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My name is Jennifer Usher, and I am an instructor at Medicine Hat College in the early learning and child care program. In September 2022, I began participating in a pan-Canadian research project for ECE faculty on outdoor pedagogy. For the past two years, I have delved into the importance of outdoor play and learning for both post-secondary students and children.
We began with a literature review of the research and spent time in our Community of Practice reflecting on what we were learning. I began taking my ELCC students outdoors more frequently that fall and have continued to work on ways to engage them in natural spaces. It has been a journey!
When the project began, I said that I was not an "outdoorsy" person. A peer from the program said to me, "If you are outdoors, you are outdoorsy." I have found that as I participated in this project my love of the outdoors has grown. I have learned how to be happy outdoors despite the weather. If you are well-prepared, you can totally do it!
HINT: Hand warmers hidden in your pocket make all the difference on a cold, windy, wet, or snowy day. 😊
In the second year of the project, I began spending time with children at our Outdoor Early Learning Hub at one of the YMCA centers in Medicine Hat. This allowed me to learn from the children in their outdoor spaces and places. It was such a great adventure!
In the fall of 2024, I taught the first section of Medicine Hat College's new course, Outdoor Pedagogy in Early Childhood. It was a successful semester with students offering positive feedback all around. They especially liked how we had community, day home, and child care center children come in for hands-on experiences where we could try out the theory we were learning about.
I continue to look for more ways to incorporate outdoor pedagogy in my other classes here at the college. We have now created an Outdoor Pedagogy Community of Practice that meets once a month to keep the momentum of outdoor pedagogy advocacy going!
I would like to thank AECEA for allowing me to share some of my experiences in this outdoor pedagogy research. I invite you to check out some of the additional resources that I have shared with AECEA. I hope these inspire you in your work with students and children! If you want to get in touch with me, feel free to reach out to me at jusher@mhc.ab.ca.
