Naturalist expeditions' learning potential

NATURALIST EXPEDITIONS’
LEARNING POTENTIAL OR
THE POWER OF
LEARNING BY DOING
CONCRETE EXPERIENCE
ACTIVE EXPERIMENTATION REFLECTIVE
OBSERVATION
ABSTRACT CONCEPTUALISATION
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PLUGGING INTO NATURE WITH NEW TECHNOLOGIES
Prof. Ionela Livia Panainte

THIS IS WHAT WE DO IN OUR
PROJECT: perform experiential LEARNING = LEARNING BY DOING;
 use an interdisciplinary approach (STEM) in the study of
NATURE ;
 use modern technology in gathering data and data analysis
(mobile phone Apps, computer programs, digital cameras,
Internet);
 assess human impact upon ecosystems;
 build ethical attitudes to NATURE;
 work in transnational teams;
 communicate in different languages;
That is why we are European Citizen Scientists
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Prof.Ionela Livia Panainte

WHAT IS experiential LEARNING?
 LEARNING THROUGH
EXPERIENCE =
 LEARNING THROUGH
REFLECTION ON DOING;
 Interdisciplinary learning outdoors
is included →
 NATURALIST EXPEDITIONS have a
huge learning potential and a
potential for EXCELLENCE.
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THE CYCLE OF experiential LEARNING (KOLB)

SHORT HISTORY OF experiential
LEARNING “Without action to apply knowledge, there is not
comprehension of knowledge gained.” -
ARISTOTLE (322 BC)
 “I hear, I know, I see, I remember, I do, I
understand.” - CONFUCIUS
 “Education through the act of experience is much
greater than lecture learning.” - John Dewey
(1900) → The theory of experiential learning
 “experiential learning is a continuous cycle of four
different pieces” - KOLB (1976)
 experiential learning is education and learning
through hands on interaction and
experience with the world that surrounds
us.
 Experience and reflection are essential pieces
to comprehend the knowledge gained.
 Stage 1 - CONCRETE EXPERIENCE
 Stage 2 - REFLECTIVE OBSERVATION
 Stage 3 - ABSTRACT
CONCEPTUALISATION
 Stage 4 - ACTIVE EXPERIMENTATION
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KOLB’S MODEL: experiential LEARNING
TAKES PLACE IN A CYCLE OF 4 STEPS:
 STEP 1 - First students must have a concrete
experience
 STEP 2 - Following the concrete experience, students
then Observe and Reflect on the experience;
 STEP 3 - Students form abstract concepts and
generalizations of the experience;
 STEP 4 - Lastly the students test the implications of
the concepts in new situations.
 Learners are involved in an active
exploration of experience;
 experiential learning is more than practice
- it is PRACTICE ENHANCED BY
REFLECTION;
 Learners must selectively reflect on their
experience in a critical way rather than
take the experience for granted;
 Learners must be committed to the
process of exploring and learning;
 Learner must exercise some
independence from the teacher.
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FEATURES OF THE experiential LEARNING
 Teachers will devise the appropriate
experiences and facilitate reflection.
 Theachers can transmit information but cannot
experience what the learner experiences or
reflect for the learner. ·
 Experiential learning is not the same as
'discovery' learning.
 Learning by doing is not simply a matter of letting
learners loose and hoping that they discover
things for themselves through sudden bursts of
inspiration.
 The nature of the activity must be carefully
designed by the teacher and the experience
must be analysed afterwards for learning to take
place.
 Openness to experience is necessary for
learners;
 It is therefore crucial to establish an
appropriate emotional tone for learners:
one which is safe and supportive, and
which encourages learners to value their
own experience and to trust themselves to
draw conclusions from it.
 Experiential learning involves a cyclical
sequence of learning activities.
 Teaching methods can be selected to
provide a structure to each stage of the
cycle, and to take learners through the
appropriate sequence.
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WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF
NATURALIST EXPEDITIONS FOR
STUDENTS?
1. THE USE OF ALL FIVE
SENSES
 By exposing oneself to outdoor elements and
nature, students will have a more meaningful
connection and attachment;
 Being able to touch, see, smell, hear, and even
taste the surrounding environment will cause
students to connect more with nature, rather than
just reading about the subject topic;
 This will not only bring connection but also help with
brain function.
 Ex. During a forest expedition,
students stumble across a raspberry
bush.
 They can see, touch, smell and
taste the fruits of this plant.
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 Sitting in front of the raspberry bush, the
teacher will give a lesson on the
perennial plant and its adaptations.
 Teacher will emphasize the differences
between trees and bushes (both are
perennial woody plants);
 Afterwards, students are able to feel the
thorns on its stock for protection, taste
the fruit that it produces, see and be
able to properly identify the plant after
examining it fully.
 Students can use smartphone Apps to
identify the plant and find out its
scientific name - Rubus idaeus L.
 All these things are in contrast to sitting
in a classroom where you are limited to
just reading about the plant in a book or
online.
 Study nature, not JUST books!

