Education outside the classroom opportunities for primary science education

Abstract

Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) is a strategy used in New Zealand classes to further the achievement of objectives in primary science education. The term includes the educational use of a variety of resources and venues within and outside the school grounds. This research explores the implementation in three primary classes of science topic studies. Each programme of work involved both in-class and out-of-class elements. Both are included in the observation and analysis. The key research questions were: 1. What activity were children involved in (including sensory and social activity)? 2. Which elements of the EOTC learning experiences appeared to stimulate selection of and attention to sensory input? 3. What internal learning processes might be inferred to be occurring from observed behaviours and teacher and pupil introspection? 4. How did the teachers prepare for and manage the EOTC learning experiences to encourage such internal learning experiences? It is inferred from the data gathered from observation, and interviews with children and teachers that the case studies (and their EOTC components) provided a learning environment that encouraged the selection of and attention to the stimulating sensory input provided. Further, internal learning processes including the generation of links between novel experiences and existing understanding, and the construction (including elaboration and evaluation of content) of new meaning could be inferred to be occurring. Learners were able to reflect on their own learning experiences, identify those they valued and recognise stimuli that had distracted them from the topic objectives. The teachers recognised the important role of children's pre-existing ideas in further learning and worked to ensure that base was as extensive as possible. They saw an important part of their role as assisting learners to make connections between prior ideas and novel experiences.