Taking Learning Outside: Reflections on Today’s EdCamp

Today in our Educational Technology class, we got to participate in an EdCamp! We broke into five different groups to brainstorm and chat about topics we are passionate about in our future teaching practice. I joined the Outdoor Learning group, where we talked about all the different ways teachers can bring learning beyond the classroom and out into the outdoors.

Outdoor learning is something I have been passionate about long before starting my education degree. As a future science and biology teacher, I truly believe that so much of what we teach can come to life in real-world, outdoor settings. The opportunities are honestly endless, to field observations to hands-on experiments in nature. I have actually been building a slide deck full of outdoor learning activities across different science classes, which you can check out here! It has been such a fun passion project of mine, and today’s discussion fuelled that excitement even more

What made today’s workshop especially great though, was getting to think beyond my own subject area. I will be teaching Math 9 during my practicum, and math is one of those subjects that can feel really tied to the classroom. Getting to brainstorm with my peers about how to bring outdoor learning into math was so inspiring, and honestly there are way more possibilities than you would expect once you step outside and get a little creative!

Overall, the EdCamp format was such a great way to connect with classmates, swap ideas, and share resources with each other. Everyone brought something different to the table and I walked away feeling inspired and motivated for my future classroom. Here’s to learning without limits!