Environmental Education Alliance of Georgia
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      • P WET Climate Resilience pdf
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  • Our Story
    • About EEA
      • About Env Ed
      • About Env Stewardship
      • About Env Justice
      • About Our Organizational Members
      • About Our History
  • Our Team
  • Our Resources
    • Wildlife Viewing Grant
    • Earth Month Activities
    • Garden-based Learning
    • EcoEngineering Challenges
    • Participatory (Citizen) Science
    • Problem-Based Learning
    • Place-Based Learning
    • Project-Based Learning
    • Teaching about Climate Change
      • P WET Climate Resilience pdf
    • SAGES Project
    • Virtual EE Resources
    • Evaluation and Assessment
  • Our Work
    • Our Conferences
      • EEA Annual Conference
      • Outdoor Learning Symposium
      • SEEA Conference
      • NAAEE Conference
    • Professional Learning
    • ATEEG
    • CoOL
      • CoOL RESEARCH on Outdoor Learning
        • Stanford Key Findings on EE
        • Frontiers Special Edition
      • CoOL AWARDS & GRANTS
      • CoOL ToolKit ToC
      • CoOL Toolkit Survey
      • CoOL Toolkit Map
      • CoOL Toolkit Audits
      • CoOL Toolkit SPACES
      • CoOL Toolkit METHODS
      • CoOL Toolkit SUSTAIN
      • CoOL Toolkit COVID
    • EEinGeorgia.org
      • EEinGeorgia
    • Monarchs Across GA
      • MAG Awards
      • Mexico Book Project
      • Pollinator Habitats
        • Pollinator Habitat Grants
        • Pollinator Habitat Certification
      • MAG Resources
        • Buy Milkweed
      • Symbolic Migration
      • MAG Volunteers
      • MAG Events
      • Mapping Milkweeds for Monarchs in GA
    • EEA Memorial Forest
    • Awards and Grants
  • Our Initiatives
    • CEO Roundtable
    • EE Landscape Analysis
    • Guidelines for Excellence in EE
      • Outdoor Learning Collaboratory
    • Inclusive EE & Outdoor Learning
    • EE and Higher Ed
    • GOLD Grant Application Preview
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      • The Dragonfly Quarterly Newsletter
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COUNCIL OF OUTDOOR LEARNING
CoOL Toolkit

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The CoOL Toolkit


​for Outdoor Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

Creating Effective Outdoor Learning Spaces

Georgia is home to more Schoolyard Wildlife Habitats than any other state in the country; our State Board of Education has awarded more grants for outdoor learning spaces than any other; and an extensive evaluation of 1,000 outdoor learning spaces on school grounds in 54 GA counties led to the publication of a guide to Best Management Practices for Landscape Architects, Facilities Managers, Educators  and Administrators. Click below to learn more about key strategies and proven approaches for designing and installing outdoor learning spaces on school campuses. 
Designing and Creating Outdoor Learning Spaces: A Best Practices Guide

CoOL Toolkit for Outdoor Learning
Click the section headings below, and then click the images inside each to learn more

Introduction
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EEA's Council of Outdoor Learning has created the "CoOL Toolkit for Outdoor Learning" to make it easier for schools to extend learning beyond the classroom walls. From creating schoolyard learning stations to selecting lessons and managing students outdoors, the toolkit covers much of the information a school will need to implement outdoor learning effectively.

Providing an authentic, real-world context for learning is always valuable but during a pandemic, outdoor learning can be even more important as an instructional strategy that prioritizes the health and safety of students.
Many school districts welcomed students back to the classroom by eliminating ​labs and investigations. The lack of space available for hands-on activities in light of COVID-19 distancing guidelines, which also necessitate that students face the same direction and require disinfection of surfaces and shared materials, make it too difficult to engage students in science and engineering practices in crowded classrooms. Outdoor learning, on the other hand, is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because of better air circulation and more space to keep children appropriately distanced.  Engaging students in the science and engineering practices as they make sense of phenomena in the schoolyard is an approach that increases engagement and deepens understanding. It also centers equity by reducing dependence on previous knowledge for academic success. But science is not the only subject well-suited to outdoor learning.  Language arts, math, social studies, art, and PE can also be effectively taught outside ─ especially during a pandemic. 

And outdoor learning does not require expensive or complicated infrastructure. Weather instruments hanging on a prefabricated section of fence, "bucket seats" full of supplies for investigations, part of an asphalt parking lot and packs of colored chalk for drawing systems models, gardens that students design and plant based on their research, bird feeders that enable students to collect data for citizen science projects, event tents with folding tables to use as work surfaces... all of these low-cost, temporary improvements make effective outdoor learning stations. 

Preparing teachers for successful experiences with outdoor learning requires involving them in planning, providing appropriate professional development, and offering whatever support may be needed. Many nature centers and other local environmental education (EE) providers are idled or underutilized during the pandemic, due to restrictions on school field trips. This provides an opportunity for school districts to partner with EE providers for help planning and creating outdoor learning spaces, training and mentoring teachers, assisting with the logistics of managing students outdoors, or providing virtual tours and live, remote "ask a scientist" sessions to help students make sense of the phenomena they observe and investigate outdoors.

