Beyond the Classroom

The space of beyond the classroom extends to activities that are outside of the classroom. These can include; excursions, family trips, inside or outside the school, visitors or camps. Here students work to create deeper and more meaningful connections from real life to their learning. They also allow for students to develop socially and emotionally (perceptions of beyond the classroom).

Teacher:

Strengths:

Homework can relate directly to exploring the world beyond the classroom. For example a health activity where they have to go with their parents shopping and compare different foods based off their health star rating.
Excursions can help to create links and provide examples that directly relate to classroom learning. (Bentley and Gardener 2012).
Excursions can explore the reality of an environment with students through the sensory experiences (Lorenza 2009).

Challenges:

Knowledge has to be linked to classroom learning for connections to be made.
Expenses – some students and schools may not be able to afford some excursions, talks or activities that other schools may.

How we can address these challenges?

Ensure that you relate always to pervious knowledge and find out if students have any pervious knowledge that may assist the class and themselves in the topic. For example when talking about mammels in science - "Has anyone know what a mammal is? Has anyone been to a zoo and seen a mammal?"
Think of maybe some fund raising options to raise funds for the buses to the excursion destination.

Student:

Strengths:

Going to a specific environment enables the students to physically see the space and use their senses – to hear, visualize, smell and touch – this often makes the learning experience more memorable and hence more beneficial to students (Johnson 2009).
Students can share experiences that they have at home or on the weekend and relate them directly to learning.
Allow students to make real life connections with learnt content in the classroom (Bentley and Gardener 2012).
Excursions allow students to develop socially and emotionally. (Bentley and Gardener 2012)
Allows students to see how people can contribute and communicate clearly and easily in areas outside the classroom. (Bentley and Gardener 2012)

Challenges:

Some students may not have the exposure to some activities outside of school as other students due to expenses, family situations or other unforeseen issues.
Excursions may be expensive, some families may not be able to afford to send their students on the school excursions.

How we can address these challenges?

To introduce those who have not had the exposure try and create the environment for them; whether this be through words, pictures, videos or previous experience from self and other students.
Organise some school support of funding to those families at need. The school most likely has a program for these families however if they do not fund raising is something you can move to.

Useful Examples to get you started:

Farm Studies

http://handsonlearning.org.au/ - An interesting approach to learning and catering for different student needs.

Teaching Outside the Classroom

Learning Outside the Classroom

How I would start to move outside the classroom would be to do as many activities outside of the room as possible. For example in science if you studying Australian plants see if the class can find some in the playground rather than look it up just on the internet. Try and organise multiple excursions that relate directly to content that will be learnt so that students gain as much physical exposure to that environment/topic as possible. This will allow them to have a sound understanding of the topic going back into the school environment.

Resources:

Johnson, J. (2009). Beyond four walls: experiential and situated learning. Teacher. (198), 18-20.

Bentley, T and Gardner, H (2012) Learning Beyond the Classroom: Education for a changing world. Routledge.

Lorenza, L. Beyond four walls : why go beyond the bounds of school? [online].Teacher; n.198 p.22-25; January/February 2009. Availability:<http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=173863;res=AEIPT> ISSN: 1449-9274. [cited 25 Sep 16].