Understanding Educational and Well-Being Implications of Learning Outside the Classroom Through Cross-National Collaboration

Understanding Educational and Well-Being Implications of Learning Outside the Classroom Through Cross-National Collaboration

Date & Time

Venue

Events Details

Time: 10am - 12pm
Registration: 9:30am
Light refreshments will be served. 

Presentation 1:

Outdoor and environmental education as place-responsive pedagogy: An Australian perspective

By Dr. Alistair Stewart, La Trobe University, Australia

Australia is home to many species of flora and fauna found nowhere else on Earth. Since the arrival of Europeans in the 1700’s Australia has undergone a substantial change in land ownership and use that has resulted in declining ecological health of many landscapes. With the rise of ecological consciousness in the broader community, outdoor education in south-eastern Australia has evolved over the last 20 years to include philosophies and pedagogy that are socio-ecologically critical. In this presentation I will discuss my efforts of the last 15 years to bring outdoor and environmental education together to develop place-responsive pedagogy. 

Presentation 2:

Natural Connections and outdoor learning in England

By Sue Waite, Associate Professor (Reader), Plymouth University, UK

Assoc Prof Sue Waite  will briefly share some thoughts and images about outdoor learning in England, focusing on a current project, Natural Connections, as an example. Reflections on how cultural influences shape what is desirable and what is possible to offer in mainstream schooling will be suggested with an invitation to everyone to consider how these may impact on the meanings of and motivations for outdoor learning in their own context. 

Speaker Bio-Profiles:

Dr Alistair Stewart is the current Head of Department of Outdoor and Environmental Education, La Trobe University, Australia. His teaching and research interests include place responsive outdoor environmental education, natural~cultural history pedagogy, and autobiographical curriculum inquiry.

Assoc Prof Sue Waite is a Reader in the Institute of Education, Plymouth University, UK. She leads a large outdoor teaching and learning project, Natural Connections, enhancing the use of local natural environments for curricular learning in primary, secondary and special schools. She has researched and written extensively in the field of outdoor learning including Forest Schools, wellbeing from woodlands and transition from early years.