Teachers and school administrators are encouraged to explore this toolkit to glean ideas for outdoor learning, and to seek the assistance of an EE provider to assist in implementation. Check out www.EEinGeorgia.org to find a local EE provider or contact the Environmental Education Alliance for more information. 
Planning
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CoOL Toolkit: PLAN Part 1 - Ask & Survey
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CoOL Toolkit: PLAN Part 2 - Make a Map
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CoOL Toolkit: PLAN Part 3 - Identify Assets and Gaps
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CoOL Toolkit: PLAN Part 4 - Consult Experts
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CoOL Toolkit : PLAN Part 5 - Master Plan
SPACES
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CoOL Toolkit: SPACES
METHODS & MODELS
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CoOL Toolkit METHODS & MODELS
CONTENT
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CoOLToolkit: CONTENT
SUSTAINABILITY
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CoOL Toolkit: SUSTAINABILITY
Outdoor Learning AS A STRATEGY FOR SCHOOLS DURING THE covid-19 PANdemic
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Executive Summary
eea_exec_summary_on_outdoor_learning_during_epidemic_and__beyond__1_.docx
File Size: 907 kb
File Type: docx
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The Value of Outdoor Learning during the PANdemic​
eea_statement_on_the_role_of_outdoor_learning_in_safe_reopening_of_schools__1_.docx
File Size: 3064 kb
File Type: docx
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GREEn Schoolyards Report
cnn_gsy_report2016_final.pdf
File Size: 6656 kb
File Type: pdf
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FROM EEA to EE PRoviders
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NWF / NAAEE Guide to Advocating for outdoor learning
outdoor_classroom_policy_guide_final_2__1_.pdf
File Size: 2298 kb
File Type: pdf
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ARTICLES & REsources ABOUT OUTDOOR LEARNING AND COVID-19
articles_about_the_value_of_outdoor_learning_during_the_epidemic.docx
File Size: 339 kb
File Type: docx
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Outdoor Learning During COVID-19
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The Council of Outdoor Learning (CoOL) is an EEA initiative focusing on the design, development, use, and sustainability of outdoor learning environments on school campuses. CoOL provides resources for those who want to create outdoor classrooms or learning stations, hosts an annual symposium to share resources and strategies for teaching outdoors, curates a collection of outdoor learning activities that are integrated with state standards, and provides professional development workshops and webinars for teachers and non-formal educators.

Contact Us
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Environmental Education Alliance, Inc.  
P.O. Box 801066 | Acworth, GA 30101


EEA does not does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in its program , activities, or employment. For more information on EEA's non-discrimination commitment click here .
​Grievance officer may be contacted at info@eealliance.org


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  • Our Story
    • About EEA
      • About Env Ed
      • About Env Stewardship
      • About Env Justice
      • About Our Organizational Members
      • About Our History
  • Our Team
  • Our Resources
    • Wildlife Viewing Grant
    • Earth Month Activities
    • Garden-based Learning
    • EcoEngineering Challenges
    • Participatory (Citizen) Science
    • Problem-Based Learning
    • Place-Based Learning
    • Project-Based Learning
    • Teaching about Climate Change
      • P WET Climate Resilience pdf
    • SAGES Project
    • Virtual EE Resources
    • Evaluation and Assessment
  • Our Work
    • Our Conferences
      • EEA Annual Conference
      • Outdoor Learning Symposium
      • SEEA Conference
      • NAAEE Conference
    • Professional Learning
    • ATEEG
    • CoOL
      • CoOL RESEARCH on Outdoor Learning
        • Stanford Key Findings on EE
        • Frontiers Special Edition
      • CoOL AWARDS & GRANTS
      • CoOL ToolKit ToC
      • CoOL Toolkit Survey
      • CoOL Toolkit Map
      • CoOL Toolkit Audits
      • CoOL Toolkit SPACES
      • CoOL Toolkit METHODS
      • CoOL Toolkit SUSTAIN
      • CoOL Toolkit COVID
    • EEinGeorgia.org
      • EEinGeorgia
    • Monarchs Across GA
      • MAG Awards
      • Mexico Book Project
      • Pollinator Habitats
        • Pollinator Habitat Grants
        • Pollinator Habitat Certification
      • MAG Resources
        • Buy Milkweed
      • Symbolic Migration
      • MAG Volunteers
      • MAG Events
      • Mapping Milkweeds for Monarchs in GA
    • EEA Memorial Forest
    • Awards and Grants
  • Our Initiatives
    • CEO Roundtable
    • EE Landscape Analysis
    • Guidelines for Excellence in EE
      • Outdoor Learning Collaboratory
    • Inclusive EE & Outdoor Learning
    • EE and Higher Ed
    • GOLD Grant Application Preview
  • Our News
    • EEA News
      • The Dragonfly Quarterly Newsletter
      • EEA E-News
    • Book Club
    • EEA Issues
      • EE Legislation
      • SCORP
      • Teaching During Covid-19
  • Our Impact
    • Our Finances
  • JOIN or GIVE
    • Make a Donation
    • Become a Member
    • Volunteer
  • Member Portal
    • My Account
    • Field Excursions
  • Contact Us
  • Outdoor Learning Store
  • New Page