UC Irvine

Researchers have outlined benefits and best practices of outdoor learning, but have less insight into supporting classroom teachers in bringing their students outdoors themselves. We investigated a week-long professional development (PD) providing standards-based tools and strategies surrounding environmental science. We applied a design-based research approach to analyze PD artifacts and surveys from 33 upper elementary teacher participants. We present three themes arising from teachers’ shifting perspectives on NGSS-aligned science (ease of integration, true three-dimensionality, and outdoors-as-a-classroom) and how their views on environmental education changed across the PD. For example, we documented how teachers were empowered by views of outdoors- as-a-classroom. They focused on the hyper local–getting students to explore their own schoolyards, including students in the action planning process, and doing multi-subject lessons outdoors. To contextualize these themes within a classroom experience, we present a co-designed unit on water movement, the impact of heavy rainfall, and action plans for improving students’ playground design. We explain how each of these lessons leveraged NGSS Science & Engineering Practices and Crosscutting Concepts, bringing “the outside in and the inside out.” We hope our work can help encourage more teachers to simply “get kids outside” in ways that are academically rigorous and inclusive.