OUTDOOR EDUCATION


Bavlı B.

Erasmus Projesi, 2018 - 2020

  • Proje Türü: Erasmus Projesi
  • Başlama Tarihi: Eylül 2018
  • Bitiş Tarihi: Eylül 2020

Proje Özeti

PROJECT SUMMARY

The educational system in many high schools in Turkey and in some countries in Europe is so exhaustive that all learning outcomes in curriculums are tried to be covered just in a theoretical way, with no opportunities to practise. In normal circumstances with more skilled or more self-confident students, this type of teaching may help pupils to recall all details asked in written exams or tests; however, it does not guarantee that they can show the same success in long term or in real-life. This situation gets more complicated when we consider shy and silent students who usually take a back seat in class and desperately wait for distinct ways of being taught other than visual or audible. Even it becomes troublous when there are students with mental or physical disabilities whose full participation in class should be ensured on an equal basis with the others.

This debate has moved on over the centuries with academicians all over the world. They argue that such over-formalization of education which is primarily based on intellectual form of teaching is not adequate for the proper development of a student who is expected to become mentally-flexible, environmentally-conscious and creative when they graduate from their schools. To realize this mission, a more straightforward and more student-oriented approach is needed like Outdoor Education.

Within the scope of this project, we, as five partners from Turkey, Italy, Portugal, Romania and Spain, aim to find out whether learning in outdoors as a complement to the regular curriculum will make a difference regarding the comprehension level of students in various subject areas. For this purpose, we will focus on 5 high-school subjects, which are Math, Biology, Literature, History and Art, and we will organize suitable outdoor activities for each of them. While in Math and Biology the participant students will have a chance to transfer their knowledge into real-life through explorations and experiments, in Literature and History they will examine and analyze a concept in detail via workshops and expeditions. Finally in Art, they will be able to join a variety of cultural events, from choral activities to museum visits and they will see famous art galleries and important street art examples. In other words, with our LTT activities, a total of 75 pupils will find a way to experience in outside what they have learned inside.

To assess the effectiveness and the impact of outdoor education, we will use a pre-test and post-test design. If the statistical analysis shows a positive difference in student’ success rates, as we hope, then we will immediately start our dissemination activities. There will be seminars and workshops given to some local schools from various kinds and levels. Here, the use of nature and environment as a learning setting will be emphasized and some qualified and practical ways of outdoor education will be shared with teachers from different branches. Moreover, two teachers from the applicant school will write a scholarly article on the aims, processes and consequences of this project to be published in an international journal and publicize the project’s results via press and media. By this way, we will be able spread our ideas in a quick way and with ease. Lastly, our schools’ websites and the project’s online platforms will be open the use of other probable beneficiaries even after the end of the EU funding.

To sum up, a strong collaboration among branch teachers from different countries and their common endeavor to find a more effective way of teaching will lead to a substantial improvement in high-school education.