Nature based early childhood learning: trend or requirement?
Educationists put a lot of importance on early learning, and nature-based education has been a topic of much discussion and debate this year. Till 2019, field trips in primary school, and lab work and learning about the environment were considered enough for middle to high school. But with schools shut for more than a year, international studies on impact of nature-based learning grew in number only from mid-2020. Taking just UNICEF and government educational websites into consideration, there are more than 50 studies available right now!
What is nature-based early childhood learning?
Simply put, nature-based early childhood education is a system of learning for children up to 8 years, where education happens in the context of nature. Some of the main characteristics of this system include:
- Keeping nature at the core of the curriculum, with extensive daily outdoor time
- Implementing high-quality early childhood teaching methods to sensitise kids about nature
- Classrooms with enough open air and light, access to outdoor spaces, and natural objects placed inside the classroom
- Play areas that look less like an artificially equipped park and more like a natural play space
- About 30% of daily class hours are spent outdoors, teaching concepts with natural examples
How does it impact children from 8 – 10 and teenagers?
Do experiences with nature – from wilderness backpacking to recognizing plants in a preschool, and dissecting frogs to studying the structure of leaves in higher classes—actually promote learning? Until 2020, claims outstripped evidence. But hundreds of studies now provide clear answers. In the age group of 8 -10, nature boosts academic learning, personal development, and environmental awareness.
The impact on teens is greater. Closer contact with nature leads to deeper concentration levels, calmer attitude, and greater appreciation of knowledge systems and higher levels of tolerance. Since nature runs on logic, cause-effect phenomena and an understanding of evolution, nature-based study methods make teenagers better at reasoning, calculations and deductions.
Keeping in touch with nature, in short, will equip kids to survive better in the post-pandemic world. We will follow-up on this article with another report on methods being implemented to safely include nature in education.