Free Inquiry Post #6

Over the last five weeks, I explored how outdoor mathematics education can be implemented across different grade levels while connecting to the BC Curriculum. For Kindergarten to Grade 3, I researched outdoor math activities and online resources that support hands-on, place-based learning. For Grades 4 to 7, I examined broader themes in outdoor education, including the use of technology and different ways students can demonstrate their understanding. For Grades 8 and 9, I investigated how outdoor mathematics supports inclusive education, the benefits and challenges associated with this approach and assessment strategies teachers can use to evaluate student learning in outdoor environments.

Throughout this inquiry, I gained a deeper understanding of how outdoor mathematics can increase engagement, provide meaningful real-world learning experiences and support diverse learners. While there are challenges related to planning and safety, the potential benefits for student learning and well-being make outdoor mathematics a valuable educational approach across all grade levels.

Created by me on Canva

The Why of Outdoor Learning

(1) Outdoor math learning makes math meaningful and relevent.

When students collect data outdoors, use natural objects for measurement, or conduct surveys while learning statistics, they are connecting math to real-life experiences. When students understand why they are learning math and how it applies to the world around them, they are more likely to stay motivated and retain the information they learn.

(2) Outdoor math learning increases student engagement:

Outdoor math learning increases student engagement by providing students with opportunities to move, explore and interact with their environment. Learning in an outdoor setting can make math more enjoyable and meaningful, which helps students stay focused and actively participate in their learning.

(3) Outdoor learning supports diverse learners.

Outdoor learning supports diverse learners by giving students the opportunity to approach math in different ways rather than relying solely on paper-and-pencil tasks. Outdoor learning supports diverse learners because it provides multiple ways for students to engage with math and demonstrate their understanding.

(4) Outdoor learning develops problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

(5) Outdoor learning promotes physical and mental well-being.

It encourages movement and provides students with regular opportunities to spend time in nature. Being outdoors can help reduce stress, improve focus and create a positive learning environment where students feel more relaxed and ready to learn. I chose to do my inquiry project on outdoor mathematics education because students spend a large portion of their school day learning Math and English. I wanted to explore ways to incorporate more outdoor activities into mathematics and discover resources that can help students spend more time learning outside.

(6) Outdoor learning encourages collaboration and communication.

Students work together to solve open-ended tasks, collect data and share their learning and findings. Through these shared experiences, students learn to listen to others, communicate their ideas clearly and deepen their understanding through discussion and teamwork.

How I Will Implement Outdoor Learning Into My Future Practice As An Educator

Free Inquiry Post #5

For this inquiry post, I will explore how outdoor mathematics can promote inclusion, the role of technology in learning math outside and address the challenges and considerations associated with outdoor learning.

Why Outdoor Math Supports Inclusive Education

Multi-Sensory Access: For young learners in Grades K-3, outdoor math activities should include sensory materials such as sand, water and gravel. Providing tools like buckets, shovels, pots and measuring cups encourages students to explore mathematical concepts through hands-on play, problem-solving and collaboration.

Movement and Self-Regulation: Outdoor learning spaces offer flexibility for students who benefit from frequent movement and physical activity. This approach can be especially beneficial for students who experience challenges with attention and focus increasing engagement, focus and attention.

Reduced Math Anxiety: The video below explains why students experience math anxiety. It is important for educators to understand its causes and learn how to support students. Outdoor math learning can help reduce stress by removing some of the rigid barriers and silence often associated with learning math indoors. When learning is more playful and enjoyable, students are more likely to retain what they learn.

What Are The Challenges and Considerations Associated With Outdoor Learning?

What I think are limitations to teaching math outdoors:

• Weather and Seasonal Limitations: Sudden changes, extreme temperatures, or storms.
• Safety Concerns: allergies, rough terrain, wildlife encounters and ensuring students stay within boundaries.
• Need for Planning and Classroom Management: Effective planning and classroom management are important safety considerations in outdoor learning, as clear expectations, boundaries and supervision help ensure students remain safe.
• Accessibility and Inclusion: Outdoor learning activities should be planned to ensure all students can participate, regardless of their physical abilities or learning needs. Teachers must be flexible and adapt activities to support all learners, which can sometimes be challenging when meeting diverse needs in an outdoor environment.
• Aligning Outdoor Activities with Curriculum: I am about to have a reflective moment, but finding activities that directly connected to the BC curriculum standards was difficult. I had to dive deep and I will continue to do so throughout my career. Outdoor learning, real-world experiences and meaningful learning opportunities are values I hold in both my personal and professional life, but it is also important that my students learn the curriculum.