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF NATURALIST EXPEDITIONS FOR STUDENTS?
2.CRITICAL THINKING/
DECISION MAKING
SKILLS
in the field each individual must
make proper decisions, thinking
critically in certain situations;
through critical thinking and
decision making or judgment we
learn best.
 Judgment is to relate one
thing to all things you
know.
 Judgment is being able to
change plans when
needed.
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3. PHYSICAL ABILITIES
 In the field students will do physical activities
which are beneficial for the whole body;
 Physical exercise improves body and brain
function, whatever the activity may be hiking,
biking, skiing, etc.;
 Physically fit people show fewer symptoms of
depression, anger and stress;
 Those that exercise regularly show better
execution of tasks involving attention, memory
and learning.
 By exercising one will increase blood flow, which
has direct connection with metabolism which is
important to help neurotransmitters like serotonin
and dopamine.
10

4. SOCIAL INTERACTION
 It is one of the biggest benefits of outdoor
learning activities;
 Social interaction can come in a number of
different ways: individual to individual,
individual to group, group to individual, group
to other groups;
 Together students are working to achieve the
same goal;
 Being able to communicate clearly and
positively to one another is one of the most
important aspects while on an outdoor field
trip.
 Good expedition behavior
means to be as concerned for
others in every respect as one
is for oneself;
 Poor expedition behavior is a
breakdown in human relations.
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5. SENSE OF SELF
 The fifth benefit of experiential learning in
an outdoor education context is how
students build sense of oneself.
 To build the sense of self is:
# to reflect upon oneself;
# to explore of how one fits;
# to discover own abilities and
limitations.
 Students will discover new perspectives,
spiritual growth, sense of mastery in
particular instances.
 Through positive and negative
experiences students will reflect upon
one's decision, or interaction with the
environment that surrounds them.
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6. SENSE OF PLACE
 Lastly, experiential learning helps create a
sense of place and the internal want to
preserve the land;
 Having direct hands on contact with the
surrounding environment students will feel
more connected to the ecological world that
surrounds them;
 Creating an ethic is extremely important,
especially in the world we live in now.
 Climate change, pollution, water rights, land
rights, are just a few issues facing the
preservation of the land for future
generations.
 Through these experiences students
will develop personal responsibility to
the land and ecological systems that
surround them.
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Given its major benefits, is experiential
learning through naturalist expeditions
part of the school curriculum?
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LET’S PRACTICE THE experiential LEARNING CYCLE
 FOCUSS ON THE CURRICULUM IN YOUR COUNTRY, AT YOUR
SUBJECT
 FILL IN THE G - FORM (country, situation, reasons, examples, solutions,
feelings) - CONCRETE EXPERIENCE
 DISCUSS EACH SITUATION - REFLECTIVE OBSERVATION,
ABSTRACT CONCEPTUALIZATION
 SUGGEST A COMPETENCE TO BE INCLUDED IN YOUR CURRICULUM -
ACTIVE EXPERIMENTATION

Naturalist expeditions = experiential learning ways
WE’VE ALREADY PRACTICED THE OUTDOOR
LEARNING IN :
Avifaunistic area in Hălceni - Iași
Charca de Suarez
Cueva de Nerja
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WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT
PARTS OF A NATURALIST EXPEDITION?
THERE ARE 3 IMPORTANT
PARTS OF AN
EXPEDITION:
BEFORE
DURING
AFTER
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 planning the expedition = the concrete
experience;
 allowing students to have the active
learning experience, observe and reflect
upon it and built abstract concepts;
 providing students with opportunities for
active experimentation.

