Nature Pedagogies
Duration
- One Semester or Equivelent
Contact hours
- Swinburne online: Fully online
2021 teaching periods
Swinburne Online
| Teaching Period 2 | Teaching Period 3 | |
|---|---|---|
Dates: Results: Last self enrolment: Census: Last withdraw without fail: |
Dates: Results: Last self enrolment: Census: Last withdraw without fail: |
Prerequisites
EDU20053 - Curriculum Planning and Assessment: Practicum 2Aims and objectives
This unit will draw on the research evidence that reveals exposure to natural environments develops children’s understandings and experiences that will have a long term impact on the quality of children’s lives, particularly in relation to their physical health, motor skill development, emotional wellbeing and ‘character capabilities’ such as self-regulation, empathy, creativity, and innovation, and their capacity to be successful learners. Preservice teachers will be supported to use their senses, to explore, to be creative and to (re)discover how to learn in, with and through nature, in order that they will be build capacity on how plan through policy, programming and pedagogy the means to introduce natural learning as central to an early childhood program.
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
1. Anlayse holistic natural learning philosophies.2. Explore and explain holistic natural learning methodologies.
3. Critically evaluate regulatory requirements versus natural learning pedagogies.
4. Create and justify a holistic natural learning program.
Unit information in detail
- Teaching methods, assessment, general skills outcomes and content.
Teaching methods
| Swinburne Online | ||||||
| Activity | Total Hours | Number of Weeks | Hours Per Week | Optional - Activity Details | ||
| Various | 72 | 12 weeks | 6 | Prescribed readings Online activities | ||
| Independent Learning | 78 | 12 weeks | 6.5 | Independent study Readings Assignment preparation | ||
| Total Hours: | 150 | Total Hours (per week): | 12.5 | |||
Assessment
| Type | Individual or Group | Weighting | Assesses attainment of these ULOs | ||
| Folio | Individual | 50% | 1,2 | ||
| Folio | Individual | 50% | 3,4 |
General skills outcomes
During this unit students will receive feedback on the following key generic skills:
Analysis Skills
Problem Solving Skills
Communication Skills
Ability to work independently
Analysis Skills
Problem Solving Skills
Communication Skills
Ability to work independently
Content
- Philosophies of learning and playing in, with and through nature
- Methodologies of learning and playing in, with and through nature
- Contemporary research: Nature Play, Bush kinder and Forest schools
- Relationships with and in spaces
- Relationships with and in nature
- Human and non-human animals learning together
- Developing nature play policies
- Excursions and incursions
- Choosing a site
- Risk assessments
- Regulatory requirements
- Sensory learning
- Risk taking
- Natural play pedagogies
- Outdoor learning
- Natural resources and materials
Study resources
- References.
References
Dowdell, K., Gray, T and Malone, K (2011) Nature and It’s Influence on Children’s Outdoor Play. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 15 (2), 24-35
Malone, K. (2004) “Holding Environments”: Creating spaces to support children’s environmental learning in the 21st century, Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 20, pp. 53-66.
Malone, K. (2007) The Bubble-wrap generation: children growing up in walled gardens, Environmental Education Researcher, 13 (4), pp. 513-528
Malone, K (2016a) Posthumanist approaches to theorizing children’s human-nature relations, K. Nairn et al. (eds.), Space, Place and Environment, Geographies of Children and Young People Volume 3, DOI
10.1007/978-981-4585-90-3_14-1
Malone, Karen, Birrell, Carol, Boyle, Ian and Gray, Tonia (2015) Wild Nature Play: Researching OOSH in the Bush, Centre for Educational Research, University of Western Sydney. Retrieved from https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws:31190/
Malone, K., Dimoulias, K., Truong, S., and Ward, K. (2014) Researching Children’s Designs for a Child Friendly Play Space at Rouse Hill Town Centre, Centre for Educational Research, University of Western Sydney. Retrieved from
https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws:34882/
Elliott, Sue L. (2008) (Ed.) The Outdoor Playspace Naturally: For Children Birth to Five Years. Pademelon Press, Castle Hill, NSW, pp. 1-14. (Chapter 3, Tracy Young - Creating specific features to foster nature connections). Retrieved from https://commons.swinburne.edu.au/file/789ec022-ebfc-4c57-a632-a4fd8967b688/1/1012559.pdf
Feezell, R. (2013) A pluralist conception of play, in Ryall, Emily, Russell, W. and MacLean, M. (ed) The Philosophy of Play, Routledge, New York.
Gol-Guven,M (2016) Who is holding the longer stick? The power of adult presence on children’s play, International Journal of Play. Vol.5(2), p.123-127.
Malone, K. (2004) “Holding Environments”: Creating spaces to support children’s environmental learning in the 21st century, Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 20, pp. 53-66.
Malone, K. (2007) The Bubble-wrap generation: children growing up in walled gardens, Environmental Education Researcher, 13 (4), pp. 513-528
Malone, K. (2008) Every Experience Matters: An evidence based research report on the role of learning outside the classroom for children’s whole development from birth to eighteen years, Report commissioned by UK Govt, University of Wollongong, Australia. Retrieved from
http://attitudematters.org/documents/Every%20Experience%20Matters.pdf
http://attitudematters.org/documents/Every%20Experience%20Matters.pdf
Malone, K (2016a) Posthumanist approaches to theorizing children’s human-nature relations, K. Nairn et al. (eds.), Space, Place and Environment, Geographies of Children and Young People Volume 3, DOI
10.1007/978-981-4585-90-3_14-1
Malone, Karen. (2016c) Reconsidering children’s encounters with nature and place using posthumanism, Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 32(1), 1-15
Malone, Karen, Birrell, Carol, Boyle, Ian and Gray, Tonia (2015) Wild Nature Play: Researching OOSH in the Bush, Centre for Educational Research, University of Western Sydney. Retrieved from https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws:31190/
Malone, K., Dimoulias, K., Truong, S., and Ward, K. (2014) Researching Children’s Designs for a Child Friendly Play Space at Rouse Hill Town Centre, Centre for Educational Research, University of Western Sydney. Retrieved from
https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws:34882/
Malone, K. & Tranter, P. (2005). “Hanging out in the school ground”: a reflective look at researching children’s environmental learning, (special school ground edition), Canadian Journal for Environmental Education, 10 (1), pp. 212 - 224. Retrieved from https://ro.uow.edu.au/edupapers/823/
Malone, Karen and Waite, Sue (2016) Student Outcomes and Natural Schooling: Pathways form Evidence to Impact Report 2016, Plymouth: Plymouth. Retrieved from https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/uploads/production/document/path/6/6811/Student_outcomes_and__natural_schooling_pathways_to_impact_2016.pdf