The University of East Anglia offer their Primary Education PGCE students the opportunity to take part in Outdoor Education Week learning about how to use outdoor environments to support learning. Hosted in early May, eighteen students visited the farm to find out more about all the learning opportunities linked to food, farming and the natural environment.
The students spent the day exploring how food, farming and the natural environment can be linked to the Primary Curriculum through hands on activities which could be run on farm or in-school. Students got immersed in a range of activities from butter making, investigating different sheep breeds, using themed books as a ‘hook’ to delve deeper into issues around farming and food production.
David Jones, Farm Manager, hosted a farm tour for the group and it was great to hear about some of the activities he has carried out with schools. It was really interesting to learn more about how he adapts his routes depending on the group visiting and also the weather! David really demonstrated the breadth of learning that is available on farms and the value of providing real life contexts for learning.
The lecturer leading the visit commented that ‘our trainee teachers had the opportunity to discover how food and farming can be used to develop understanding in many areas of the curriculum (particularly Maths, Science, Geography, DT, PSHE, Sustainability). Fiona from LEAF Education and David Jones from Morley Farms, built their subject knowledge and expertise and, most importantly, provided lots of examples of practical activities and resources which can enrich primary classroom learning. Experiential, relevant, essential learning for the next generation. The perfect end to a week exploring the benefits of outdoor learning in a range of settings.
