Course overview

Outdoor learning and adventure education is on the rise in Europe and there is an emerging trend of integrating outdoor learning activities in formal education and bringing the outdoors inside. Not only does outdoor education help students become in tune with their surroundings and gain an appreciation for the natural world, it also plays an important part in bringing what they learn in the classroom into real life through application and observation and highly contribute to their personal and social development
This course is a special edition of our standard course on Outdoor Education that focuses on adventure education and trekking and it’s designed to provide teachers and other education staff with the skills and tools to lead a range of group exercises and challenges, problem solving games, experiential activities in the nature during a trekking.


​Learning outcomes

This course aims to provide participants with tools, ideas and best practices as well as practical experience and first-hand knowledge on how to foster outdoor learning in particular during a trekking.
The general aim of this course is to foster excellence and innovation in education by equipping teachers and education staff with the basic knowledge and skills to integrate outdoor learning and adventure education activities in their education programmes.
Thanks to this course the participants will:
  • Get acquainted the key elements and growing trends related to outdoor education and teaching outside the classroom;
  • Learn and discuss the principles of outdoor and adventure education;
  • Learn how to design, plan and deliver inspirational outdoor education activities;
  • Experience and practice environmental and outdoor education working methods and approaches especially during a trekking in the nature;
  • Get to know and experiment practical activities and group games that could be used and integrated in a real outdoor learning activity;
  • Learn how to use outdoor education for personal, social and relational development (e.g. self-confidence, team building, leadership…);
  • Exchange best practices and share experiences about outdoor education with teachers and education staff coming throughout Europe;
  • Network with individuals and organizations working in the education field in Europe through everyday cooperation and team-building activities.

Courses planned

2023
16/04/2023 - 22/04/2023 (Tenerife)
23/04/2023 - 29/04/2023 (Tenerife)
20/08/2023 - 26/08/2023  (Tenerife)
24/09/2023 - 30/09/2023 (Tenerife)
19/11/2023 - 25/11/2023 (Tenerife)

2024
25/02/2024 - 02/03/2024 (Tenerife)
26/05/2024 - 01/06/2024 (Tenerife)
22/09/2024 - 28/09/2024 (Tenerife)
24/11/2024 - 30/11/2024 (Tenerife)

If none of these dates suits you please mind that if there are at least 8 participants interested we may organize an additional session ad-hoc for your school.

Target audience

This course is addressed to teachers, trainers, educational counsellors, career counsellors, school psychologists, headmasters, school management and administrative staff working in primary schools, secondary schools, vocational schools, training centres, adult education schools, higher education, kindergarten and NGOs.

​This course is recommended to people with at least a basic trekking experience and fitness. Please be aware that during the week we will be trekking for over 35km (with 1000mt of elevation gain and 1000 mt of elevation loss).

Please mind that the course may include teachers from different school levels. 

Language

The course is held in English. For groups with at least 8 participants, we can organize an ad-hoc session in a different language. 
Please write an email to info@erasmuslearningacademy.eu to get more information about it.

Past participants say...

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"The outdoor education advanced trekking edition was an awesome combination of learning, team spirit, physical activity and enjoying the nature. I learned new ways of outdoor education, which I can bring to my own school. The course was well organized, and there was activity for the whole day. The course and housing location in the center of the city was great. Tenerife provided great landscapes for trekking."

- Maija Tusa, Finland

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"The training course "Outdoor learning and adventure education" was the best learning experience for me. The trainer Francesco was very organized and always prepared and he taught us a lot about how to organize outdoor activities for students. I learned a lot also from other teachers from all Europe and this is an invaluable exeperience for me. I had a great time in Teneriffe and I would recommend this training course to all teachers. "

- Jerneja Tratnik, Slovenia

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"Great course! I loved the trainers, the nature, the program and can strongly recommend it!"

- Heidi Merk, Germany

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Standard daily programme

Please find below the standard indicative daily programme that will be personalized on participants needs and professional profiles.
Our standard program comprises 7 days of course, of which the first one is dedicated to networking, preparation and cultural immersion and the last one to follow up, specific needs and cultural activities. Please note that we always do our best to accommodate the specific needs of our participants in a flexible way, including but not limited to budget restrictions and travel arrangement. Participants can choose to arrive 1 day before the start of the course and/or leave one day after the end of it in order to enjoy a deeper cultural immersion. Upon specific request we can organize longer or shorter versions of this course. Please mind that the course is meant for people with at least a basic trekking experience. During the whole week we will walk for about 35km (with about 1000 mt of elevation gain and 1000 mt of elevation loss). Additional trekking paths will be recommended for the participants that would like to trek as well in the afternoons.
Sunday
 -  Participants arrival
 -  Individual orientation and information about the venue and the city 
 -  Networking activities
 -  Walking tour in Puerto de la Cruz
Monday
 -  Course introduction
 -  Teambuilding activities
 -  Needs and expectations evaluation
 -  Key principles and benefits about outdoor education and outdoor learning
 -  Philosophy, theory, and practices of experiential education and environmental education
 - Trekking in Puerto de la Cruz outskirts
Tuesday
-  Trekking in La Caldera
-  Experimenting journey wilderness-based experiences, team building activities and orienteering exercises in the nature
-  Real cases experiences and reflections on current teaching practices and styles
Wednesday
-  Trekking in El Teide Park
-  Experiencing group exercises and challenges, problem solving games, experiential activities in the nature
Thursday
-  Trekking in Anaga mountains
-  How to design, plan and deliver outdoor education activities
-  Site & risk assessment and health & safety issues of taking students into nature
-  Practical work: designing and planning outdoor educational activities
Friday
-  Trekking in Puerto de la Cruz outskirts
-  Teaching in the nature
-  Practical work: delivering outdoor educational activities in the nature
-  Debriefing, feedback and best practice sharing about environmental education
-  Creating your own outdoor teaching style
​-  Farewell dinner
Saturday
-  Space for discussion of future cooperation and planning follow up activities
-  Course roundup and final evaluation
-  Validation of learning outcomes and certification ceremony
-  Additional training session tailored to specific needs (optional)
-  Optional cultural activities or additional guided visit in another major Tenerife city 
-  Participants departure
    Pre-registration
    ​Read here our privacy policy

