Learning Beyond the Classroom: Outdoor Education in Tenerife

Learning does not always need to start with a textbook or happen inside a classroom. Sometimes, a change of environment is enough to make learners more curious, active and willing to work together. Outdoor education brings this idea into practice by using natural and social spaces as places for exploration, reflection and shared learning. In Tenerife, where very different landscapes can be found within a relatively small area, participants had the opportunity to experience this approach first-hand.

Курсът “Outdoor Learning and Adventure Education” се проведе в Tenerife from 27 September to 3 October 2026. The group brought together education professionals from different European contexts: Jessica и Omaima from La Strada, Italy; Markus from Ludwigsgymnasium, a secondary school in Germany; Francesca и Nino from YouNet APS, Italy; and Karin from Cals College Nieuwegein, a secondary school in the Netherlands. Their different professional backgrounds provided a useful basis for exchanging ideas about how outdoor and experiential learning can be adapted to different schools, learners and educational settings.

The week began by looking at the main principles behind outdoor learning and adventure education. Rather than seeing outdoor activities as something separate from the curriculum, participants explored how the environment itself can become part of the learning process. Observation, movement, problem-solving and cooperation were used to show how activities outside the classroom can support both subject-related learning and the development of wider skills. The focus was practical from the start, with participants considering how these methods could respond to real classroom needs rather than simply adding an occasional outdoor activity to the school calendar.

As the course progressed, learning moved increasingly into the field. Participants took part in activities that encouraged them to explore their surroundings, work together and respond to different challenges as a group. The natural environment of Tenerife offered a varied setting for this work, making it possible to reflect on how landscape, movement and direct experience can influence the way people learn. These experiences also highlighted an important point: outdoor education is not simply about organising a walk, a game or an adventure. The educational value comes from the way an activity is planned, the questions it raises and the reflection that follows.

Another important part of the programme focused on experiential and non-formal learning. Through practical tasks and collaborative exercises, participants explored ways of creating learning situations in which students are not passive recipients of information but active participants. They worked with methods that can encourage communication, creativity, decision-making and teamwork, while also considering how activities can be adapted to different ages and abilities. The exchange between participants was an essential part of this process, as each person brought examples and perspectives from their own institution and educational context.

Towards the end of the week, the course came together in a more reflective and creative phase. Participants had the opportunity to think about how the methods they had experienced could be transferred to their own schools and organisations. The discussions moved from “what happened during the course” to the more practical question of “what could work with our learners?”. This made the learning more concrete, connecting the experience in Tenerife with possible activities, projects and teaching approaches back home.

The course ended with a clearer understanding of what outdoor learning can offer when it is carefully connected to educational objectives. Participants gained practical ideas for creating more active and collaborative learning experiences, but they also had the chance to rethink familiar teaching situations from a different perspective. Spending a week learning through movement, observation, cooperation and direct experience made the central idea of the course tangible: sometimes, changing the learning environment can change the way learners engage with learning itself.

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