Making the Case

1
Why?

• Making the Case

2
Why? Making the Case

• Every Experience Matters is the report from an
  evidence-based review on the impact of learning
  outside the classroom on the development of young
  people from birth to nineteen years of age.

3
Why? Making the Case

• Using research from around the world, Every
  Experience Matters provides evidence that
  children engaged in learning outside the
  classroom
• attain higher levels of knowledge and skills
• improve their physical health and increase
  their motor skills
• socialise and interact in new and different
  ways with their peers and adults
• show improved attention, enhanced self-
  concept, self-esteem and mental health
• change their environmental behaviours and
  their values and attitudes.

4
Why? Making the Case

• Background to the Every Experience Matters
  Review
• We believe that every young person should
  experience the world beyond the classroom as an
  essential part of learning and personal
  development.
• Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto (2006)
• The arguments for the importance of these
  experiences are built on the assumption that we
  know that learning outside a classroom is
  essential and should be valued
• but what do we really know?

5
Why? Making the Case

• The reviewer was asked to answer these
• two questions through an analysis of the
• most current worldwide research evidence
• Why is experiential learning outside
  theclassroom essential for developing thewhole
  child?
• What is the effect of learning outside
  theclassroom and why is it needed for
  thedevelopment of cognitive, non-cognitive,emoti
  onal, behavioural and social skills?

6
Why? Making the Case

• The research evidence was categorised
• across the five domains of child
• development  
• Cognitive
• Physical
• Social
• Emotional
• Personal

7
Why? Making the Case

• In everyday terms these domains are
• identified as benefits for the child and
• are expressed as
• what knowledge and skills the young person learns
• what physical experiences they encounter
• how they interact with others during and after
  the experience
• how they feel emotionally as a consequence of
  the activity
• how they respond, whether through a behaviour
  change or a shift in values and attitudes.

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Why? Making the Case
9
Why? Making the Case

• Every Experience Matters confirms that young
  peoples lives are changed positively when they
  are provided with learning outside the classroom
  experiences through explorative, challenging and
  adventurous activity and play, and experiential,
  real-life learning in settings such as school
  grounds, wilderness camps, farms, art galleries,
  museums, local parks and gardens or community
  settings.

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Why? Making the Case
11
Why? Making the Case

• Using the most current  research evidence, the
  Every Experience Matters review confirms that
  every experience provided for children in the
  world beyond the classroom has benefit for
  childrens learning, emotional well-being, social
  interactions, physical experiences and responses
  to their world it also reveals that without
  these opportunities children are significantly
  disadvantaged.
• Malone, 2008

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Why? Making the Case

• childrens
• learning
• knowledge and skill acquisition environmental
  and geographical literacy decision making and
  problem solving critical skills and thinking
  affective knowledge

• Because if you just read stuff out of a book,
  its not really enjoyable and you dont really
  remember it. But if you go there, then youll
  enjoy yourself, youll have great fun and itll
  stick in your mind.
• Secondary school student

13
Why? Making the Case

• childrens physical experience
• physical fitness motor skills coordination
  sensory experience nutrition

• Its noisy in the classroom and its hard to
  concentrate, sometimes I would pretend to go to
  the toilet just to get out, get fresh air and
  move my body.
• Sasha, aged 8

14
Why? Making the Case

• childrens social interaction
• sense of community social skills and behaviours
  connectedness to inner and outer worlds
  engaging with others sociability

• Id say that you learn mostly how to interact
  with different kinds of people and are open to
  different ideas. You learn how to cooperate well
  with others who share and dont share the same
  opinions as you.
• Teo, aged 14

15
Why? Making the Case

• childrens emotional wellbeing
• self-concept self-esteem spirituality
  mental health

• I feel better about myself. I think that I can
  do more and Im proud of myself.
• Rachel, aged 13

16
Why? Making the Case

• childrens
• response
• values and attitudes tolerance sense of
  environmentalresponsibility risk assessment
  and resilience empathy

• Before we went on the trip I didnt really
  care about like people moving into houses and
  building stuff. But Ive like realised like
  cos when we saw the wildlife what would be
  damaged if they blitz that. And before I didnt
  really care but it has changed my view.
• Secondary school student

17
Why? Making the Case

• This report was commissioned in support of the
  Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto.
• This research was conducted and written by
  Professor Karen Malone (Faculty of Education,
  University of Wollongong, Sydney, Australia).
• The report can be downloaded from the Learning
  Outside the Classroom website at www.lotc.org.uk.