachers themselves. The study found that the approach allowed teachers to reconsider their own perspectives of themselves as educators. The study also found that those who had established a deeper connection with nature were more easily able to teach with a place in mind and generate new meaning for learners through connections with a place. Teachers reported that excursion success was linked to how confident, motivated, enthusiastic, and willing they were to teach in nature. Those who saw themselves as “outdoor people” also noted this as a factor in success, supporting the notion that a teacher's own life practices can influence his or her teaching.

Using their findings, the authors developed some characteristics to define their term, place-responsive pedagogy. More practical suggestions for educators include emphasizing flexibility, creativity, and an ability to respond to students' individual experiences. Additionally, the authors suggest slowing the pace of teaching to allow time for students and teachers to adapt to and develop familiarity with the place.