What beliefs did teachers who successfully taught science outdoors tend to hold?

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Outdoor teaching is an established pedagogical strategy, but science classes rarely take place outside. Earlier research had identified characteristics of teachers who incorporate out-of-classroom opportunities, but little was understood about why teachers make different pedagogical decisions.

The study explored the relationship between secondary science teachers’ beliefs and their teaching practice during a two-year professional development programme associated with the “Thinking Beyond the Classroom” project. Researchers developed six teacher case studies from participants who completed the programme, using lesson observations, interviews, session questionnaires and field notes.

Teachers who successfully taught outside generally held social constructivist beliefs about learning and valued opportunities for “authentic” science. In contrast, those who were less successful generally held traditional learning beliefs and valued the outdoors simply for its novelty and potential for fun. All six case-study teachers were concerned about managing student learning outside; for the majority, these concerns influenced their subsequent teaching practice.

The paper discusses the findings and their implications for pre-service and in-service professional development programmes related to outdoor science learning.