Working at High Trails, I quickly became a proponent of teaching outside. There are a lot of clear benefits. In California, class size is almost always 20 or more, but our groups are rarely more than 15, and we can spend quality time with each and every one of our students. Students that are squirming around in their seats all day at school have the opportunity to run around and release all that energy, and instead of using textbooks, all our activities are hands-on and experience based.

After teaching in the forest for almost two years, I’ll admit, I couldn’t imagine how a classroom could begin to compare. A visit to North Shore Elementary proved me wrong.

Watching Joy Wright teach 6th grade made me realize that what makes a good educational experience isn’t the environment you’re in. Instead it’s your teaching style.

Joy managed to take advantage of the classroom environment in a way that got all her students interested and involved. One thing I noticed immediately was the classroom culture she had developed. Without a specific set of rules that I could see, or any sort of negative enforcement, students behaved respectfully and immediately started work.

The day started as any normal school day might with the Pledge of Allegiance. However, in Joy’s classroom they followed this with a pledge “British Style.” British Style not only meant students were trying out their best British accents, it also meant they reviewed the behavioral standards that they were expected to uphold throughout the day. It was, I thought, a fantastic way to set a good tone.

As I read signs throughout the room, I realized that much of this classroom culture was based upon positive reinforcement. Desks are organized into groups of 4 or so, and each ‘table’ is named after some sort of natural disaster, tornados, volcanoes, floods, etc. Joy rewards them with points based on how many people are focused on their work the moment the morning begins.

I learned that at the end of each week the tables with the most points (first, second, and third) earn credits that eventually add up. Once a table reaches the goal of ten, (which takes about two months) they have a lunchtime party, which they can invite other classmates to. But that was just one incentive to help motivate them. Students can also earn tickets for completing tasks, like a challenge problem, redeeming the tickets later on for special privileges like sitting in a rolly chair. Sitting quietly in the back, I wished I could be involved so that I could earn tickets and a party. Some things are always exciting.

To one side of me was an overview of the week and a sign that said, “Caution – due dates are closer than they appear.” So true, it made me smile.

Having a classroom that students return to everyday throughout the school year allows you to teach them the importance of planning for the long term. This sign was just one of many decorations, many of which made me a bit jealous.

Sure I love my trees and plants, but that water cycle diagram was just so much clearer and more beautiful than the one I attempt to draw on my whiteboard each week. Others subtly reminded students of the attitude they’re expected to have. A sign in the other sixth grade classroom read, “There’s no such thing as failure if you try.” Underneath, a baby whale asks its mom, “but what if I try and don’t succeed?” and the mom answers, “that’s called learning.”

I found much enjoyment in the poster decorations of each classroom I visited, but even more to my amazement was the technology available. Having never seen a smart board before, I was pretty awestruck by how cool it was. Joy could write on it like a regular whiteboard, but could also open up the internet and order different types of pizza to help her students learn basic algebra.

Even though there were more students than I’m used to in a typical group, they were all able to participate because they had their own whiteboards to try out the math problems on, and they had a set of laptops to each use for research during science class. In comparison to my world of the forest, even their efficient pencil sharpener impressed me.

Along with all these visible tools, Joy also had a host of subtle management techniques up her sleeve. In a classroom where every day you have the same students, it is much easier to get to know them, and provide each student with what they need.

Everyone was always kept busy; if they finished the worksheet, they had a challenge problem or homework to start. Students had the opportunity to share with others at their table, but also with the class, and during transitions they knew when they needed to refocus because of simple verbal reminders, “we’ll be on task in one minute. ” In a classroom where students were coming and going for announcements, special needs, math help, language arts, things seemed remarkably smooth and organized.

Even though classrooms are quite different from our forest, (I’ll never have a smart board to teach with) much of what I observed at North Shore can be brought back to High Trails.

Setting expectations, providing positive reinforcement, using the surroundings to our advantage, pair shares, smooth transitions, these are all things we can still strive to establish in the mountains. None are new concepts, but watching a teacher who incorporates them all so well has inspired me to re-think how I teach my classes and how I can create a better experience for my students. It’s always wonderful to learn from other educators, no matter what sort of environment they might be in.

At High Trails Outdoor Science School, we literally force our instructors to write about elementary outdoor education, teaching outside, learning outside, our dirty classroom (the forest…gosh), environmental science, outdoor science, and all other tree hugging student and kid loving things that keep us engaged, passionate, driven, loving our job, digging our life, and spreading the word to anyone whose attention we can hold for long enough to actually make it through reading this entire sentence. Whew…. www.dirtyclassroom.com