Charlotte Mason’s pedagogical approach: embedded outdoor and experiential learning

Drawing on the high value Charlotte Maria Shaw Mason placed upon nature, experience, and the outdoor life, this monograph explores the benefits outdoor learning can bring to teaching today. Illustrating the experiences of a sample school’s commitment to achieve this, the monograph considers how the outdoors can connect children to their learning using the immediate environment available to them. Mason’s philosophy recognised this and recommended children access fresh air daily and become intimate with the local flora and fauna. Today, not all settings have access to high-quality outdoor spaces, and constraints within the school system can be perceived as barriers to taking children out of doors. However, by championing the outdoors, motivating staff, and allocating time for professional development, challenges encountered can be successfully confronted as outlined in this booklet. Considering Mason’s philosophy of using the outdoors together with a modern approach based on experience, current writers, and a case study, this booklet provides ideas and practical advice for how outdoor learning could extend to any curriculum area