Assessment In Outdoor Mathematics

It is important that students understand the mathematical concepts and knowledge outlined in the curriculum. However, it is equally important that they develop skills such as collaboration, communication, and critical and reflective thinking. How can teachers document and assess the development of these competencies?

Free-Inquiry Post #4

I remember sitting in my Grade 9 math class and thinking, Why am I learning this? Why is it important? When will I ever use this after high school? Outdoor learning can help answer these questions by showing students how mathematics connects to real-life situations. I want to explore how outdoor math games can be used to teach Grade 8–9 mathematical concepts in ways that are engaging, hands-on and meaningful. By connecting math games to curriculum concepts, students can develop a better understanding of what they are learning and why it is relevant to their lives, all while having fun and learning outdoors!

Probability

Cornhole is a great outdoor activity for teaching students experimnetal probability. This can “be calculated by performing actual experiments and gathering or recording the necessary information.“

The math definition of an experiment is “a process or procedure that can be repeated and that has a set of well-defined possible results or outcomes.”

This would be calculated by Number of Outcomes / Number of Trials. Students take turns tossing beanbags toward a cornhole board and record the outcome of each throw.

Measurement:

Students could create their own shapes using masking tape, chalk, or rope. Students divide into small groups and create a shape. They then calculate the area and perimeter of their shape using measuring tapes or rulers. Groups rotate around the playground and calculate the area and perimeter of another group’s shape. They can check their answers against the original group’s calculations.

To turn this into a game students can:

• Create a shape with a perimeter of a certain amount of meters.
• Create two different shapes with the same perimeter but different areas.
• Work as a team to create a shape with a given perimeter and explain how changing its dimensions affects its area on a piece of paper.

I got this idea from: Outdoor Area and Perimeter Shape Activity on EducateOutside.com

Algebra

The video below features outdoor math games presented by teacher Holly Millican, who explains how to use them in the classroom. One of the games she describes is called Bean Bag Algebra, which aligns with the Grade 8 algebra learning standards in the BC Curriculum. Although, the teacher can make problems more complex to suit learning standards for different grade levels.

Bean Bag Algebra is a game where students toss bean bags to practice solving algebra questions.

For example,

1. Students toss a bean bag onto a number.
2. They use that number to replace x in an equation.
3. They solve the equation.

These are examples of math questions she has students answer. She usually has students working in groups of 2–4, taking turns running up to the pre-drawn chalk circles and throwing a bean bag at a circle. This activity focuses on content knowledge, collaboration and teamwork skills!

These are just a few examples of math games that can be done outdoors! It is important to keep in mind that outdoor math games and learning is essential because:

• It is active learning though play.
• Helps students develop problem-solving and teamwork skills.
• Helps students get more physical activity throughout the day and supports those who struggle with attention and focus.

Free Inquiry Post #3

Last week, I attended a Truth and Reconciliation workshop. While the presentation indoors was educational and engaging, I found myself restless and struggling to focus. When the workshop moved outside to the outdoor classroom, everything changed. Listening to an Elder, playing Ktunaxa games and being active outdoors helped me feel calm, present and fully engaged. The warmth of the fire, the fresh air and the beautiful sunshine created an environment where I could focus and learn more effectively. Experiences like this remind me how meaningful outdoor learning is and how strongly it can support both learning and mental well-being.

This experience clarified how much being outdoors supports my focus, engagement and well-being. It also inspired me to explore engaging and meaningful outdoor mathematics activities and resources for students in Grades 4-7.

Activity For Grades 5-6

I was trying to find resources specifically for teaching Grades 4-7 mathematics outdoors and came across a website called Educate Outside, which offers free resources and activity ideas for teaching math and science outdoors across a variety of grade levels.

This website offers free resources and worksheets for students to complete and engage with during outdoor learning activities!

The activity I chose was Area and Perimeter Scavenger Hunt: Shape, Space and Measure. Blow is an image of the activity and attached on the website is the lesson plan!

This is the worksheet students can use when exploring outdoors. This activity would fit Grade 5 math content areas:

• Area measurement of squares and rectangles
• Relationships between area and perimeter

Connects to Curricular Competencies:

• Develop, demonstrate, and apply mathematical understanding through play, inquiry, and problem solving.
• Connect mathematical concepts to each other and to other areas and personal interests.

