Maths in the outdoor classroom

Juliet Robertson explains how taking maths outside can bring the subject to life for learners and their teacher alike…

Maths is a lens for viewing and understanding the world. It is a system that can help us appreciate both the simplicity and complexity of nature, the practical aspects of design, and how organisations are made up. For example, mathematics enables us to work out the most efficient flow of people through an airport; while the chaos theory and the butterfly effect illustrate the potential impact of our actions and how we all have a part to play in living sustainably on our planet.

That is all very well and good, but as a practitioner I used to struggle with helping my students make sense of maths. I dreaded having to teach place value, fractions and decimals. I often felt inadequate as a teacher and nervously waited for my head teacher and parents to discover my incompetence.

Focusing on taking maths outside has shifted my own lens. Realising the potential of any space to investigate, explore and enjoy learning mathematical concepts has helped me enormously. In fact, it has been one of the biggest confidence boosters within my professional experience, and my teaching practice has changed beyond recognition in the past six years.

Natural developments

There are several initial challenges with taking maths outside. The first is realising what can be taught out there.

Initially I relied heavily on run around games, such as relay races to collect number cards and order them correctly. These would work equally well in a gym hall so it meant I needed to worry less about alternative activities, especially in really wintry weather. The downside is that you still feel a slight disconnection from the real world.

Introducing natural materials has improved this considerably. Somehow, using pinecones, sticks and stones does not feel quite right inside. They tend to be messy or scratch indoor surfaces. So choosing these as alternatives to Unifix cubes and other standard counting materials naturally encourages me to step outside.

The children have to engage in a higher level of thinking with natural materials. If you ask a Y1 class to make a metre using twigs or shells, each pair of children will come up with a different answer. Lots of mathematical discussion happens as the learners work out why this is so and whether it is possible for everyone to reach the same conclusion. In terms of assessing the learning, I can see who knows whether to place the materials all touching each other.

I can step back and observe the class working. By asking children to swap materials, e.g. from stones to twigs, I can see if the concepts and skills acquired can be transferred.

Very often the practical nature of the tasks changes perceptions children have of themselves and each other. The learning feels more shared. I frequently see less able youngsters have a spark of an idea. For example, when investigating the number of right angles it is possible to make with twelve straight sticks, one Y2 child eventually noticed the pattern of lines on her tartan jacket. Within minutes, her group had created a shape with 144 right angles. I have experienced many such ‘light bulb’ moments when children work with natural materials outside. These were definitely more rare when my classes were stuck inside. Best of all, natural materials raise children’s confidence levels and the pace of a lesson. If a child decides a stick is in the wrong place, there is no rubbing out required. The stick is moved and there are no traces. Suddenly errors are no longer mere mistakes, but part of the process of trial and investigation necessary to deepen understanding.

Active learning

It is very easy to go outside and brainstorm the mathematical possibilities. The trick is being able to translate these into engaging activities for children that have relevance to their lives. For example, going for a penny walk is a useful introduction to probability – and also helps children get to know the local area. Every time a junction is reached, a coin is flipped. If it lands heads up, the group turns right. If it’s tails, the group walks left. Maps can be used to plot the walk, and back in the class, children can use Google Earth to trace their journey from a bird’s eye view. It can also be fun working out what would happen if only head or only tails were flipped, or other simple combinations.

Think about maths that can be developed through children’s interests and play. Many KS2 children enjoy building dens from tarps, nets and other materials. This is an ideal opportunity to challenge them to find out which den structure is the strongest, how they know this, and whether it is connected to the number and type of angles created by the materials used. I have lots of metre-long sticks with holes drilled in either end to create 3D shape dens such as cuboids and prisms.

I have seen several schools create open-ended playground markings, which can be used for maths as well as play. Always consider how they could be used by a large class outside. Start with chalk outlines and experiment with different sizes and locations within a playground. Examples include: 10 x 10 blank grids or dots; a large compass that shows every degree as well naming the directions; a giant clock; and a variety of blank tracks or hopscotch grids.

When making changes to any outdoor space, consider the mathematical opportunities that can be enhanced. Think about the arrangement of paving slabs and tiles. Grow plants that illustrate the Fibonacci sequence and in a variety of arrays and mathematical patterns. Use networks of paths creatively – they can be labyrinths and mazes. Add sundials and kinetic sculptures.

Finally, I find the best approach to maths outside is being up for trying new ideas and activities. After all, experiments never fail, they just sometimes produce a different outcome from what was expected – which is all part of the learning process.

Juliet writes a popular, award-winning blog, I’m a teacher, get me OUTSIDE here! which has many ideas about experimenting with maths outside. creativestarlearning.co.uk