Other relevant facts about our Outdoor Education courses

  • Methodology
  • Costs and Erasmus+ Funding
  • Certification and Validation of learning outcomes
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We tailor the working methods based upon participants’ needs, attitudes and professional profiles in order to ensure high productivity, effectiveness and transferability into practice.
The standard methodology is highly practical and participative with hands-on approach that comprises real-job examples, case studies examination and simulations. We embrace collaboratively working methods that foster mutual learning and cooperation among participants. Our focus is on learning outside the classroom in an interactive and international environment. The pedagogical methods that we use are based upon experiential training, group and peer activities, learning-by-doing and best practices’ exchange.
About half of the training course will take place in the nature giving the possibility to the participants to have a first-hand experience of outdoor learning and to practice together with fellow teachers and education staff and with the support of the trainers.
Morning Wrap-up and brief daily evaluations are foreseen to ensure quality of education and to adapt the learning programme to participants' needs better tailoring the education. Free time has been planned to give to the participants time to assimilate the concepts, develop further the group activities, ask trainers for further clarifications, etc. Networking and cooperation among participants will be supported and stimulated at each stage.
​We organize optional social, networking and cultural activities in order to give participants the opportunity to know Italy as well as to exchange best-practice and establish professional cooperation and links.
The training and staff team is multinational thus giving a full European dimension to the course.

Teachers, trainers, headmasters and any other staff of education organizations are eligible to receive an Erasmus+ grant covering all the costs to attend our training courses including travel, board and lodging, cultural activities and all fees. Our training courses are tailored to be fully funded by Erasmus+ and we offer different options to ensure the best comfort and quality at a price that is within the Erasmus+ grant.
We are proud to tailor our training courses to both participants' learning and practical needs and to ease your participation at our training courses, we will gladly take care of all the practical arrangements. If you prefer, you can take care of some of the practical arrangements by yourself (e.g. meals, local transport...), though we will manage the organization of your accommodation in order to ensure optimal logistic organization, safety and time-efficiency. We always provide board and lodging in the same hotel in which we organize the course  thus ensuring optimal comfort and potential of networking with the fellow participants. Read more about  how we take care of your subsistence and practical arrangements. 
The most common option that we offer to schools and organisations in 2023 costs 1280 EUR in Bologna, 1220 EUR in Tenerife and 1130 EUR in Palermo and includes course fee, certification and support fee, accommodation in single room, 2 coffee breaks per day, walking tour in the venue’s city, a sum-up dissemination video. This standard option in Bologna and Tenerife includes all meals from Sunday lunch to Saturday lunch, while in Palermo includes ​all breakfasts and three networking meals in local restaurants. For schools sending 2 or more participants we can offer accommodation in double rooms and we can provide as well accommodation for people or relatives accompanying the participants.
When attending our courses, we recommend you to request 9 days of individual support for your subsistence costs, 7 days for the course plus 2 additional days for the travel. In this way you can have more flexibility in planning your stay and you can enjoy all the cultural activities planned from the first to the last day of course. You can read here more about the Erasmus+ funding. Shall you have need any help with filling the budget during the application stage or have any problem with your grant please let us know and we will see how to support you.
At the end of the course, each participant will be awarded a certificate of attendance, together - if requested - with the Europass Mobility Certificate. The certificate are in line with the Erasmus Quality Standards and include a short description of the course and its learning outcomes, dates, venues, the name of the course provider and the course instructor(s).
We support the participants in every step of certification and validation of learning outcomes with specific focus on European instruments and Erasmus plus requirements such as staff mobility/learning agreement, quality commitment and Europass mobility certificate.
We experienced that schools and education organizations may require additional documents to certify the competences learned or the presence in the training course. Upon request we can provide additional certification and reporting documents as well as we provide photos of the training course and a sum-up video that can be used for visibility and dissemination purposes.

Videos and photos of previous Outdoor Education courses

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