Is the Classroom Big Enough?
Want a classroom where attention rebounds, anxiety softens, and core skills actually stick?
In this episode of ShiftED, we sit down with Rachel Tidd, founder of Discover Wild Learning and author of Wild Learning: Practical Ideas to Bring Teaching Outdoors, to unpack a clear, realistic path for making outdoor learning part of everyday teaching.
No gimmicks. No overhaul. Just field-tested routines, literacy and numeracy strategies, and research that shows why fresh air changes what happens next.
The Question That Changed Everything
Rachel’s work began with a striking contrast: a child thriving in a forest preschool while struggling indoors.
Same child. Same abilities. Different setting.
That tension sparked a bigger question:
What if the setting is the missing support?
Instead of asking how to “fix” attention or engagement inside four walls, Rachel began exploring how outdoor environments could support regulation, focus, and learning readiness from the start.
Start With the Schoolyard
This isn’t about transporting students to a forest every week. Rachel’s framework begins with what schools already have: the yard.
She lays out a practical structure teachers can implement immediately:
- Clear call-and-response signals for gathering attention
- Visible physical boundaries
- Defined meeting points
- Predictable weekly rhythms so families know when to send layers
- Meeting students at the door and heading out immediately on outdoor days
- Adding instruction to recess time to reduce transitions
These routines keep learning tight and safe. Outdoor time becomes structured, purposeful, and sustainable — not chaotic or aspirational.
Literacy and Math That Move
The academics don’t disappear outside. They deepen. Phonemic awareness becomes a sound hunt paired with movement. Chalk, stones, and playground steps turn into live addition and multiplication practice.
Concrete materials make abstract ideas visible. Rachel shares how these strategies align directly with curriculum while increasing engagement.
In her doctoral research, a place-based literacy unit focused on schoolyard trees led to gains in reading and systems thinking. Students weren’t just decoding text — they were studying something real, local, and connected to their own environment. Even chronically absent students re-engaged when the work felt immediate and meaningful.
What the Research Says
The benefits aren’t anecdotal. Rachel points to evidence around:
- Attention restoration
- Executive function
- Support for students with ADHD
- The “carryover effect” — where time outdoors boosts the next indoor lesson
In other words, outdoor learning doesn’t take away instructional time. It can amplify it.
Attention rebounds. Anxiety softens. The next lesson sticks better.
Not a Trend — A Shift
Across provinces and ministries, outdoor learning guidance is expanding. It’s becoming easier for schools to move beyond occasional field trips and embed nature-based, place-based learning into weekly plans.
Rachel shares practical entry points educators can use immediately:
- Free guides
- Short how-to videos
- A multi-part outdoor math workshop covering major numeracy strands
The message is simple: start small, start weekly, and build from there.
For more ideas, check out LEARN’s Outdoor Learning resources
So… Is the Classroom Big Enough?
Maybe the better question isn’t whether outdoor learning works.
Maybe it’s this:
What changes when we widen the frame of where learning can happen?
If you’ve been looking for a way to improve focus, align with curriculum, and re-engage students without adding more to your plate, this episode offers a blueprint grounded in real classrooms and real constraints.
Listen in. Grab the book. Checkout Rachel’s Wild Learning. And then ask yourself:
Which lesson am I taking outside first?
