Time: 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., PT
Format: In person
Audience: Suitable for field educators, curriculum designers, and anyone who delivers outdoor lesson plans to students, grades 3rd - 12th. Particularly suitable for outdoor school staff and any educators working with 5th -6th graders that attend outdoor school.
Description: Science standards aren’t just constraints—they’re launchpads for creative, engaging outdoor learning. Join us to discover how (Next Generation Science Standards) NGSS-aligned objectives can sharpen your lesson focus and improve the delivery strategies you’ll apply in the field.
We’ll shift the paradigm from instructor-led teaching to student-driven exploration, using visible, measurable objectives that invite curiosity and active participation. Through practical techniques and collaborative redesign, you’ll learn how to create meaningful challenges that inspire accomplishment for both students and educators.
Bring a written outdoor lesson to the workshop and leave with actionable improvements.
What You’ll Gain:
- Strategies to make students active participants in rigorous outdoor learning.
- Practical tweaks and a structured protocol to elevate an existing lesson for maximum engagement and achievement.
- A clear, objective-based framework for ongoing self-evaluation and growth.
- Practice writing student-centered objectives that are visible, measurable, and action-focused.
Experience using the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Bloom’s Taxonomy to design lessons that challenge and inspire.
Considerations: This workshop includes some outside activities in varying weather conditions
Stipend: A $100 stipend is available from OSU Extension Service Outdoor School to support the attendance of eligible outdoor school educators who are not being compensated by their employer for the time they attend the workshop. Please contact lauren.rodgers@oregonstate.edu with questions about stipend eligibility.
Brought to you by: OSU Extension Service Outdoor School Program, U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management, Medford Office, and Oregon Natural Resources Education Program (ONREP)
Registration required and will close approximately 1 week prior to the workshop or when full. Offered at no cost to Oregon Educators. PDUs available. Substitute reimbursement available on teacher workdays.