DR KAREN MALONE
Asia-Pacific Director, UNESCO Growing Up in Cities
Professor of Social Sciences in the Faculty of Education
University of Wollongong

EVERY EXPERIENCE MATTERS - LEARNING OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM

Using substantiated evidence based research on the role of Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) for children's whole development from birth to eighteen years, Karen discusses the benefits and impacts of LOtC, providing evidence that "every experience matters" and can contribute to children's whole development and to the achievement of 5 key outcomes - children's learning; children's social interactions; children's emotional well-being; children's physical experiences; and children's responses and behaviour change.

The session draws on research and provides evidence that children engaged in LOtC achieve higher scores in class tests, have greater levels of physical fitness and motor skill development, increased confidence and self-esteem, show leadership qualitities, are socially competent and more environmentally responsible.

The review confirms that, when children experience the world through explorative play and experiential learning activities in school grounds, wilderness camps, etc. their lives can be positively changed. All these experiences can lay the foundation for shaping a child's growing knowledge, confidence and identity.

The evidence-based review supports the argument that "Every Experience Matters" for children and young people. Experiences outside the formal classroom help provide the blueprint on which young people continue to build throughout their shcooling. Evidence now exists that these experiences will have significant impact on the child's whole development.

Additionally, in response to litigation concerns over managing 'risk', some schools are limiting out of school activities, therefore eliminating potentially rich learning experiences for children. This is in light of current childhood research that states by not allowing children to engage in independent mobility and environmental learning, teachers and parents are denying children the opportnity to develop the skills and resilience that they need to be able to be safe and manage complex environments. There are indications that this will have long-term implications for children's future development, health and well-being.

Problem-based learning, real world learning, experiencial learning - all these learning models emphasise children's problem solving and critical skills using real life problems and experiences beyong the classroom wallls.

Karen will share results that will encourage us to bring the world into the classroom and the classroom into the world.

Dr Karen Malone is Professor of Social Sciences in the Faculty of Education at University of Wollongong.

She is also Asia-Pacific Director of the global UNESCO-MOST Growing Up In Cities (GUIC) project that focuses on children and youth researching their quality of life.

Dr Malone is also an external consultant to UNICEF’s Child-Friendly Cities (CFC) initiative and is currently chairing the committee developing a CFC network in the Asia-Pacific region.

In the past ten year Dr Malone has attracted over 1.4 million dollars in research grants, awards and consultancies and has published 5 books, 14 book chapters and over 40 refereed publications focusing on children’s participation, children and youth environments, environmental education and sustainable development, new learning, urbanisation and globalisation, and participatory research methodologies.

Her most current publication is the book Childspace an edited collection of anthropological accounts of children growing up in different cultural spaces across the globe.

Her most recent research grants are the Australian Financial Markets Foundation for Childrenfunded project Aboriginal children’s health and environment project and a Smith Family project: How child friendly is my community?