BEFORE YOU START ANYTHING ...
 to know exactly how to plan a naturalist expedition is a very important skill;
 for teachers that wish to take their students out of the classroom to experience some real-life
learning, field trips can be a dream, or a nightmare, depending on how well they are planned;
 school boards have become increasingly cautious when it comes to allowing field trips which are
considered dangerous or risky;
 taking a large group of children or teenagers out to a public place is a complex task, and a large
amount of planning needs to be done to make it successful.
. PLUGGING INTO NATURE WITH NEW TECHNOLOGIES
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1. before ↔ planning
A. THE LOGISTICS OF PLANNING
A NATURALIST EXPEDITION:
 Decide Where You are Going
 Ask Your Administrator/ Head Teacher
 Arrange for Transportation
 Decide On a Food Plan
 Plan Your Schedule
 Arrange Your Supervision
 Create/ Use a Permission Form
 Decide Who's Allowed To Go
 Tie in Your Field Trip to Your Curriculum
B. WRITE THE ACTION PLAN FOR
THE OUTDOOR LEARNING
EXPERIENCE
An ACTION PLAN is A WRITTEN
LIST OF THINGS TO DO. YOU ALL
HAVE ALREADY DONE THAT MORE
THAN ONCE... SO GO AHEAD!
 SET OBJECTIVES! You can do it, or
students can do it. They can set
objectives for themselves.
 Before the field trip, learners can sit
down and write out: "After this
experience I will be able to... " and
specify what will have been learnt;
 DESIGN ACTIVITIES (tasks) for
students;
 DEFINE SUCCESS CRITERIA;
 SET UP TIME LIMITS;
 LIST THE RESOURCES YOU NEED.
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Your action plan may look like this:
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- identify 10 species
of deciduous trees
which grow in
Bârnova forest;
- observe, take photos
of 10 deciduous trees
and use LeafSnap App
in order to identify them
Students will
recognize those 10
tree species each
time they meet them
1 hour
herbarium sheets, field
guides, smartphones,
LeafSnap App,
personal journals.
Ionela Panainte 1.06.2017
ALWAYS
HAVE A
PLAN B!

C. PREPARE YOUR STUDENTS FOR THE NATURALIST
EXPEDITION
 A field trip is a welcome break from the regular
routine, and can provide a learning experience
that goes beyond the traditional pen and paper
lesson.
 Learning from field trips does not have to be
limited only to the day of the trip.
 By planning some preparation activities and
assignments, teachers can help the students
attain more learning from their special day.
 By planning follow-up activities and
assignments teachers will make sure that
students are going from abstract
conceptualisation to active experimentation.
 Provide some background
knowledge for them in the days
leading up the trip.
 A week before the trip, start prepping
the students by studying the place
you will be visiting.
 Set curriculum objectives and also
affective goals
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2. during ↔ implement the experiential
learning cycle
1. allow students to have the
concrete experience
2. increase the awareness of the
experience
3. make sure the students observe
and reflect upon the experience
Prof.dr. Ionela Livia Panainte
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 Split the group into several
teams;
 Assign specific tasks for each
team;
 Give the students clear
instructions;
 Demonstrate if necessary;
 Ask and answer many
questions.

