The Environment as a Learning Resource
The locality in which children live effects their attitudes and influences the quality and quantity of their learning. Environments, which offer diversity and variety, are likely to be stimulating and exciting places in which to live and learn.
The teachers role is to promote learning which utilises children's interest in the world about them.
A Programme Based on Children's Real Experiences Might Well:
- Help children to develop sensitivity to their immediate locality and by this understanding strengthen their own sense of identity.
- Uncover and extend areas of interest where children can gain positive growth in their self-image.
- Keep their own reality an important element in their schooling.
- Provide relevant experience to develop the enquiry skills of learning.
- Provide plenty of situations for real communication. Real situations for sharing and caring between teacher and pupils.
The first step is to find out what the local area has to offer.
Because of their familiarity with the locality it is easy to surmise that it offers little appeal to the children and that therefore its motivational potential is low. This is a fallacy, but I suspect it underlies the reasoning that promotes trips by school parties to distant places. I am not decrying such excursions but I believe we should first thoroughly explore our own locality in order to establish attitudes and learning skills. Thus we will be better prepared to cope with the extended trips away.
It is the teacher's role to reveal the unknown in the familiar and to help children discover the unnoticed wealth within their environment. Most school grounds and areas adjacent offer scope for the development of science, social studies, and aspects of mathematics through the communication skills of language, art and craft, mime, movement and song.
The experiences and interests of children cover a wide field form fact to fantasy. Our community offers houses, bridges, streets, farms, streams, hills, valleys, swamps, bush, ponds, weeds, animals, vehicles, wildlife, Maori pa - to name a few. School is a base from which we explore our environment. We are all involved - children, teachers, and parents.
It is wise to keep in mind a goal you hope to achieve. It is possible that setting a goal may be equivalent to defining a boundary - thus far and no further. We should be well aware that there is always another horizon. It is gratifying to reach a set goal, but only a complacent person would say, 'I have arrived'. This is particularly so in the creative field but it applies to all areas of learning.
Using the Senses
Encourage children to become aware by your own example and by direction. Talk, draw, write, question, and think about:
- Sight Colours, line, shape, pattern, movement, things on the ground, high above. Draw and use cameras.
- Texture What do thing feel like? What does it remind you of? Use the appropriate areas of the body - bare feet in the park.
- Sounds Sit and listen. What sound? Large sound? Small sound? Distant sounds? Use a tape.
- Smells and Tastes When appropriate. Often the dominant experience.
- Feelings Every area has its own character of atmosphere. Perhaps all the above may well be unnecessary if children have had plenty of experience using their senses.
Why do you like being here?
What does it make you think of?
What does it bring to your mind?
Time to Think
Gradually with repeated experience a caring attitude to their environment and a greater discernment will develop. Children need to return often to deepen their knowledge and understanding.
As well as continual exposure children need to be encouraged to slow their pace of work. They need to be encouraged to observe more carefully, think about what they feel, talk things out and to define their problems.
Careful observational drawing is an excellent means to develop concentration and as will provide time for reflective thought. People who look harder see more, understand more and are in a position to recall with greater clarity images to be used for expressive activities.
Slowing the pace allows the teacher to intensify the experience, to focus thought and to develop a higher level of achievement and success. Many children have developed a loose commitment to their work and have accepted standards well below their capabilities. As well slowing the pace engenders a calmer atmosphere.
Using the Environment as a Resource - Snails
Two young teachers in a school in a rural town in which the main occupation is working at the freezing works undertook this study. The classes were 7 to 8 years olds and the teachers worked in related arts approach, mainly in the afternoons.
The topic snails was deliberately chosen by a senior teacher as an attempt to show to the two young teachers concerned that a rather limited topic could provide as much stimulation for a variety of activities as something on first appearance more exciting.
The topic was introduced to each group by a discussion about where in the school grounds they might find snails and also what the children already knew about them. A list was drawn up of possible places to search and questions about snails recorded. I would have been an interesting activity for the children to be set the task of drawing their impression of a snail before any experience was undertaken - this could have made an interesting before and after display.
The next stage was a search to find snails equipped with the necessary 'capturing' equipment. The search uncovered hundreds of unsuspecting snails under bricks, old pieces of wood and at the back of flax bushes and amongst agapanthus leaves. The problem of where snails live was solved. A lively discussion about snails developed in the field as children refreshed their memories about snails. There was no doubting their interest I these strange animals - with their ponderous shell, limy foot and eyes placed at the end of 'stalks'. Motivation was no problem.
Snails were observed carefully and the children given time to really complete work that reflected their newfound awareness. As a contrast paintings and collages were based around inventing magic snails which certainly brightened the rooms.
By the end of the third week the snail study was completed, the children appreciating that there was still much to learn. Later in their school life they would extend their experiences again. The study had proved its point that a small scale topic can really provide motivation for a wide range of learning activities and most important of all give both teachers and pupils a sense of satisfaction of a job well done.
Why not introduce snails to your children? Or spiders, slaters, maybe even a long grass study?
Making a Start
Once you have decided to make use of your locality the problem is where to start. Although major areas like the seashore, bush or the shopping centres readily come to mind, it is well to appreciate that it is possible to develop equal interest using the small scale often overlooked world close at hand.
By all means plan trips to more distant areas - the museum, a Maori Pa site, bush and stream, but remember that the full utilisation of such an experience will depend largely on how well the children have learned to explore their immediate surroundings.
The first problem is to become aware as an adult to the scope available. Walk around, preferably with someone who has already acquired such knowledge, and list all the possibilities. A camera is also another means of recording and as well will help you focus attention on the more intimate experiences - photos or slides can then in turn become a learning resource in their own right.
- Explore the immediate environment within the school boundary and remember to 'think small' and not to limit yourself to preconceived topics. Some thing you notice may provide ideas for line drawings, others watercolours some a theme e.g. textures or growth forms.
- Look for study ideas adjacent to the school grounds, natural history, architecture, people and their occupations, telephone poles and gutters.
- Finally note (and visit where possible) areas further afield - remembering that all-major visits are in reality a composite of countless smaller ones.
View of the Environment
All children experience the environment form their own point of view. Their experiences are not nicely divided into convenient subject areas but are integrated and biased towards their area of interest. Some may want to:
- Explore, research and extend their knowledge
- Others will be interested I patterns, textures, shapes, smells.
- Some may see in forms of ideas for expressive activities.
- While possibly many children combine all and many other ways of interpreting what they see.
Whatever, asking questions and establishing problems and collecting information should be part of all field trips. Have a purpose in mind but be open to change.
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