How do we organise learning?

Organising learning in relation to learning outside the classroom activities is fundamentally no different from organising any other kind of learning. It starts with your appreciation that the learning you want to enable may be better achieved outside the 'sort of' classroom normally used. That is an important step in every teacher’s thinking. You are asking yourself not only ‘What do I want my students to learn?’ but ‘Where is the best place for them to learn it?’

Schools and other establishments can support learning outside the classroom with appropriate policies, including those for risk management. Working within this framework you can then go on to plan and organise your activities. As this guidance underlines, making more use of learning outside the classroom is a recognised way to achieve better learning outcomes for young people in any phase and setting.

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As part of their work in geography and science, the pupils in one school pursued a series of investigations independently outside the classroom into questions which they had set themselves. These first-hand experiences of places could not have been provided within the classroom. The school had evidence which indicated that such activities had helped the pupils to attain above average standards in both subjects.

How far should you go?
Ofsted Report October 2008