Teaching in Nature
We help teachers and other educators take learning outdoors, through our career-long professional learning programme and initial teacher education.
Teaching in Nature programme
Our career-long professional learning (CLPL) programme supports teachers and other educators to reach the next stage of their professional development in outdoor learning.
Read Teaching in Nature: Summary of CLPL Programme
Our Teaching in Nature programme is informed by a research project of the same name. A summary of the research is also available.
Read Teaching in nature: NatureScot Commissioned Report No. 476
Read Teaching in nature: Summary findings
How it works
We work with partners who can offer groups of educators access to a place that’s special for nature and then support them to use it with their classes. Teaching in Nature follows the first ‘cycle’ in the planning model for outdoor learning, which participants will complete in full at least twice.
Teaching in Nature was accredited as a Professional Recognition programme by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) in 2014. This means that teachers who complete our programme successfully gain Professional Recognition in outdoor learning without having to apply separately to GTCS.
Impact report and case studies
Teaching in Nature has proved a positive professional learning experience for many. We contacted some participants one year on from completing the programme to find out if it had had a lasting impact on their teaching practice.
Read the Teaching in Nature impact report
You can also read case studies of some sites and programme participants.
Teaching in Nature and you
We’d like more people to have the chance to take part in Teaching in Nature, having seen the benefits it brings teachers and students.
To find out more about using the programme’s approach, view our:
- Teaching in Nature: tips for teachers, early years professionals and others who work with young people
- Teaching in Nature: tips for rangers, site managers, landowners and others
To discuss how you or your colleagues can get involved, email sharon.cunningham@nature.scot.
Initial teacher education
We have worked with partners to share good practice in outdoor learning with initial teacher education institutions. We do this as part of our Sharing Good Practice events series.
Duration
26:13
Rosa Murray (General Teaching Council for Scotland), talks about the revised Standards and encourages initial teacher education providers and those involved in career long professional learning for teachers to reflect on their programmes and approaches in line with these new standards and the entitlement to Learning for Sustainability.
The above video is the first in a series of 8 Outdoor learning and play films from our 2013 Sharing Good Practice Teacher Education event.
Find out more
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