While it was admittedly an unusual question, it got me thinking about the conditions where we learn best. And I’m not talking about the interior of the classroom — more about all of the other places where we can see great learning happening. Our classrooms are certainly key places to learn stuff, but we have the entire world at our disposal.
It wasn’t that long ago where the only place you could learn things FOR school was IN school — it’s where we kept all of the ‘learning stuff’.
We’ve come a long ways in recognizing that important learning happens in all kinds of places
Today, the variety of opportunities that we provide to our students in our education system is truly phenomenal. Look at some of the cool places other than a traditional classroom where Saanich students are learning amazing things:
Marine Academy – Parkland Secondary 
Institute for Global Solutions – Claremont Secondary 
Culinary Arts – Stelly’s Secondary 
Outdoor Classroom – Prospect Lake Elementary 
Outdoor Indigenous Classroom – Bayside Middle School 
John Dean Provincial Park 
Boulder’s Climbing Academy – Stelly’s Secondary
- Learning Together Outside of Class
As we continue to evolve in our thinking about what works best for students we already have definitive evidence that:
- Learning happens in many FORMS;
- Learning happens in many PLACES;
- Learning happens 24/7; and
- Learning happens best when it is NATURAL, contextually RELEVANT and PURPOSEFUL.
Our greatest learning happens when it makes sense to the learner and it can be contextualized to other life experiences.
That can’t always happen in a classroom.
So, don’t be surprised if in the future you see even more students in different places throughout our community learning in ways we haven’t even imagined yet.
The Power of Why 