“To See the World and Get Fresh Air”: A Case Study of Walking Curriculum in First Grade

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable Session 3:05 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Experiential Learning With/in the Natural World: (Re)Shaping the Boundaries of Possibility (Table 5)

Abstract

Walking curriculum is a pedagogical practice in P-12 education wherein teachers take students out of the classroom on a walk with a curricular focus. While there are anecdotal accounts of teachers using walking curriculum, there are no empirical studies that center the perspectives and experiences of students and their caregivers. Our current case study involved a first-grade teacher and her students (N = 10) in the southeast United States who go on walks with a curricular focus every morning throughout the school year, what Morrison (2018) might consider everyday environmental education. Using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2013; 2021), we developed five themes based on interviews and observations with students, and four themes based on interviews with caregivers.

Authors

• Scott Morrison, Elon University

• Alice Rickards, Elon University