SEEING THE WOODS: ENVIRONMENTAL PERCEPTION FOR EDUCATORS TBC

“A chorus of living wood sings to the woman: if your mind were only a slightly greener thing, we’d drown you in meaning”

– Richard Powers: The Overstory

event Profile

Date
2022 DATE TBC
price
£85-125*
Location
DARTINGTON
Suitability
Adults
Age Range
adults

Overview

Seeing the woods: Environmental perception for educators.

Nature-based learning outdoors has many objectives and outcomes, but at its core is how and what we perceive as we move out into our environment. As educators, much of our role is in ‘pointing out’, directing or facilitating discovery. To borrow a phrase coined by J.J. Gibson, it is an education of attention.

This course seeks to explore insights as to how and what children and adults perceive in their environment, and how we, as educators, might use those insights to foster meaningful learning experiences. Considerations of perception and behaviour are particularly useful for the observation and interpretation of children’s play outdoors.

During this course we will cover the following:

• Based on an ecological psychology approach, we will consider the affordances of the more-than-human world, and how this approach conveys meaning to our interactions.
• Participants will be introduced to research and theory that supports a relational perspective, fundamental to ecological, sustainable thinking.
• Simple activities will allow for reflective appreciation of our own perception, bringing ‘nature awareness’ to the foreground. These activities can be adapted to suit a variety of applications as part of an educator’s toolkit.
• The opportunity for participants to further explore, and enjoy, their personal theoretical foundation for learning and being in nature.
Although the course has a light philosophical and theoretical approach, no previous study is required.

What's Included

Essential Information

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Interested in our Wild Time for Girls mentoring programme in August? Join our online Meet the Leader / Q&A event for parents & girls on 29th April at 6.30-7.30pm register here