Surveys

Image from Pexels created by RDNE Stock project

This activity can extend to Grades 4–7 under the BC Curriculum. Students can step outside the classroom and walk to a local park to observe cars, people, or animals and record their observations. Younger grades could simply collect data and create a chart as a class to represent what they observed. Older grades can collect data and answer questions such as “What is the most common colour car?” Students can collect data and represent their findings in different ways.

For Grade 4 mathematics students could observe cars, record vehicle colours and tally them. Students could create bar or pictographs and compare results. The BC Grade 4 learning standards include representing data using one-to-one and many-to-one correspondence in bar graphs and pictographs.

Students Explain Their Learning

As students get older, they become better at presenting what they have learned and explaining their thought processes to the class. After completing a math activity outdoors, students can participate in a reflection circle. During the reflection, a talking stick or pinecone can be passed around the circle and whoever is holding it can share what they observed, something new they learned, or any questions they still have.

As a summative or formative assessment students could journal what they have learned and is a great and open-ended way for students to document mathematical l thinking and learning.

This is a great example of a journal entry in which a student documents their learning goal, what they already know, what they learned during the activity or lesson, evidence of their learning and a reflection on their experience.

This example shows that outdoor mathematics learning, journal entries allow students to record observations, explain their mathematical thinking and reflect on how they applied math concepts in real-world contexts. This helps deepen understanding and encourages students to take ownership of their learning. This is something I might use as a form of assessment during my practicum that can be done outdoors!

Technology and Outdoor Learning

Students in middle school are more familiar with and able to use a wider range of technologies. These technologies can help connect students to mathematics learning in meaningful ways. For example, Grade 7 students can use the iNaturalist app to collect data about biodiversity in their local community. They can record the number and types of plants, insects and animals they observe in their local environment, then organize their findings using graphs or tables. Students can analyze their data to make inferences about which areas of their community support greater biodiversity. They can also explain why they chose a particular method of data representation and how it effectively communicates their results.

This idea could be expanded into a large cross-curricular project where students collect and analyze data to determine which areas of their local environment support the greatest biodiversity and explain why. This would be a great resource for finding local Ktunaxa plants in the community. This is one example of how using apps can be incorporated in learning mathematics!

I tested the accuracy of the app on my dog Bentley:

The photo taken is of a bush in my backyard:

I believe this app is accurate because the bush produces small white flowers during the summer. Since it is currently fall, there are no white flowers present, which matches what the app shows.

That concludes this week’s research. Next week, I plan to explore outdoor learning opportunities and mathematics resources for Grades 8-9!

Free Inquiry Post #2

Key Benefits of Outdoor STEM Learning

Real-World Application: The outdoors is filled with opportunities for young learners to make connections to math and science. Through these experiences, children can connect school subjects to the real world and engage in real-life problem-solving.

Engaging in Hands-On Learning: “Hands-on learning helps students understand physical interactions and natural phenomena.” When children learn through hands-on activities, their brains connect words and their learning with their actions and sensory experiences.

Curiosity: Being outdoors in the fresh air reduces stress, makes students more active and motivated, encouraging them to be more open to learning new things.

MATHEMATICS

Patterns

Nature Scavenger Hunt: Children can practice counting and exploring by searching for selected items in nature, such as flowers, leaves, pebbles, or sticks and keeping track of how many they discover.

Creating Patterns with Natural Items: Invite students to use materials found in nature, such as pinecones, sticks, leaves and flowers, to build repeating sequences. Encourage them to identify, extend, or design their own patterns.

These activities align with BC Curriculum’s Content Areas:

Number concepts up to 10.

Repeating patterns with two or three elements.

Patterns can be extended to Grades 1-3 as well! They are covered in the content areas in the BC Curriculum.

Measurement

Kindergarten: Compare objects in nature by size, height, or weight for example as students which weighs more: sticks or pinecones?

Grade 1: Measure and compare natural objects using non-standard units for example, using paper clips or blocks as measurment.

Grade 2: Measure natural objects using standard units such as centimetres and metres.

Grade 3: Measure and explore length, perimeter, mass, capacity and time using nature-based investigations.

My niece Avery and I walked to a local playground and found pinecones to measure ourselves with.

