Multidisciplinary Learning Activities Outdoors

The course has a contemporary approach to new learning scenarios, through multi and interdisciplinary learning activities outside the school and taking advantage of the multiple possibilities that nature offers us.
The accomplishment of activities in the nature propitiates to students the concretization of learning with several advantages relative to the conventional classroom:
A) curricular contents are exploited in accordance with their contexts;
B) the sensorial stimuli of the students allow a more complete, articulated and multidisciplinary knowledge;
C) the development of soft skills (social relationship, communication, team work, problem solving, ...) is promoted;
D) enhances the respect and value of nature and environmental sustainability;
E) promotes the adoption of a proactive and healthy lifestyle.

Each training day includes group activities outdoors (in the sea, at the national park, on the hill, in the city, ...). During the week there will be 2 room sessions where participants present their school and the main activities developed there and they also share and discuss the pedagogical potentialities of activities outdoors. Participants will be involved in an active learning process, focusing on personal experience and self-expression, combining physical, cognitive and emotional elements that make the learning process easier and more longlasting.
All course documents and results will be published and shared on the eTwinning platform.
Day 1
- Participants arrival
- Individual orientation and information about the venue and the city
- Delivery of course documentation
- Course introduction
- Guided tour in Esposende
- Welcome dinner
Day 2
Visit to Porto:
- descend from the main square of the city to Ribeira (downtown) to identify the city's cultural heritage;
- visit the the Offley Port wine cellars.
Return to Esposende:
- presentation by participants of their institutions and their work there; publish results in eTwinning platform).
Day 3
Visit to Fafião village:
- collect data from the fauna and flora that exist in the only National Park in Portugal;
- understand the meaning of “Vezeira” (way of gathering the herds of a village to be shepherded in common land, wastelands);
- understand the evolutionary history of the interaction between men and Iberian Wolf;
- identify the reasons that made the Iberian Wolf as an endangered species.
Day 4
Visit to Braga:
- climb to Bom Jesus sanctuary by the staircase and down by the hydraulic cable car (the oldest working in Europe);
- visit the tourist attractions of Bom Jesus
- collection of data and photos for pedagogical use.
Visit to Barcelos (city of "Galo"):
- visit the historical center of Barcelos: medieval tower, Bom Jesus da Cruz temple
- visit the Museum of Pottery and participate in a tile painting workshop
- to know the legend of the rooster of Barcelos (current symbol of Portugal)
Day 5
Activities on the beach:
- short lecture on safety in water
- warm up and technique acquisition exercises
- surf class, by a surf school instructor.
In alternative, activities on the river:
- walk along the banks of the river
- canoeing and paddle riding
- ride on “A Barca" (a historical boat recovered).
Pedagogical approach of the activities developed so far; plan a learning situation to be submitted to eTwinning).
Day 6
Activities on the hill:
- walk to “Monte de S. Lourenço” to visit the fortified town, including traces dating back to the century IV B.C.
- visit to the Interpretive Center of “Castro de S. Lourenço” (Archaeological heritage)
- exploration of existing rails
- photo collection.
Visit to "restinga":
- explanation, on site, of the evolution of "restinga" (sand bank between Cavado River and the Atlantic Ocean).
Day 7
- Publish results on eTwinning (Twinspace page)
- Space for discussion of future cooperation and planning follow up activities
- Course roundup and final evaluation
- Validation of learning outcomes and certification ceremony
- Participants departure