Outdoor learning for teachers: active pedagogy beyond the classroom
Take your lessons outside: an Erasmus+ week in Bordeaux to design active learning in parks, urban spaces and heritage sites, with the safety and organisation to make it work.
Plan your Erasmus mobilityInnovative pedagogy course for teachers · Part of our Erasmus+ teacher training courses in Bordeaux
Some of the deepest learning happens when students leave their chairs. Movement, real objects and open space raise motivation and engagement in ways a classroom rarely can, yet many teachers hesitate: how do you keep the curriculum, the group and the safety rules together once you step outside?
This Erasmus+ course in Bordeaux answers exactly that. Through practical workshops held outdoors, in a park, an urban space and a heritage site, you will experience outdoor learning as your students would, then design your own sequence, subject objectives included, with the organisation and risk management your school will need to approve it.
Why outdoor learning for teachers?
- Motivation and engagement: active learning outdoors has measurable cognitive and motivational benefits for students of all ages.
- Every environment is a resource: a park, a street or a heritage site can carry disciplinary objectives as well as any textbook.
- Active pedagogy made concrete: outdoor settings naturally push students to explore, cooperate and solve real problems.
- Inclusion and sustainability: outdoor learning supports an inclusive, sustainable approach to education, and connects students to their environment.
- A framework you can defend: safety, regulation and logistics are part of the training, not an afterthought.
Outdoor and environment-based approaches are actively encouraged at European level, notably through the European Education for Climate Coalition, which supports teaching that connects learners with their surroundings.
What you will learn in this outdoor learning course
What you will be able to do after this course
Explore the course in detail
- Understand the pedagogical foundations of teaching outdoors.
- Explore the benefits of active learning on student motivation and engagement.
- Design teaching activities that use the outdoor environment as learning material.
- Integrate outdoor teaching into an inclusive and sustainable approach.
You cannot learn outdoor teaching indoors. The week is built around practical workshops held outside, so you experience each method as a learner before analysing it as a teacher.
- Practical workshops in the open air.
- Experimentation in different environments: a park, an urban space, a heritage site.
- Structured moments of reflection and pedagogical analysis.
- Progressive design of your own outdoor teaching project.
- Continuous formative feedback throughout the week.
This course is designed for teachers of any subject and any level who want to bring active learning outside the classroom, whether they are taking their very first steps outdoors or structuring an existing practice.
It also welcomes trainers, educators, headteachers, school leaders and administrative staff involved in planning or approving outdoor activities. A minimum A2 level is required, the course can be delivered in the language of your choice, and groups of 10 to 16 mix subjects and countries.
| Day | Theme |
|---|---|
| Monday | Foundations of active learning. Morning: pedagogical principles of outdoor teaching, cognitive and motivational benefits. Afternoon: first outdoor activity and reflective analysis. |
| Tuesday | Designing outdoor activities. Morning: adapting subject objectives to an outdoor context. Afternoon: practical workshop, designing your own outdoor activity. |
| Wednesday | Environment and interdisciplinarity. Morning: using natural and urban environments as teaching resources. Afternoon: field experimentation and pedagogical adjustment. |
| Thursday | Safety and organisation. Morning: regulatory framework, risk management and logistics. Afternoon: simulated implementation of an outdoor session. |
| Friday | Integration and transfer. Morning: finalising your personal outdoor teaching project. Afternoon: project presentations, action plan and Europass certification. |
As a host organisation for Erasmus+ teacher training in Bordeaux, we support you at every step of your mobility.
Before your mobility
- Needs-analysis questionnaire and review of your teaching context
- Identification of the constraints and opportunities of your school environment
- Preparatory resources on active learning and outdoor education
- Learning Agreement, Quality Commitment and Erasmus+ KA1 application support
After your mobility
- Final course evaluation and support for your Erasmus+ reporting
- Certificate of attendance and Europass Mobility document
- Access to shared teaching resources
- A transferable outdoor learning sequence template for your own school
Few cities offer such a compact outdoor classroom: riverbanks, public gardens, UNESCO-listed streets and squares, all within walking distance of the training venue.
- Three environments in one city: parks, urban spaces and heritage sites, the exact settings you will practise in.
- European perspective: teachers from across Europe create an international learning environment during your Erasmus+ mobility.
- Inspiring setting: a UNESCO World Heritage city that turns every walk into teaching material.
- Accessibility: high-speed rail and an international airport make Bordeaux easy to reach.
Target audience
Whatever your subject, this outdoor learning for teachers course is aimed at teachers, trainers, educators, counsellors (educational and career), school psychologists, headteachers, school leaders and administrative staff. Participants teach across primary, secondary, vocational and adult education, with a minimum group of 10 and a maximum of 16 participants.
Erasmus+ funding: how it works
Teachers, trainers, headteachers, school leaders and other education staff can apply for an Erasmus+ KA1 grant, so your institution may cover travel, board and lodging, cultural activities and the fees of this outdoor learning course through the grant. This course is part of our Erasmus teacher training courses in Bordeaux.
The course is priced to fit within the Erasmus+ grant, with a range of options so you can balance comfort and quality while staying within it.
Erasmus+ quality standards
As a host organisation based in Bordeaux (OID E10260484), we comply with the Erasmus+ quality standards for course providers: transparent objectives and learning outcomes, needs analysis before the course, active and participative methodology, and full documentation for your national agency.
What is included in the course
Official Erasmus+ validation
To ensure the recognition of your outdoor learning course, we provide all required European certification and Erasmus+ compliance documentation:
- ✓ Europass Mobility: Official recognition of your professional development and teaching skills.
- ✓ Quality Commitment: Full compliance with Erasmus+ quality standards.
- ✓ Final Certification: Official certificate of attendance with training hours.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, this course is fully eligible for Erasmus+ KA1 mobility funding, which can cover travel, accommodation and the course fees depending on your project.
No. During the course you learn to adapt the objectives of any subject to an outdoor context, from sciences and mathematics to languages and history, in natural, urban or heritage environments.
A full day is dedicated to the regulatory framework, risk management and the practical organisation of outdoor sessions, so you return with clear procedures your school can approve.
One-week sessions run monthly, extendable up to four weeks, with 20 hours per week from Monday to Friday. You receive a certificate of attendance and a Europass Mobility document, with full Erasmus+ compliance documentation.
You may also be interested in
Explore the other courses of our innovative pedagogy category:
- Active and creative teaching methods
- Neuroscience and educational practice
- Teaching beyond the classroom
Erasmus+ teacher mobility in Bordeaux
Take your teaching outside in Bordeaux
Join this outdoor learning for teachers course with Erasmus+ and design active lessons your students will remember, in parks, streets and heritage sites, with the organisation to make them safe.
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