It’s almost the same thing every day. You go to class, sit down, and stay in your seat for 55 minutes. While in-class lessons are informative, it is difficult to apply what you learn from them to real-world situations. Learning in settings outside of a classroom can give you experiences and opportunities that you otherwise can’t get.
According to Educating Adventures, a UK study found that learning outside the classroom led to raised standards and improved students’ personal, social, and emotional development.
Instruction away from the classroom could include field trips, science lab time, outdoor education, learning in the media center, and more.
After class, if you ask me what I learned during that hour, I would answer in detail what I had just been taught. However, if you ask me why I learned it, most of the time I wouldn’t be able to come up with an answer.
The NEA Member Benefits said the U.S. Travel Association found that 89% of people who took educational trips had a long-lasting impact on their education because enriching field trips made them more curious and engaged.
This is partly due to the hands-on nature that comes with out-of-the-classroom learning. According to Build Your Future, a Purdue University study found that hands-on-taught students saw significantly higher test scores and improvements compared to traditionally-taught students.
When I go to the lab for science classes, I can apply what I previously learned through videos and notes in class to authentic situations by getting real, hands-on experience, which shows me what must be done to carry out certain tasks.
Because learning outside of the classroom teaches students in more practical ways, it can boost comprehension and attitudes toward learning, which can increase students’ grades. When I can leave my usual classroom and go to a different place in school for an assignment, like the media center, that typically means I am working with others or in a more unique way. This allows me to gain more confidence in skill sets I am practicing, which allows me to strengthen my understanding of the subject.
A study done by the School Travel Forum agrees with this, stating that after learning outside the classroom, 60% of teachers noticed an increase in students’ effort and 61% of students achieved higher than their predicted grade on that assignment, according to Educating Adventures.
While it isn’t realistic to incorporate learning outside of the classroom into lesson plans daily, especially in certain classes, it is still a beneficial and effective way to increase effective learning. So, the next time you get the opportunity to learn in a different setting, make sure to take advantage of it. It can help you tremendously in the long run.
