CIRCE researchers involved with the Maple Ridge Environmental School project were confronted with the lack of relevant professional development opportunities for teachers in similar settings—that is, with a focus on experiential, outdoor, nature-based, place-based learning. In response, we worked with the Field Programs unit (now Advanced Professional Studies) in SFU’s Faculty of Education to develop a graduate diploma program (GDE) in Place and Nature-based Experiential Education (PNBEE).
The first cohort of PNBEL teacher-learners began the program on BC’s Sunshine Coast in Fall 2016. Since then, PNBEL GDE cohorts have taken place all over the Lower Mainland of BC, and in 2022 the first cohort is expected to start on Vancouver Island. In addition, a thematically similar Master’s program was put on in Maple Ridge (2017-2019). In 2020, a team of researchers led by Dr. Sean Blenkinsop received an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council to explore the impact of the program on teachers’ thinking and practice.
Teachers enrolled in the PNBEL program are expected to:
- Examine teacher values, beliefs, experiences relating to nature-based experiential learning and how these may influence educational decisions and interactions;
- Critically examine current directions in BC Education through the perspective of nature-based experiential learning and explore implications for practice;
- Develop the capacity to integrate nature-based experiential learning across subject areas engage in collective practice;
- Explore theories and principles of nature-based experiential learning and its place within educational change; and
- Engage in teacher inquiry and reflective practice stemming from encounters and relationships with the natural world.
The ongoing research study seeks to better understand the formation and transformation of teachers’ practices during and after the program. The aim is to identify successful and meaningful practices, both at the school level and in the design of teacher preparation and professional development. Research questions guiding the project include:
- What are the key experiences that support teachers towards developing PNBEL practices? (This research will develop in-depth accounts of what teacher-educators can do to support public school teachers become skilled PNBEL practitioners.)
- How do teachers and their classrooms change over time as they develop their PNBEL practices? (This research will provide rich portraits of active PNBEL in classrooms.)
- How do students change over time in response to PNBEL practices? (This research is important to understanding whether PNBEL is having an effect, how much of an effect, and to what ends.)
More details on project finding and publications will be added to this page in due course.