Outdoor training: learning by real experience in the city 1. Introduction With this course we want to improve teachers/trainers’ skills to reconnect teaching/learning activities to the urban environment and to transfer this to their daily school actions. Offering this kind of activities we want to make them aware of the benefits of outdoor education and the availability of the city as a knowledge resource. Our methodology is based on ”learning by doing”, combined with “reflection upon action”. The five-day programme will be held in the city and its urban and natural environment (25 hours). Students will explore the history, natural environment, legends and places of Barcelona thanks to excursions, thematic workshops, stories and games. Sending partners: educational organizations involved in formal, non – formal and informal learning: schools, adult training centres, resources centres and other relevant organizations active in school, youth and adult education field established in Erasmus program countries. Participants: 15 – 20 participants involved in education Language used: English Profile of the participants: The participants will be teachers, adult trainers or responsible, interested in discovering and using unconventional outdoors places for teaching/ learning activities (formal, non-formal, informal) to create a personal/ school activity strategy, in order to develop outdoor education and apply new strategies in a cross curricular perspective.
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Objectives: • Knowledge of basic theory on outdoor activities. • Plan, design and develop your outdoor space to maximize the enjoyable and funny learning opportunities aimed to all ages. • Develop and support plans for long-term continued use of the outdoor space as a complementary and vital benefit to ongoing learning. • Urban interpretation and outdoor experiential education. • How to use your outdoor space with its full potential for teaching and pedagogical value. • Knowledge of social roles and its influence in groups, organizations and personal relationships. • Learning based on problem solving as a pedagogical tool using outdoor activities.
2. Methodology The training is organized in an interactive way, involving theory and practice and offers a list of interactive activities like: simple activitiesicebreakers/energizers- and simple and complex problem solving activities. The core of this process is ‘experiential education’ or learning by doing. This is a learning process which engages the individual as a whole: intellectually, emotionally and also physically. Our outdoor activities are unique and exciting. However, we believe that it's not enough to merely be active together as a group: in order to real learning to take place, action needs to be grounded in reflection. We do not do outdoor activities just for analyzing them, but for deep reflecting about them. The experiential learning cycle we use during the whole training is based on plan – do – review. For theoretical inputs we use two methods: the inductive and the deductive way. In some cases theoretical models are presented first and the experiences are reviewed with the help of these models, in other cases models are deducted from the experience itself. For the practical part of the training, participants will organize scenarios and through meta-reflection sessions they will get feedback both from their colleagues and the trainers.
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3. Structured Course Programme Modules of the training course Day 1. First steps and why is outdoor education useful?
Get to know each other and the place Philosophy and theory of Outdoor Education and their impact in different personal, educational and social spheres Starting thinking about your outdoor activity: What do you want to teach? Preparing our portfolio. Preparation for the expeditions: teambuilding, orientation, constructionism and social roles
Day 2. Making outdoor activities real
Outdoor activity: "Are you with me? Be the group guide in a natural environment” Evaluation of the expedition: Learning by real experience Linking outdoor activities to social roles and constructionism
Day 3. Making real our outdoor activity
Using the city like a learning tool Evaluation of the expedition: why is the city a good “colleague”? Workshops: preparing the own outdoor activity
Day 4. Learning by doing
Outdoor activity: making real your planned activity Evaluation of the expedition: difficulties and advices Workshops on how to teach different school subjects using outdoor, learning by doing and reflecting upon the action
Day 5. End of our trip
Thematic creative activity: a toolbox for teaching different subjects outside the classroom What have I learnt? Preparing the action plan: portfolio Retrospection of the week and evaluation of the course Closing ceremony and certificates delivering
NB: Order and/or contents could be adapted, modified, reduced and extended, according to the participants’ profile, in order to better meet their needs and interests.
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4. Training Course Structure Details The course will be from Monday to Friday with both theoretical and practical contents. The aim is to know how to plan, design and develop your outdoor space to maximize the enjoyable and funny learning opportunities aimed to ages, being capable to use the outdoor space as a methodology for its full potential for teaching and pedagogical value. On the other hand, the knowledge of social roles and its influence in organizations and personal relationships and the learning based on problem solving as a pedagogical tool using outdoor activities will be the main topics worked on the course and will be a learning path to the students.
Registration: We kindly ask you to pre-register for the training course on time. Your preparation for the training and journey can only be started after the written confirmation of M&M Profuture Training, S.L. The organizer reserves the right to carry out the course only if a minimum of 15 people have registered and transferred the fees for the course.
5. Contact M&M Profuture Training, S.L. Lleó Fontova, 6 08940 Cornellà de Llobregat - Barcelona – Spain / Tel. +34 697 27 66 66 info@mmprofuture.com / www.mmprofuture.com VAT number: B66253659 Legal Representative: Montserrat Renedo (mrenedo@mmprofuture.com)
Under Creative Common. Author: M&M Profuture Training, S.L.
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