On any given day, you might find students from Centreville Elementary attending class at one of the school鈥檚 17 outdoor learning spaces, taking a nature walk, checking on the trout they鈥檝e grown from eggs in a classroom tank, or working with classmates on how they can apply the most recent United Nations鈥� sustainability goals to their own school community.
Centreville Elementary is not an alternative school; nor is it set in a remote corner of the country. Situated in suburban Fairfax County in Virginia, it鈥檚 simply a public elementary school whose long-standing commitment to outdoor learning predates the pandemic鈥攚hen many schools adopted outdoor learning as a way to return safely to in-person learning. Centreville Elementary has long had two permanent outdoor classrooms and treasured its tradition of participating in , an environmental program that guides schools on how to raise trout and release them into the wild.
Joshua Douds, the school鈥檚 principal, started the program at Centreville Elementary when he was a special education teacher under the leadership of then-Principal Dwayne Young.
鈥淗e [Young] had all the staff read the book . And he challenged teachers to spend an hour outside each day with their students,鈥� said Douds. 鈥淭here were no stipulations. He just said, 鈥楪et outside for an hour each day.鈥� That鈥檚 where the whole thing started.鈥�
Young retired in 2017, but his legacy of promoting outdoor education has taken root, and Douds believes the students are better off because of it. 鈥淲e do a lot of informal surveys with kids. They often say that they love being outdoors and they feel cooped up in classrooms. They feel freer when they鈥檙e able to investigate outside,鈥� he said.
Douds emphasizes that learning outdoors is not about simply teaching a math lesson outside: 鈥淥utdoor learning is when we鈥檙e using the environmental objects to help teach the lessons.鈥�
He cites a math class learning multiplication outdoors, where students might count the weeds in a section of grass and use multiplication to determine how many weeds are in the whole field.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e looking at trees. They鈥檙e looking at symmetry. They鈥檙e looking at how different patterns appear in nature. They enjoy that. It incorporates nature into what they鈥檙e doing. It ties it to real life,鈥� Douds said.
In many ways, outdoor learning stands in sharp contrast to the current educational system: heavy on standardized assessments, long hours spent in classrooms, and curricula that tend to lack direct links to experiential learning. These factors may be contributing to the problems facing K-12 education. Upward of 60 percent of America鈥檚 high school students are chronically disengaged at school鈥攎eaning they are inattentive, exert little to no effort, do not complete tasks, and claim to be bored鈥攁ccording to the .
Further, about 26 percent of K-12 students were chronically absent (missing at least 10 percent of a school year) in 2023, according to a report by the . Amid these woeful statistics, outdoor learning presents a potentially attractive alternative, advocates argue.
Proof that outdoor play and learning reaps benefits
But in most schools in the United States, time outdoors, whether to play or learn, is a minimal part of the day and prone to disruption. Elementary school students spend an average of 25 minutes outdoors for recess daily, according to the. What鈥檚 more, in a 2018 of 500 elementary teachers, nearly 90 percent acknowledged decreasing or taking away recess time as punishment for bad behavior. That was the case despite a number of recent showing that kids who routinely play outside are 鈥渟marter, happier, more attentive, and less anxious鈥� than kids who spend more time indoors.
In a systematic review of 147 studies on nature-specific outdoor learning experiences in K-12 educational settings, researchers sought to determine their effects on students鈥� personal and social development, well-being, and academic progress. The range of outdoor learning experiences included curricular lessons in the local outdoor setting; working in school or community gardens; and adventure education. 鈥淣ature-specific outdoor learning has measurable socio-emotional, academic, and well-being benefits and should be incorporated into every child鈥檚 school experience with reference to their local context,鈥� concluded the study authors, reporting in 2022 in the journal .
Overcoming obstacles to outdoor learning
Benefits notwithstanding, outdoor learning in K-12 schools remains the exception rather than the norm. Misperceptions and practical obstacles can get in the way, but advocates say solutions often exist.
Students who aren鈥檛 accustomed to being outside for learning, for instance, may associate it with recess and behave accordingly. That problem can be remedied, supporters argue, if outdoor learning becomes routine.
But establishing that routine is less likely in U.S. elementary schools than elsewhere. A 2018 of more than 700 elementary teachers from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States found that American teachers were far less likely to take lessons outdoors than teachers from other developed countries; fewer than 30 percent of American teachers surveyed reported taking lessons outdoors even once a month.
Creative solutions can overcome practical obstacles to outdoor learning, such as space and funding limitations. Centreville鈥檚 general budget does not support all the school鈥檚 outdoor learning initiatives, for instance. But Douds said donations lend additional support, as do grants鈥攕omething the school鈥檚 outdoor learning specialist has become expert at identifying.
Further, not every school鈥檚 campus provides an ideal backdrop for outdoor learning. In response, Douds encourages schools to think about how they can use their existing resources. They might grow a 鈥済reen wall鈥� indoors, for example, if conditions outside don鈥檛 permit classes to sit amid flora and fauna.
Strategies for success: leadership 鈥榗hampions鈥� and student-driven initiatives
While the research showcases the benefits of outdoor learning, there鈥檚 no specific template on how to make it happen. But the strategies that have allowed outdoor learning to become a permanent part of student life at Centreville Elementary, recently recognized as one of the Top Ten in the nation, offer some sound ideas.
As Douds noted, having a principal who strongly encouraged teachers to find ways to incorporate the outdoors into every school day made it not only acceptable but desirable to take learning outside. That support has extended throughout the district.
In 2019, the Fairfax County governing board and the county school board formed the Joint Environmental Task Force, with an eye toward increasing student access to environmental stewardship opportunities and outdoor learning experiences. The Fairfax County school district expanded its commitment to outdoor learning by hiring outdoor learning specialists, or leaders, at every one of its schools, beginning this school year.
Giving students choices and prominent roles in their learning tends to make them more invested in it. And, while Centreville acts on its commitment to exposing every student to outdoor learning, the school offers additional opportunities for students to get even more involved in related sustainability learning projects.
Centreville鈥檚 Green Team is a prime example. Student members get to school 45 minutes early once a week and, under the guidance of a staff member, review current , propose adopting one of them for their school community, and then develop a proposal on how to apply it to their campus, Douds explained. Their efforts have resulted in the placement of bluebird boxes on campus, and they鈥檙e currently working on a project in which they collect food not consumed at the school cafeteria and deliver it to a local food pantry or homeless shelter.
Douds emphasized the student-driven nature of initiatives like the school鈥檚 Green Team, citing examples that include student members proactively scheduling meetings with him to discuss the projects they鈥檙e advocating. 鈥淚t鈥檚 giving these kids a voice. And that is where true learning and advocacy come from,鈥� said Douds. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty impressive to see.鈥�
