Take Them Outside: Getting Started with Nature Based Learning

Have you ever wished your students would be more invested in your lessons or looked longingly out the window wishing to take your class outside? Join the 2025 Maine Teacher of the Year, Becky Hallowell to learn not only how to take your class outside to learn, but WHY doing so holds numerous benefits for your students. In this presentation, Becky will introduce strategies for safely taking students outside. She will discuss how to set expectations, create boundaries, use everyday materials to create a learning space, and procure gear. She will also share classroom management strategies, like turning a walk to an outdoor space into an opportunity for students to share their thinking.

Becky will share how she has molded her practice to include nature-based learning and why she believes it is so important. She will share research that indicates the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional benefits of bringing students outside to learn as she weaves in the success stories of her students.

Objectives:
At the completion of this certificate course, you will be able to:

• Discover benefits of outdoor learning for education and beyond.
• Examine techniques for creating an effective nature based learning environment.
• Explore how curriculum topics can be adapted to impactful outdoor activities.

Modules:
This course has 5 parts designed to be completed over approximately an hour and a half.

• Part 1: The “Why?”
• Part 2: The “How and Where?”
• Part 3: The “What?”
• Part 4: Next Steps and Additional Resources
• Part 5: Completion Survey

Certificate of Completion:
At the successful completion of Take Them Outside: Getting Started with Nature Based Learning, you will receive a certificate of completion.

Additional Information:
For additional information, please visit the website or email: ceonline@une.edu