Benefits of Outdoor Learning on School Trips

Educational trips and outdoor learning can be a massive benefit to you and your students. As teachers, we’re sure you’ve experienced the breaktime rush, as the bell rattles and students flood the playgrounds and fields. Students are raring to burn off some energy, but being outside doesn’t have to signify breaktime. Outdoor learning can do the very opposite. Introducing school trips and outdoor activities into the curriculum can benefit your students’ development in several ways, both inside and outside the classroom!

At Adaptable Travel we’ve earned our LotC badge year after year, and we know how meaningful these experiences and opportunities can be, seeing first-hand how school trips can influence learning.

In this blog, we’re breaking down the biggest and best benefits of taking your class outside this term, exploring just what a new and exciting learning environment can do. Keep on reading to find out more about what outdoor learning can offer your class!

De-stress Students

Aside from the obvious breath of fresh air you and your students will benefit from by being outside, it gives you and your students time to breathe! As stress and anxiety rates amongst students are on the rise, there has never been a better time to tackle them, both inside and outside of the classroom.

Behavioural research indicates that spending time outside, in natural environments, positively benefits both younger and older students. Encouraging holistic development in younger students as well as allowing older students to manage and maintain positive mental health. Positive mental benefits of educational trips are particularly powerful in students experiencing exams and significant periods of their education, such as GCSEs and A-Levels.

Boost Concentration

As teachers, if you too have had to perfect the art of herding students back into class after break times, you might laugh at the prospect of us saying that time spent outdoors actually boosts students’ concentration, but stay with us! Studies in outdoor learning show that outdoor activities and education, positively impact various elements of students’ academic performance, including their ability to concentrate for prolonged periods as well as retaining information and their overall memory performance.

Learning in external environments stimulates learners’ interest in the topics being taught as well as attaching vital information to personal thoughts, experiences and memories, aiding your students in their digestion and understanding of the subjects you teach.

Improve Academic Performance

As mentioned, introducing external activities into the curriculum allows your students to form lasting connections with the topics they are being taught in school and their educational experiences surrounding them. Learning outside of their typical environment will connect information to mental cues developed during activities, which in turn helps students to develop an understanding of the information they receive.

Making subjects more dynamic improves engagement and class participation as your students begin to discover topics independently and develop their intuition and inquisitiveness in organic ways. Engagement is proven to benefit their academic performance as it ignites their passion for subjects, encouraging an interest in the topics, information and the subjects as a whole.

Improve Personal Development

Frequently including outdoor activity and learning can significantly benefit your students in both their academic and personal development. Incorporating this throughout their educational experience from primary school through to secondary allows young learners to develop their cognitive skills as well as their social abilities and self-awareness. As they navigate the world around them, their peers and classmates will inform much of their understanding of it. This is in addition to the topics being covered inside and outside the classroom.

From cultural understanding to social relationships and communication, exploring outside the classroom has a wealth of personal benefits. These benefits will not only help your students develop lasting relationships with one another and their teachers, but also with the subjects and topics they discover.

Bring Topics to Life

Catering lessons to each individual learner and their learning style can be tricky, particularly in traditional lesson formats. However, allowing your students to interact with the topics in new and exciting ways on a residential trip might be the key!

During outdoor activities, such as school trips your students are much more likely to interact with the topic and the information in ways they naturally would, relating to their learning style. As they explore the topics, residential trip activities are a perfect opportunity for learners to digest the topic with hands-on demonstrations, workshops and activities all combined with textbook learning.

The outcome of a good school trip means that whether students be visual, kinesthetic or read and write learners each of your students are interacting with the material in a way that speaks to them, maximising the impact topics and lessons will have on your students.

Get Active on a School Trip!

It has never been more important to get active and stay active, something a school trip can offer in abundance! In a digitally dominated world, much of your students’ time is spent learning, communicating and exploring through screens. Energising the curriculum with outdoor activities and experiences will not only trigger your students’ academic interest but encourage them to move, explore and get active.

Whether on an educational visit, a UK school trip to a new city or simply holding an outdoor lesson, your students will walk, run and explore in a way utterly different to traditional classroom learning. Frequent inclusion of sessions like this are just one of the ways to encourage your class to get up and get active.

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At Adaptable Travel, we understand how meaningful these experiences are for learners of all ages and all subjects, and we’re here to help. If you are looking for ways to bring the curriculum to life this term, take a look at our range of school trips, suited to every age group, subject and budget! Pick from a wide range of activities and curriculum visits that combine leisure with learning in great locations across the globe and at home.

If you’d like any more information or want to request a quote get in touch with our expert team today, who will be happy to discuss your school trip ideas and provide further guidance on your school residential