The activity we did aligns with the Grade 1 mathematics curriculum on measurement. We used pinecones as non-standard units of measurement to measure our heights.

Avery was 14 pinecones tall and I was 16 pinecones tall! A conclusion a teacher would want to hear from a Grade 1 student is, “Miss Andersen needed two more pinecones because she is taller than Avery.”

This activity was successful and it was really fun to do with my niece. She loves the outdoors and helping us around the house, so she was more than willing to help me! It is important to note that everything we took from the land, we put back where we found it.

Indigenous Math Resources

University of British Columbia (UBC) has created the Indigenous Math Network, which offers a wide variety of unit plans, lesson plans and Indigenous math resources for primary through high school. Many of the resources feature outdoor, land-based learning activities that help students explore mathematical concepts through connections to their local environment and community. How cool is that!

I choose to look into project Connecting Land, Place and Community for Grades 1-2. The project was cross-curricular, which I LOVE. It connects to English Language Arts through student journaling and to Art Education by having students create maps of local landmarks. It also connects to Mathematics as students identify shapes in their local environment, calculate the distance to local landmarks, measure distances and objects found in nature and apply mapping and measurement skills in meaningful, real-world contexts.

I love the idea of having students create an art project of a local landmark or a map of their community. This activity connects to mathematics because students can find shapes in their environment, measure and compare distances and use their spatial reasoning skills to create a map that shows where important places are located.

This activity connects to Grade 1 Mathematics Content Areas:

• Comparison of 2D shapes and 3D objects
• Direct measurement with non-standard units (non-uniform and uniform).

This activity connects to Grade 2 Mathematics Content Areas:

• Multiple attributes of 2D shapes and 3D objects
• Direct linear measurement, introducing standard metric units.
• Pictorial representation of concrete graphs, using one-to-one correspondence.

Geometry

As an introductory activity for K-3 geometry, students can go on a shape hunt outdoors. Students find objects in nature that are 2D shapes or 3D objects. For Grade 3, students could identify rectangular buildings or cylindrical tree trunks, document them, and explain the attributes that make them rectangles or cylinders.

This activity can be completed individually or in groups and is a simple worksheet that teachers can easily create themselves!

That’s all for now! I look forward into looking at resources for Grades 4-7 next week!

Free Inquiry Post #1

Hello!

Welcome to my free inquiry project! I am currently a fourth-year student in the UVIC East Kootenay Education Program. Last year, during my six-week Kindergarten practicum, I did not incorporate as much outdoor learning as I would have liked. Being outdoors is something that I enjoy and value in my daily life. As a result, I am creating an inquiry project focused on outdoor learning opportunities in mathematics education for students in Grades K-9. I will conduct research and develop a collection of outdoor learning activities across a variety of subjects aligned with the BC Curriculum learning standards.

Why is Outdoor Education Important?

Young children are moving indoors at an important time of growth and development when they would benefit from being outdoors. Research suggests that outdoor learning is important for student wellbeing, development and overall quality of life. The wellbeing of young individuals is shaped by their social connections and the environments in which they learn and grow, both of which are critical to their overall health, happiness and development. When students learn outdoors, they have opportunities to explore, discover and solve problems together, helping them develop important social skills and work collaboratively toward a common goal. Furthermore, outdoor environments support children’s well-being by:

1. Reducing stress.
2. Improving physical health.
3. Boosting self-esteem and resilience.
4. Fostering social connectedness.
5. Increasing student motivation.
6. Increasing social and teamwork skills.

Exploring Outdoor Education: My Inquiry Approach

For this inquiry project, I will explore outdoor education through the lens of mathematics instruction for students in Grades K-9. I will review research on the benefits of outdoor learning and investigate creative, hands-on math activities that can be taught outside while supporting BC Curriculum outcomes. I chose to focus on mathematics because it is a core subject that is taught daily and often takes up a significant portion of the school day. By moving some math instruction outdoors, educators can create engaging, meaningful learning experiences while helping students connect mathematical concepts to the world around them. This inquiry project will serve as a practical resource that I can use in my future teaching career and that other educators can use to incorporate outdoor learning into mathematics instruction.

My first inquiry post will focus on math outdoor education opportunities for Grades K-3. Inquiry post #3 will focus on Grades 4-7 and inquiry post #5, will focus on Grades 8-9. I will also try some of these activities and reflect on my own current and past experiences!

Video from the Department of Conservation