Announcements

Outdoor Learning Survey

In recent years there has been growing interest in outdoor learning environments at all grade levels. This survey, designed for PreK-12 teachers across the United States, will help us identify attitudes, practices, and barriers relating to teaching outside. The information gathered through this survey will help inform design best practices as well as identify whether attitudes, practices, and barriers differ depending on type of school, location and climate. The opinions of all teachers are important. You are invited to participate, regardless of your experience or attitudes about teaching outdoors. This survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

We ask for your response by November 21^st, 2024.

https://forms.gle/otmnqk6YeAeZND7z9

We need your help! We want to hear from as many teachers as possible. Please share this with as many teachers in your network as you feel comfortable with.

Should you have any further questions, you may contact the lead researcher, Professor Claire Latané at calatane@cpp.edu and reference IRB-24-141.

In the News

Stanford, Libby. "Making the Case for Schools That Don't Look Like Prisons." Education Week. March 13, 2023.

Stanford, Libby and Laura Baker. "5 Tips for Designing School Spaces That Support Mental Health." Education Week. April 6, 2023.

Penn State Stuckeman Lecture Series. "Claire Latané: A Collaborative Model for Designing with Communities." January 18, 2023.

CHPS Webinar. "Schools That Heal: Design with Mental Health in Mind." February 17, 2022.

The Landscape Architecture Podcast, “Schools That Heal.” Claire Latané is interviewed by Joanna Karaman. September 13, 2021.
Latané, Claire. “What if the Elephant IS the Room? School Design for Public Health, Equity, and Climate Resilience.”In Ten Strands. July 21, 2021. The blog of non-profit Ten Strands: Connecting Education, Environment, and Community.
Latané, Claire. “Schools Should Be Designed to Address Students’ Trauma.”In The Progressive Magazine. July 21, 2021.
Latané, Claire. “Let’s Keep Teaching Outdoors: Disease prevention is just one of many reasons to educate kids outdoors.”In The Progressive Magazine. April 2021.
Fernandes, Deepa. “Without Walls: How Some LA and OC Schools Are Embracing Outdoor Learning.”On KQED, The California Report Magazine. April 19, 2021.
“Supporting Student Resilience by Using Outdoor Spaces for Learning and Play.”California Department of Education Using Outdoor Spaces to Improve Students’ Health and Well-being Webinar Series. April 15, 2021.
“Schools That Heal: Design with Mental Health in Mind.”In Crafting Sustainable K12 Policy & Practice in Response to COVID-19, a National Council on School Facilities and Cooperative Strategies Webinar Series. April 12, 2021.
Schuler, Timothy. “School in Season: The Movement for Well-Designed Outdoor Classrooms Gets A Push from the Pandemic.”In Landscape Architecture Magazine. November 2020.
“Schools That Heal: Design with Mental Health in Mind.”National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative’s Community of Practice for Early Adopter Schools and Districts webinar series. October 27, 2020.
Smith, Carl. 2020. “Will the Outdoors Become the New Classroom of the COVID Era.”In August 28, 2020.
Berg, Nate. 2020. “The quest to reopen schools by moving classes outside.”In Fast Company. July 25, 2020.
Margolies, Jane. 2019. “The Schoolyard Is Sick.”In Landscape Architecture Magazine. June 2019.
Latané, Claire. 2017. “Love and Fear in Los Angeles.” In The Dirt.