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A Walking Curriculum: Evoking Wonder and Developing Sense of Place (K-12) Review by guest blogger Betty de Groot, Education Interpreter at Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), former teacher and Eco-Lead, St John the Baptist Elementary School DPCDSB |
February 23, 2022 – As you may know, February is Winter Walk Month, and from February 14 to 28 you can take part in the Take Me Outside Winter Challenge — and even if you’re reading this in March, it’s still a great time to explore A Walking Curriculum!
The author, Professor Gillian Judson of Simon Fraser University, discovered in her work with students of all ages that the best place to get inspired was outdoors. Through her program imaginED, she strives to help her students become their creative best selves.
Judson wants her students not only to be outside, but to move outside and to move with purpose. She wants her students to notice their world: the natural, environmental, built, cultural, structural, accidental, designed, historic, indigenous world that they inhabit.
She wants them to develop a sense of place and feel at home in that place: knowing it, loving it, caring deeply about it — and perhaps one day protecting it.
So where does this begin? At first glance, you will notice how very thin and unimposing the Walking Curriculum text is. But from the moment you open it up, you will be impressed with how numerous, rich, and accessible the ideas are. The book can easily be read from cover to cover, or explored by hopping about
You will appreciate the framework, which begins with walks for preschoolers and kindergarteners, then proceeds to elementary and secondary students, and finally to the full spectrum of adult walkers.
As a teacher, parent, child-minder, group facilitator, professor, or even flaneur (an apparently aimless ambler), you can pick through the collection and find ways to engage your own mind or that of your charges whenever you head out.
The walks are sure to give focus to something to which you might previously have been completely oblivious:
- Engaging in a “What’s Up?” walk will surely bend your neck towards the skies, and you’ll see the birds just as they leave the tree tops.
- Try a “Lovely/unlovely” walk and create your own personal data bank of what you appreciate versus what ruins your day.
- Older students can appreciate their communities better when they take a “Systems” walk, focusing on understanding what structures make human society cooperate, or what our transportation priorities are, or who make good neighbours in the natural world.
- Language learners can develop their vocabulary by engaging in a “Riddle Walk”, discovering new and creative ways to describe their environment.
- University literature or philosophy students can study famous walkers like Thoreau and Rousseau and apply their introspective habits to develop their own theses arguments.
- Elderly friends can enjoy a good conversation while participating in a community “Walkability” study.
Heading out on your usual morning walk to school can be just a trip from A to B. But putting Judson’s ideas to work when you hit the pavement with your kids has the power to create a sense of wonder, spark the imagination, and develop a sense of curiosity: lifelong skills that will always serve us well.
I challenge you to take up Professor Judson’s invitation: read a bit, make a plan, and head out with A Walking Curriculum theme in mind. Enjoy the walk!
Postscript: Stay tuned to imaginEd by following @perfinker on Twitter, and join the 30 Day Walking Challenge later this spring!
#walkingcurriculum #getoutside