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Research

Learning for Sustainability in Outdoor and Environmental Education Centres (2008)

This research was a joint initiative of Education Queensland's Outdoor and Environmental Education Centres and The University of Queensland (UQ).

For a copy of the report, go to the UQ School of Tourism .

Context
Learning experiences in the natural environment are extremely important in developing students' environmental knowledge, attitudes and responsible actions. There is a wealth of evidence highlighting the importance of learning in natural environments.

The Learning for Sustainability research project identified and investigated specific program elements or pedagogies in the environment that are most effective in facilitating school students' learning for sustainability.

5^th pedagogy
The findings outlined in the report are conceptualised in relation to the 'productive pedagogies' developed for formal classroom teaching. In this regard, a fifth category of productive pedagogy, Experience-based learning, has been identified, which encapsulates the unique pedagogies that are the specialty of Outdoor and Environmental Education Centres, and that are most effective in facilitating learning in the natural environment.

The components of this fifth category include:

learning by doing (Are students actively involved in hands on exploration and investigation?)
being in the environment (Are students encouraged to experience and appreciate the special characteristics of the natural environment?)
real life learning (Are learning activities based on real places, real issues, and authentic tasks?)
sensory engagement (Are opportunities provided to explore the environment using all five senses?)
local context (Are students encouraged to explore and investigate environmental problems and issues in 'their own backyard'?)

Experience-based learning is particularly important in addressing attitudes and behaviours, and its effects are longer lasting than those that result from teacher-directed learning.

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