INDS535: Outdoor Experiential Education

Course Description

Opportunities for authentic connection to the natural world in today’s educational landscape, while becoming more frequent, are still far from the norm. At the same time the demand for more embodied nature-based learning experiences is being driven by a complex platform of social and community needs. This course will explore outdoor environmental education broadly while engaging specifically with key topics including curricular connections, methods such as forest school, transformative learning, Indigenous ways of knowing and learning, ecoliteracy, ecological justice, risky outdoor play, along with other relevant theoretical and practical perspectives. The primary goal is to engage students in thinking critically and creatively about the place and space for outdoor environmental learning within education today, challenging assumptions through fostering personal and professional ecoliteracy, while developing a community of practice via dialogue and storytelling. Through a variety of learning modalities (readings, films, guest speakers, cohort presentations, online forums, site visits & field study) we’ll dive deeply into the topic of outdoor experiential education connecting research to practice and exploring how best to develop ecological leadership in and out of the classroom. *pending approval

Course Credits

• 3.00