Category: Skoodos
Some of the strongest lessons in childhood aren’t learned in a classroom. They occur when one is touching soil, watching bugs, visiting monuments, planting seedlings, exploring parks, or standing still at a coastline with a notebook in hand. In the last ten years, parents and educators in India have shown a growing inclination towards such schools that have outdoor learning initiatives, and this is because studies have shown the importance of such exposure in developing confidence, curiosity, and socialisation in children.
Places such as skoodos have been at the forefront of such changes in thinking about education as merely what is learned in school, an ecosystem where children can learn about the world around them.
In this blog, we will discuss the trend of outdoor and field-based learning in India, the types of schools that are at the forefront of this trend, and what you should look for if you are considering such a school for your child.
Why Outdoor Learning is Gaining Momentum in India
But for many years, education in India was characterised by rote learning, high-stakes testing, and very little hands-on experience of the outside world. This resulted in students learning facts that they never actually experienced in nature.
However, there have been some shifts in this paradigm, and
1. The NEP 2020 Push Toward Holistic Education
The National Education Policy was based on the following:
They were encouraged to be holistic education schools, combining art, nature, language, and science, rather than isolating these subjects.
The contemporary family has raised new questions, such as:
Are they able to apply the ideas developed in the classroom to the "
Learning outside answers these questions through experience rather than on paper.
Post-pandemic digital fatigue revealed the importance of:
real-world curiosity. Outdoor classrooms address these needs in a natural way.
Outdoor learning schools are
Many parents wonder: “What are outdoor learning schools?”
In short, these are nature-based learning schools or experiential learning schools where learning goes beyond the classroom to:
They may combine the curriculum with such activities as:
They
Children can learn biology from leaves, history from heritage sites, geography from the path of a river, and social studies from society itself.
Field trips are not “fun breaks” – they’re purposeful teaching instruments. Studies have proven that schools with field trip-based learning experience increases in:
History-based field trips increase fact retention by 70% compared to textbook education, according to Smithsonian studies. In environment-based field trips, students learn by observation, and sustainability is not an abstraction.
The schools which incorporate the concept of field trips across various subjects tend to become schools which emphasize hands-on learning rather than consumption-based learning.
Experiential education and classroom learning are both methods of
One question parents have is whether outdoor education schools are better for kids.
The response would depend on the child; however, there is evidence that suggests:
Experiential learning does not substitute for academics; rather, it supplements and enhances them.
Various schools view outdoor education through different lenses.
Children go to the forest, gardens, or farms to understand ecology, agriculture, and sustainability.
The subjects covered in the programs are climate, biodiversity, recycling, water conservation, and ecosystems.
Visits to museums, landmarks, old towns, and theaters are a way of increasing cultural literacy.
Science park visits, astronomy centers, robotics labs, and research campuses.
Hiking, camping, orientation courses, and outdoor games that involve teamwork.
Learn from local craftsmen and non-governmental and governmental organisations about society.
Both methods have different developmental advantages.
The advantages are not limited to academic ones. Children being educated in the top schools and having outdoor and field learning experiences are likely to possess the following qualities:
A survey of 20 experiential schools in 2023 found:
These are results that traditional classrooms struggle to produce.
Holistic development is concerned with the shaping of:
Outdoor education connects all four.
It is because of this two-dimensional learning that many parents are actively looking for schools that specialise in experiential and outdoor education
Outdoor learning is not new to education in India. Parents may be looking for information on what is available in their particular city. Even so, there are some commonalities across regions.
Many schools also conduct heritage walks, visits to museums, nature walks, and history projects.
Strong emphasis on ecology, gardening, and environmental science.
Outdoor education with emphasis on marine ecology, conservation, and cultural excursions.
Experiential tourism and biodiversity add depth to field programs.
Boarding schools in these regions have integrated trekking, ecology, and adventure activities into the formal school program.
Across the world, field-based learning establishes a sense of belonging, reinforcing the idea that children are part of a world they should understand, not simply observe remotely.
Experiential institutions with robust models are characterised by a structured approach to outdoor learning and experiential education.
In this stage, the outdoor learning curriculum is aligned with academic objectives.
Outdoor activities correspond directly to the topics covered in the textbook, ensuring curriculum-linked experiential learning rather than disconnected outings.
Building partnerships is a critical step for outdoor education schools.
Schools partner with museums, farms, NGOs, researchers, and conservation organisations to create meaningful, real-world learning experiences.
The training of educators is essential for successful experiential learning in schools.
Outdoor education requires facilitation rather than lecturing, allowing teachers to guide exploration instead of delivering one-way instruction.
Learning should be documented to reinforce understanding.
Students journal, present, photograph, or collect samples, turning experiences into structured knowledge and evidence of learning.
This step is crucial in experiential and outdoor education programs.
Reflections after a trip transform experience into understanding, connecting outdoor exposure with classroom concepts.
This structured process is the foundation behind the success of experiential learning–based schools and outdoor learning schools in India.
Parents considering outdoor learning schools and experiential education in India should investigate the following:
✓ Field Trip Frequency (annual, term-based, or weekly)
✓ Diversity of Excursions (science, culture, nature)
✓ Integration with Curriculum
✓ Teacher Facilitation Quality
✓ Reflective Assessment Models
✓ Matching Learning Style to Child Temperament
Groups such as “skoodos” have played a crucial part in changing the discourse around education in India by bringing together educators, parents, and schools in terms of their collective commitment to holistic education.
skoodos’s focus on leadership, culture, and students’ welfare has helped to normalise conversations around outdoor education, creativity, and experiential models that were previously considered luxury options. This is because these platforms give parents a chance to find schools that meet their child’s needs rather than relying on traditional education ranking models.
Learning outdoors is not a trend; it is a return to a learning method that children have always known. Schools that incorporate experiential and outdoor programs bring learning to life. The emergence of schools that incorporate learning outdoors indicates that Indian education is slowly learning to redefine success in terms of scores to skills, from memorisation to meaning, and from confinement to exploration.
As India looks towards creating a future-ready education system, the role of a community such as skoodos will remain pertinent in bringing focus on schools that promote a well-rounded approach towards learning in a joyful and experiential way—reminding us that children should be learning from the world around them and not just about the world.
1. Why is outdoor learning important to students?
Learning in nature enhances the development of curiosity, confidence, problem-solving abilities, and social skills that cannot be achieved through learning from textbooks in a class.
2. Are outdoor learning schools beneficial for children?
Kids, definitely. They're hands-on, physically active, and often multisensory, which helps with retention and stress management.
3. Which schools have the best field trips?
Experiential and holistic education centers in various cities, such as Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Goa, are known for their diverse field-based learning programs.
4. In what ways do field trips aid in learning for students?
These help to make abstract ideas concrete, facilitate cross-cultural understanding, and aid memory through the learning technique of exposure.
5. What constitutes an effective outdoor learning school?
Recurring exposure to the field, nature-based experiences, trained facilitators, reflective assessments, and integration with environmental education.
6. How can parents apply for experiential outdoor schools?
These are usually accompanied by admissions inquiries, campus tours, and sometimes child observation sessions. This can be found under the category of admission to outdoor learning schools, or it can be applied to experiential learning schools on their websites.
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