What Are The Benefits Of Learning Outside The Classroom?
How Can An Educational Visit Help Children Learn?
Learning outside the classroom, is an idea that covers a number of areas. It can range from anything as simple as taking a class into the outdoors for hands on look at the environment surrounding them, or the use of work experience in later school years, to help a student understand what a job is like.
Studies and research have shown, that different people learn in different ways, however a lot of research suggests that taking learning outside the classroom can have some positive effects. So what benefits of learning outside the classroom are there?
- Learning outside the classroom helps students attendance – studies show if children are more engaged by what the learning is, they are more likely to turn up to school, thus reducing truancy levels and improving their chances of achieving.
- Following on from this, it is suggested that learning outside the classroom can improve the behaviour of students who may have struggled with this, as they are likely to be engaged in a different way than they would in a classroom.
- A different environment can put the teaching of a subject into a more relevant context to the pupils being taught, and as such there’s a likelihood they will take more from the experience if the subject is brought to life.
- Taking your pupils to an attraction that is relevant to the subject they are learning can really help emphasise the message. A museum or similar attraction will have people who spend a lot of time focusing on the subject matter and their knowledge and enthusiasm will spread to the pupils.
- In terms of older pupils, learning outside of the classroom can help build important skills when it comes in the form of work experience. Here the student is given the chance to try things they may not have been exposed to, it can help them get an idea of an environment they may enjoy, or just as importantly an environment they decide is definitely not for them, without committing to any long term plans.
- Learning outside the classroom makes the subject being taught more engaging, by changing the place where the student is learning, they often get more involved with what it is they are being taught and this can help them take more on board, or ignite a passion and interest in them to learn more around the subject.
- Residential school trips or Educational Visits, are a great way to help learning- not just about the curriculum, but also important life skills that can translate into work life such as team building and communications.
Learning outside the classroom is a great opportunity to augment the learning process that takes place at school. Children are continually developing and learning, Educational Visits can help both schools in term time and families in the holidays, in order to provide a memorable learning experience and continue the development and education of your children and pupils.