Assessing “Outdoor” Learning Experience

During yesterday’s SMC meeting, there was a short but I thought was an important discussion initiated by the school vice principal on assessing learning. Let me start with my own question “How do we know students are learning?” The answers to this question may be through observation by teachers or test scores from tests. Through such means, teachers know that our students are “proficient” in meeting the academic outcome. But will we get the same response if this question is posed to say “our Outdoor Learning Experience”? In this case, there may be a need to add an additional part to the original question for such Outdoor Learning Experience program, “What is the evidence of student learning?”

Looking back at my first reflection on Outdoor Adventure Experience in 2011, I saw outdoor learning, as programs that will directly or indirectly resulting in changes in thinking, feeling or behavior. The head in charge of the program has confirmed my view, stating that the program looks at 3 areas, namely providing the outside of classroom experience, building of teacher - student relationship and enabling students’ social development (team building). During such outdoor learning, you got only to watch any one group of students, particularly the normal technical stream students, along the way of the outdoor learning to recognize if the learning is seen as something to enjoy and learn or to just do and get over with. Talk to any group of students trying to decide which activities to keep, improve, start or stop and it very quickly becomes apparent. In my reflection, I concluded that there was the need for such outdoor learning to value adds to our students, complementing their classroom learning, for example in terms of adding to the general knowledge, changing behaviors, views and thought of issues, instead of just going through the process and completing it.

Learning, as highlighted during yesterday’s meeting discussion is not easy to assess. I also agreed that not all learning take place in neat and ordered way as in our classroom test, a point raised by one of heads. But I see the Outdoor Learning Experience as a rich program that had enhanced the learning culture of our school. Based on last year’s observation, the program has enabled our students the opportunity to experience and discover, which essentially means “doing” something in our case, focusing on working with others, making mistakes and having fun rather than being told the fact by teachers. However, a possible area of improvement about such learning may be in the reviewing of the experience. What I believe is important is the need for feedback, not feedback on the programs by the students but our feedback to the students of their learning experience. Even though our students had learnt through the various processes, they need to know how “well” they are doing in terms of the various objectives of the process and to have access to support when they need it.

My belief is that our students, like in the academic learning need feedback. Students need to have sufficient time to reflect (they now know what they need) and through the teacher’s feedback, to continue on even after our Outdoor Learning Experience program, say to have specific coaching to help them develop what they know they need to know. There needs to be a purpose to all learning and that should not “end” at the end of the program. Without which, frustration may arises especially when it is perceived as trivia or irrelevant.