Devon Wildlife Trust

Strengthening links to promote natural literacy

Aims

This partnership builds on a long-standing relationship between Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) and the Plymouth Institute of Education (PIoE) which is oriented towards supporting research and practice related to outdoor learning in the natural environment, environmental education and education for sustainability. Colleagues from Devon Wildlife Trust contribute to course development and teaching on BA Education. Colleagues from the PIoE support DWT with advice on appropriate research and evaluation strategies. Together, partners are developing joint projects, including the CPD module described below.

Current activity

CPD Module

Through their UPPScale partnership, University of Plymouth lecturer Dr Alun Morgan and the Devon Wildlife Trust have co-designed a new Continuing Professional Development 30-credit Master’s level module entitled 'Developing a nature and outdoor learning rich curriculum' (Module Code: MASU756PD). The course is designed for qualified teachers looking to further their knowledge of how to enrich curricula through the natural world and outdoor learning pedagogy. Content includes:

Ecological principles and habitat management related to school grounds.
Introduction to common species identification.
Outdoor learning pedagogy and practice.
Principles and examples of school curriculum development.
Practical considerations such as risk assessment and behaviour management outdoors.

Teaching takes place over a two-day intensive residential programme with follow-up support. Participants will apply their learning to the production of a development plan for a school setting which will form part of the module assessment.

DWT programme evaluation

Ms Kathrin Paal and Dr Alun Morgan have been approached by the Education Officer of Devon Wildlife Trust to carry out an evaluation of their school outreach sessions.

This 3-year project will carry out an Appreciative Inquiry that seeks to identify good practice, design effective development plans, and ensure implementation of the programme.

The research aims to understand the successful implementation in schools to help inform steps taken to better support other schools within the MAT and beyond, including

factors that were determining for the school to choose this programme
children and teachers' views and most positive experiences they had with the sessions of the programme
children and teachers’ nature relatedness