Transition to classroom teaching: Developing my own outdoor / experiential / inquiry-based approach

“...I [and my teaching partner] learned how an inquiry could be extended in terms of timing/duration and in terms of the potential for learning in multiple subject areas. We decided to embark together on an inquiry-based learning adventure - which ended up being an experimental year of awesomeness - as we completely reinvented our teaching style, learned to follow where the students’ interests led us, and prioritized outdoor learning as a key element of our program…”

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Transition to classroom teaching: Developing my own outdoor/experiential/inquiry-based approach

As much as I loved working as an outdoor educator, I realized I wanted to teach a class of my own, not just classes that visited the outdoor centre where I worked . . .

When I began teaching in the Simcoe County District School Board, I looked for ways to incorporate outdoor learning into my program. I also started exploring the idea of “inquiry-based learning”, which I’d heard of but had never fully understood how to apply. And then, a few years ago, I attended a workshop by Joanne Babalis, who described her class’s “Seed Inquiry,” - a learning journey which had been sustained over an extended period of time and which had led to learning in multiple curricular areas, including language, math, science, and the arts. I was so inspired! 

I was teaching Kindergarten at the time, so I spoke with my teaching partner, Cheri, about my new-found knowledge and understanding of what an “Inquiry” could look like in a classroom setting, how students’ interests could guide our teaching, and how an inquiry could be extended in terms of timing/duration and in terms of the potential for learning in multiple subject areas. 

We decided to embark together on an inquiry-based learning adventure - which ended up being an experimental year of awesomeness - as we completely reinvented our teaching style, learned to follow where the students’ interests led us, and prioritized outdoor learning as a key element of our program. We could never have anticipated the meaningful learning and the FUN that would grow out of this entirely unfamiliar-to-me teaching approach. (We also could never have anticipated the overwhelmingly positive feedback we’d receive from our students’ parents!) After that year - even when teaching other grades - I knew I would never go back to teaching the way I had in the past. 

In my next posts, I’ll share snapshots of our experimental Kindergarten inquiries, as well as inquiries from my grade 5/6, grade 2, and grade 1 classes. I had never thought of posting any of my experiences on social media, so my photo collections are limited; moving forward, I’ll post up-to-date photos to share real-time memories of ongoing inquiries.

Cheri and I snapped this photo on one particularly beautiful day during our outdoor learning time. We wondered whether teaching could possibly be any more enjoyable than it was on that day!