by Charlie Flesch
Field Studies are relatively new in Brazil and have been carried out here for about 20 to 25 years. There are two things which I consider to be of utmost importance for this sort of professional, tour leading and teaching skills (I am a Biologist), both of which I have been improving in over 10 years as a field studies professional which gave me the opportunity to conduct trips to the Amazon, Pantanal, Petar, Ilha do Cardoso, Itatiaia and Parati – among others.
However, the turning point in my career was in 2007 when I attended the 39th Conference of the National Association of Field Studies Officers (www.nafso.org.uk) held in Winchester, England. I was totally surprised then to learn that Field Studies had already been carried out in the UK since before WWII and that a Manifesto for Learning Outside the Classroom had just been written. As I stated before a room filled with UK professionals from their early 20’s ‘onwards’, to everyone’s amusement, “I have never found a Brazilian with grey hair involved in Field Studies”. Since then and the subsequent visits I paid to a few residential Field Studies Centres – from the south of England (Isle of Whight click here) to the north of Scotland (Inverness) – I have been gaining invaluable insights on the subject by paying close attention to what my UK counterparts are doing right across the pond.
Why take pupils outside the classroom?
Much has already been written, especially in the UK, about the learning and character building benefits such activities have on school pupils and on the relationships between them and their teachers. I will then summarise what I believe to be the most relevant information on the subject and show links where you can find further details.
Field Studies (or “Estudo de Meio” – as we call it in Brazil) is part of a broader learning concept which is Outdoor Learning. As the name suggests the main idea is to give pupils a different opportunity to achieve the objectives set by the School by getting them out of the classroom. What happens is they are given different stimuli which can be very powerful in cementing the knowledge they are supposed to acquire. It is an opportunity to show them that what they learn is not restricted to the pages of a book but rather part of the real world and can actually be found outside of the four walls.
As we all know there are different learning styles and unless you manage to offer different possibilities and expose different students to different styles, learning is not so likely to happen as smoothly. It is also an opportunity to motivate those who do not feel motivated by the ‘traditional’ education setting – books and blackboard, those who are more hyperactive or those who are more adventurous. It helps them enhance their social skills, decision making, risk taking and independence. Furthermore, especially in residential outings, pupils and teachers can get to know better one another, creating more trust, which helps to create better interactions, which helps in the learning process. All in all, everyone benefits from it.
“Learning outside the classroom is not an addition to the curriculum but should become integral to it and a regular part of teaching and learning.” – Learning Outside the Classroom www.lotc.org.uk
Brazil is one of the countries with the greatest biodiversity on the planet, both in relative – per area – and in absolute terms. Its size, nearly twice as big as western Europe, lends itself to quite a few different ecossistems and geological formations. Its history – with colonisation, slavery and immigration – resulted in an outstandingly diverse culture. It is a privilege to have such a perfect setting for outdoor learning, especially for subjects such as Biology, Geography, Geology and History.
National Parks with pristine Atlantic Rain Forest (Mata Atlântica); beautiful limestone caves; wetlands (Pantanal) – where lots of different birds, mammals and reptiles can be sighted -, savanas (Cerrado) with crystal clear waters one can float down through, historic colonial listed cities and the Amazon Forest are popular Field Studies destinations.
There is so much out there to be seen, let´s use it to inspire our children to learn.
Links
National Association of Field Studies Officers www.nafso.org.uk
Learning Outside the Classroom www.lotc.org.uk
Growing Schools www.growingschools.org.uk
Sustainability & Environmental Education www.se-ed.org.uk
Eco-Schools www.eco-schools.org.uk
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