Maths with mosquitoes: outdoor lessons
It's a beautiful late summer's day when the pupils of the Steinacker school in Winterthur-Seen have lessons in the forest on the agenda. The sun is warm without burning the skin and heavy fruit is hanging from the trees in the allotments. The school is perfectly located for a forest excursion: after a ten-minute walk, you are so deep in the forest that you can no longer see a house.
«A frog!» squeaks a girl and a test of courage is found: Who dares to pick up the animal? The class splits into two camps: those who squeal in horror and jump to the side and those who are determined to get their hands on it.
«Lessons in the forest are not for everyone,» explains class teacher Selina Dänzer. She is accompanying the children in the forest today as part of the WWF's «Off into nature - teaching outdoors» project week. The aim of the nature conservation organisation's nationwide school campaign is to raise children's awareness of nature. The experience of nature is also intended to strengthen the children's relationships with each other and with their teachers.
Maths with a tree and string
This is by no means the first time that the 5a children have gone into the forest with their teacher. And yet this time it's different: «Up to now, I've mainly talked about the ecosystem in the forest, created haptic experiences or tried out team-building games. Now I've been given new ideas for teaching other subjects outdoors too,» says the teacher. The ideas came from the documents provided by the WWF.
Today, three subjects are taught outside: Maths, nature-human society and music. How does that work? When the children hear that it's maths first, some of them roll their eyes in annoyance. They had hoped that they would be able to avoid the difficult decimals in the forest.
«You measure the circumference of a tree and write it down, weigh an object from the forest and measure the length of a branch - then you sort the pieces of paper from big to small.» So far so good - even how to measure a tree trunk with string and a metre rule is quickly clear. But what about metres and centimetres? And with the numbers before and after the decimal point?
The teacher and the community service worker who has come along today are bombarded with questions and try to have their eyes everywhere - but the children are much more scattered than in the classroom. «I can't check every result - but I get a feel for where things are still going wrong for many of them,» says Selina Dänzer. She will then address these problems again in the classroom in peace and quiet.
The hours in the forest are great - the group dynamics are different to those indoors.
Selina Dänzer, teacher
Outdoor lessons: advantages and disadvantages
One major advantage of teaching in nature is that different lengths and weights can really be experienced. This haptic component has been proven to strengthen learning success. When a group later sorts the stick lengths, one boy says: «1.2 centimetres? That can't be right.» He lifts a small splinter of wood from the floor: «It would only be this long. But branches are longer.»
But the decimals are not the most strenuous thing today: during the maths unit, mosquitoes attack the group of children. Many of the children are flapping around and finding it hard to concentrate.
Easier to be distracted outside
Teacher Selina Dänzer remains calm: «The lessons in the forest are great - different group dynamics develop than indoors. And outside, other children can sometimes be among the strongest. But you definitely need both, because not all children can concentrate well outside.»
Dina Walser, project manager at WWF, who would like to see nature activities become a permanent method in schools, also says: «Some children are more easily distracted outside in a more open space. They need a clear programme and fixed structures. Practising spelling is also more difficult outdoors - both are justified.»
What the children say about the forest experience:
Boosting the spirit of invention
After the maths session, the mood improves as they continue to the barbecue area. «I really like the forest because you can find so many things here and run around,» says Sascha. And «brötle» by the fire is a highlight for everyone - whether it's cervelat, snake bread or marshmallows being held over the embers.
A pupil looks thoughtfully into the fire and asks: «Wasn't fire also an invention?» Teacher Selina Dänzer is delighted: «Exactly - and when was that?» The pupils had been working on inventions in the classroom - and now it was time to continue outside - with their own inventive spirit.
What, that was a whole school unit? asks one pupil incredulously.
«Each team now has 15 minutes to build a tower - using only materials you find in the forest.» The children run off immediately and work with such concentration that 15 minutes become 45. Time flies as they muddle, search for branches, stack them on top of each other, tie them together with blades of grass and weigh them down with fir branches. «What, that was a whole school unit?» asks one pupil in disbelief. Then each group is allowed to name their tower and present it to the other children.
Baywatch tower and mud play tower
The results could not be more different. The «T-Tower» looks like a table made of tree trunks, on which a beautiful Zen garden of stones, leaves, tufts of grass and pine cones is enthroned. The «Baywatch Tower» resembles a palm tree sticking up from a hollowed-out tree trunk and the «Mud Play Tower» stands in mud and has small holes through which you can shoot stones.
The girls who built this tower talk about their unsuccessful attempt to use the mud to build a foundation in another place and Selina Dänzer nods. «You realised that something wasn't working and looked for another solution - great.»
Before the music lesson begins - singing Mani Matter songs in the forest - the children are allowed to run around and drink water. One pupil asks a question that has obviously been on his mind all day: «Mrs Dänzer, what's the difference between a toad and a frog?» The pupils immediately start to speculate and then listen curiously to what their teacher has to say. Not everyone wanted to touch the frog. But they wanted to understand it better.
