A Practical Guide to Provide Progressive Team Challenges, Problem Solving Tasks, Reviews and so much more.
Making Outdoor Ed Easy are blog posts designed to give you simple but effect ways to improve your students social skills, problem solving skills and resilience while having fun.
The best part is every challenge only uses items you will be able to find inside your classroom.
The challenges only take 5 minutes with very little to no setting up.
We are on a mission to make outdoor ed easy so if you have any questions get in touch.
As a teacher you know first hand how meaningful and beneficial outdoor educational experiences are for your students.
It provides them with an opportunity to develop social skills like communication, leadership, collaboration and so many more.
It also gives your students the chance to learn about themselves.
How do I work under time pressure?
Can I communicate without words?
Can I lead a team?
These outdoor experiences are often the most memorable and exciting moments during their time at school.
However, it has become increasingly difficult for teachers like you and schools like yours to provide these opportunities to your students.
- Stagnate or cut budgets.
- Lack of transportation.
- Shortage of staff.
All hurdles which stop students experiencing a magic moment.
That moment where they learn a new skill, when they figure out a solution to the challenge, or overcome a fear.
These moments are magic because are creating and developing their future selves while having epic fun.
It has many names; teaching by stealth, learning through play, or outdoor education.
I think you will agree that we all need more of those moments.
That’s why I’ve written this blog.
It’s a practical guide filled with team challenges, problem solving tasks, group discussion topics, and review ideas.
It gives you the knowledge and support to make outdoor ed easy!
Start your student’s day or week with a simple but effect challenge, task, or discussion designed to develop your students’ social skills.
See social skills are like any other skill.
To develop a skill, you must:
- Practice.
- Have consistency.
- Measure your progress.
Practice
You can’t expect to win a formula 1 race if you have never driven a car.
Anyone who has / is learning to drive has stalled the car.
It’s a part of learning.
But if we keep practicing, we learn the little things like clutch control.
Once we have perfected the littles things the big goals like winning a race become more achievable.
Consistency
Let’s stick with racing metaphor.
Repetition is fundamental when it comes to developing new skills.
If we create a routine where every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday we race for 90 minutes then we can start to create a habit.
We can then plan what we are training on Monday session, which will be different to the Wednesday training, and different from the Friday training.
Now the sessions are focused and thought through not spontaneous and unstructured.
Progress
We need a goal.
Then we need to note down each step we need to take to reach that goal.
Goal = winning a formula 1 race.
Steps
I need to be able to drive a car quickly – 1 lap = 01:25
I need to be able to withstand huge levels of g-force. – 5G/6G
I need to be able to understand team commands. – memorize all commands in the textbook.
I need quick reflexes. – get a perfect score on the driving simulator.
So on….
By having a clear goal with measurable outcomes, we then have something to aim for.
We can track our progress and adapt our practices to focus on certain skills which need more development.
Are you ready to give your students this opportunity?
Well there are three different ways to provide your students with loads of great tasks and challenges.
Join our emailing list to receive a free team challenge every week.
Follow our podcast on Spotify 'The Outdoor Ed School Podcast'.
Become a member of The Hub on our website.
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