Maths in the outdoors

Bringing maths to the outdoors provides the children with a new scene and the concept of teaching maths outdoors isn’t thought of. Although it can be quite beneficial for students learning, and brining maths to the outdoors doesn’t only give children a change of scenery, but it also motivates them and engages them in their learning, which is agreed upon by a teacher from Plymouth University as they have stated that “Most schools taught maths outside, there was an understanding that outdoor learning was useful for ‘making abstract concepts real’. ‘I see pupils learning things sometimes that they don’t perhaps make sense of quite so quickly indoors ... This morning with the numeracy, I know a lot of children would have really struggled with grasping the concept of perimeters, but being able to walk it out ... made a lot more sense to them’ (Teacher).”(Plymouth University, 2016). With this, Pratt (2017) mentions that the outdoors can be stimulating for children, helping them to “develop mathematical disposition towards the world” and bringing maths into real life situations.  Many children find it difficult to understand mathematical concepts like this until they are given an application in real life. Sargent (2015) states that children can develop a sense of mathematics, simply by trying to play with ideas and “The outdoor environment is the ideal arena for planning maths activities that would otherwise be impractical, unattractive or impossible indoors” (p 5).  

This image shows us the types of play that can improve mathematical development for children.

Early years pioneers, Burner (1966) and Piaget (1952) both believe that children internalise the knowledge that they gain through their hands-on experiences, which can then later lead to developing their cognitive skills (Sargent, M., 2015, p5). It is said by Sragent (2015) that Lev Vygotsky highlights the importance of social interactions and the affect it can have on their learning, which is that it can “extend each other’s learning by challenging one another’s ideas.” Supporting this, all four of the British Early Years curricula emphasise the importance of mathematical conversations between people as they can encourage and challenge each other, enabling to better themselves and enhance their holistic skills.

This video discusses mathematics in the outdoors with children and shows us what it is like for children and what they could learn from these opportunities and experiences. It shows us that whenever children are outside, they have that opportunity to develop their maths skills and knowledge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eZWHT3_xJc

The Welsh Assembly Government (2002) have created a play policy, which states that “Play is a vital part of a child’s upbringing and development which benefits their health, happiness and wellbeing.” (p2). This supports all four of the British Early Years curricula emphasis on the importance of mathematical conversation as it requires social interaction with others which is what the outdoors can provide.  Being in the outdoors when teaching maths can help children obtain the information being provided and supporting this, Lev Vygotsky was a psychologist who believed children learn about the world around them, through physical interaction (Williams, 2008).

References

Taylor, H., & Harris, A. J. (Eds.). (2013). Learning and Teaching Mathematics 0-8. SAGE.

Pratt, N. (2017) Understanding Mathematics outside the classroom cited in Waite, S. (2017). Children learning outside the classroom : From birth to eleven. Second Edition. London: SAGE.

Plymouth University (2016) TRANSFORMING OUTDOOR LEARNING IN SCHOOLS LESSONS FROM THE NATURAL CONNECTIONS PROJECT. Available at: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/uploads/production/document/path/7/7634/Transforming_Outdoor_Learning_in_Schools_SCN.pdf, [Accessed on Monday 25^th of March, 2019].

Sargent, M. (2015). Developing Early Maths Skills Outdoors. Salisbury: Practical Pre-school Books.

Welsh Assembly Governemt Play Wales (2002). Welsh Assembly Government Play Policy. Wales: Welsh Assembly Government, p.2.

Williams, D. (2018). Child Development Theories: Lev Vygotsky. [online] First Discoverers. Available at: https://www.firstdiscoverers.co.uk/lev-vygotsky-child-development-theories/ [Accessed 6 May 2019].

YouTube (2012). Margaret Travers - Outdoor Maths. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eZWHT3_xJc [Accessed 6 May 2019].