ENVR 204 | Learning in Nearby Nature

Most of human learning occurs across the lifespan and takes place outside of school settings. Schools are but one part of a large educational infrastructure that includes informal learning environments such as families and friends, libraries, museums, the outdoors, workplaces, community-based organizations, the media, and the Internet. Informal learning environments are powerful sites for learning because they support rich social interactions and allow people to engage their own learning goals and generate their own highly personalized understandings. Nearby nature sites like parks, green spaces and gardens can support exploration, restoration, and civic action. Students in this course examine learning and teaching in informal learning environments, in particular in nearby nature settings. Students critically examine how their own experiences and beliefs impact their engagement in nearby nature settings and how they view and define "nature."