8.3 Outdoor Learning Environment Design
Jennifer Karshna, Ph.D.
A high quality, developmentally appropriate ECE classroom has spaces for indoor and outdoor play (Bullard, 2013). A fully outdoor program is one in which children are outside all of the time and often such programs are in natural settings such as wooded areas. For the purposes of this chapter, OLE design will refer to programs that use indoor and outdoor spaces rather than those that are fully outdoors.
The outdoor space will be referred to as the OLE (outdoor learning environment). It is referred to as such because young children are always learning, including when they are outdoors! The OLE is an extension of what happens inside and it provides different learning opportunities than the indoor environment (Karshna, 2021). Children develop language and literacy, math, social, and problem solving skills in the OLE, just as they do inside the classroom, when the OLE is created and used with intention and purpose. Children’s learning in the OLE is enhanced if the teacher is aware and intentional in supporting development in these areas while outside with the children.
Additionally, the OLE provides opportunities that are different from indoors (Kleppe, 2018). The OLE has more space for gross motor/physical activity, differing sensory experiences (think of the feeling of different temperatures and the wind, or of sounds such as birds), more opportunity for risk-taking, and the experiences that lead to developing an appreciation for the natural world (Beery & Jørgensen, 2018; Bento & Costa, 2018).
In many programs, the outdoor space design is predetermined by where things such as a manufactured play structure or natural elements such as trees are placed. Nevertheless, teachers can make enhancements to the OLE in order to increase children’s learning. Key elements of a well-designed OLE are: (a) a combination of manufactured and natural items, (b) a combination of stationary and moveable items, (c) boundaries and visibility for safety, and (d) ensuring opportunities for risk-taking and physical activity.
A combination of manufactured and natural items contributes to children’s learning (Olsen & Smith, 2017). This pertains to programs that use indoor and outdoor spaces and likely would not work in a fully outdoor program. Manufactured items are things such as climbing structures, wheeled toys, balance beams, buckets, shovels, play stove and sink, and anything that is made. This includes items made of wood as well as plastic and other materials. Natural items are those found in nature: sticks, rocks, trees, puddles, etc. Including both manufactured and natural items can lead to a variation of children’s play and engagement in the OLE (Kleppe, 2018; Olsen & Smith, 2017; Zamani, 2016).
Another combination that is beneficial in OLE design is including both stationary and movable items (Goodenough et al., 2021; Olsen & Smith, 2017). Stationary items are things that cannot be moved such as a play