during the expedition to the Bârnova forest
EXAMPLE:
 Team 1 - The Geographers
 Team 2 - The Botanists
 Team 3 - The Zoologists
 Team 4 - The Collectors
 Team 5 - The Reporters
 Team 6 - The Chemists
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TASK:
1. Investigate and record geographical data
about the forest (location, relief, luminosity,
moisture content, soil types, wind etc);
2. Use the Apps to identify the most important
tree species in the forest;
3. Look for vertebrates and analyse their
behaviour ;
4. Collect and store lichens and mosses;
5. Interview your colleagues from other
teams;
6. Collect soil and water samples.

during the expedition:
 each team must keep a log book;
 the students could use video and audio recordings;
 each team has to report preliminary data;
 the teacher will provide explanations;
 the teacher will use silent demonstrations followed
by reflection on what was observed;
 the teacher will evaluate and give feedback
continuously;
 the teacher will help students to build abstract
concepts.
TEACHERS WILL
EVALUATE
 KNOWLEDGE
 SKILLS
 BEHAVIOUR
 ATTITUDES
OF THEIR STUDENTS!
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3. after ↔ close the experiential learning cycle
 Even if the expedition is over, the
learning has just begun!
 Continue to REVIEW and
REFLECT upon experience;
 Follow - up activities and
assignments are as important as
the expedition itself!
 Positive and negative
evaluation is required in order to
improve the planning process.
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Review & Reflect upon Experience
1. Ask students to write DIARIES in order to:
 record immediate experiences and reactions to these;
 analyse the experiences;
 draw conclusions form them.
2. Use the video and audio recordings made during the expedition
 ask questions which are useful to help reflection during video replays;
3. Organize structured discussions and debriefings:
 learners can benefit from sharing their experiences;
4. Peer appraisal/ Teacher appraisal;
5. Self-assessment.
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The stages of a full structured debriefing
1. Description: What happened? Don't make judgements yet or try to draw conclusions;
simply describe.
2. Feelings What were your reactions and feelings? Again don't move on to analysing these
yet.
3. Evaluation What was good or bad about the experience? Make value judgements.
4. Analysis: What sense can you make of the situation? Bring in ideas from outside the
experience to help you. What was really going on?
5. Conclusions: (general) What can be concluded, in a general sense, from these
experiences and the analyses you have undertaken?
6. Conclusions:(specific) What can be concluded about your own specific, unique, personal;
situation or way of working?
7. Personal action plans What are you going to do differently in this type of situation next
time? What steps are you going to take on the basis of what you have learnt?
26

Follow - up assignments
The students will continue to work
in the lab, in the school library, at
home.
 Run statistical analyses
 Identify the collected material
(mosses, lichens);
 Analyse the soil and water
samples;
 Use your data in scientific
papers;
 Write articles for an eMagazine;
 Write blogs, website pages.
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 summarize and visualize
your data (tabels, graphs)
 create ID cards for species
Deadly nightshade

Feedback ↔ find out what
you did well/ bad
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LET’S PRACTICE!
 TASK 1. How do you integrate OUTDOOR and FORMAL EDUCATION AT YOUR
SUBJECT? Design an ACTION PLAN for a naturalist expedition/ museum visit/ lab
experiment/ debate/ meeting with an expert related with your curriculum (include
minumum 3 objectives and 3 activities/ tasks).
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LET’S PRACTICE!
 TASK 2. DESIGN YOUR FEEDBACK QUESTIONNAIRE! It can be SELF -
ASSESSMENT (AUTOEVALUATION), PEER APPRAISAL (INTEREVALUATION), TRIP
EVALUATION etc.
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This is just an example. I normally
follow a SWOT analysis’ pattern.
Use online surveys, like
this one that I would like
you to fill in for me!
This is actually TASK 3 

 Graham Gibbs - Learning by doing, First edition, 2013 (Oxford
Centre for Staff and Learning Development);
 Luke Kimmes - The Benefits Of Experiential Learning In An
Outdoor Expedition Setting, 2017 (PDF; Hamline University);
 Sharilee Swaity - How to Plan a Field Trip: A Step- by-Step Guide -
https://owlcation.com/academia/How-to-Plan-a-Field-Trip
 Google Images
31 CREDITS TO

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Naturalist expeditions' learning potential

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