E3 (Explore, Enrich, Excite) Resource Package – The use of Nearpod with SLS for Science Outdoor Authentic Learning

Students are active learners who should explore the natural environment around them, so as to enrich their learning. Thus, we aim to make learning authentic and joyful for students via the different Science outdoor activities and the unified S.E.A.L (Scientist, Explorer, Activist, and Learner) Values System so that students can acquire the enduring understanding of the topics taught. As educators, we strongly feel that the most important role of Outdoor Learning is in “direct experience with concrete phenomena and materials” (Orian, 1993). Rather than applying lower order learning strategies such as memorization, experiential learning leads to higher cognitive strategies that allow students to synthesize new knowledge from evidences they gathered. All of these is done with the creative fusion of both Nearpod and SLS platforms. With this Package, teachers can effectively engage students during field trips and Science outdoor lessons. The materials also facilitated self-directed learning by students, as they were able to observe their surroundings and collect data, they therefore have a chance to be young scientists and derive conclusions through the scaffolds afforded by technologies such as the Nearpod-SLS platform. Collaborative learning is also evident as students work in groups to put to practice their critical and inventive thinking as they synthesise their own knowledge with through the interaction with the real environment and their iPads. They further their critical thinking as they peer critiqued their classmates’ work via the use of the various Nearpod tools as a form of peer assessment and feedback. Findings have shown that students learnt the topics better and that they enjoyed the usage of the Nearpod-SLS platform, resulting in improvement of academic results. Additional benefits include a shift in teachers’ mindset to provide for more learner ownership and more authentic lesson deliveries that takes into consideration students’ learning needs. These technologies meant a total rethink in our pedagogical approach towards designing ‘field-based’ science activities. By infusing relevant technological learning platforms like Nearpod & SLS, it has certainly inspired and captured the imagination of our digital learners.