Information is everywhere, and how learners gather it happens in many different ways. Learners could gather information in the traditional school with rows of desks and rote memorization. They could gather it after a stubbed toe on the edge of a table reminds them to slow down and invest in a nice pair of house slippers. Modern-day learners may be learning through gamification or by watching a video tutorial online. Education and experience within adults tend to foster deeper motivations and curiosities. As a learner, I seek to gather information primarily from books, and this creates intrinsic motivation to learn more. 

I have found out-of-school opportunities create powerful learning. This makes sense as I am a neurodivergent learner, one who varies how my brain takes information processes it, and responds to it (British Psychological Society, 2024), and traditional learning methods were difficult for me. My best thoughts happen in nature. I was four pitches of rope lengths up a rock face, learning to practice traditional climbing, when it came to me that I wanted to be a teacher. My current position as an outdoor education teacher in an elementary school has caused me to gather information in social spaces with mentors and affinity spaces. Through a few years of doing this, I realized the tools that needed to be honed were regulation and co-regulation with my students. Where they were emotionally contributed to their learning. I believe social learning in a natural setting can help all students gather information, not just neurodivergent ones like myself.

Social learning theory explains how learners can gather knowledge through watching and mirroring others (Bandura, 1971). This is similar to the natural world when baby animals watch and learn from their parents. In humans, social learning can exist through mentorship or apprenticeships where a learner works and watches a skilled craftsperson teach a trade or skill. Affinity spaces, safe places of similar interests and goals (Gee, 2017), also rely on social learning tenants. Affinity spaces give opportunities to learn from those with different skills, and also provide places to share experiences and insights. Specifically, affinity spaces provide opportunities for mistakes and lessons learned to be easily discussed which allows the group to grow and build each other up. I experienced affinity-space learning while learning to rock climb, learning how to find the right wood and craft a bow drill to make a fire, and learning holistic tracking. Surrounded by like-minded peers who always left me with way more knowledge and skill than I had going in.

My traditional background of college offered a couple of classes that focused on non-traditional out-of-school learning. However, my current position involves a lot of research, a devoted mentor, and trial and error. Most of the books I read for my research were on mentorship and nature. I took classes on foraging and plant identification. Again, more affinity groups of like-minded learners were curious about these topics. My mentor was my greatest contribution to my education. Dr. Carole Bland describes mentoring as a “collaborative learning relationship that proceeds through purposeful stages over time and has the primary goal of helping a mentee to acquire the essential competencies” (What is a mentor?: The Leadership Alliance). 

The learning started with what is called a sit spot. This spot is a place where I sit and use all my senses to be present in nature. The idea is to watch and listen to animal life while noticing patterns. After my mentor taught me this, we explored holistic tracking – a method for teaching empathy. We come across a track and identify the gait and animal that made the track. We follow it, on all fours. We ask ourselves many questions, some of which are: Why did it choose this path? Was it scared or calm? How do we know? The more I did this, especially with known animals in my sit spot, the more connection I had to them. I noticed my empathy and nature knowledge improving. This understanding and attention of another animal, its connection to its space, and to me, was powerful. These practices grounded me to the moment, it felt like was the only one there, in that spot of time, and my thoughts were nowhere else. I was curious and wanted to hear and learn more. It wasn’t work, it was a childlike curiosity that I want all learning to be like.

On a trip to an island on Lake Michigan with middle school students, my mentor taught me to notice the students before the boat ride, on the boat ride, and during the initial activity. I learned to pay attention to how students spoke, breathed, focused, and their body language. These skills were similar to what I learned in holistic tracking. We purposely had students get lost to build up anxiety and then did activities to help center students and co-regulate, or mutually calm down (Child Mind Institute, 2024), with them. Once the students were regulated, they felt calm and connected to themselves and others. This is the power of socially-mediated learning in nature.

Through social learning in nature, my mentor showed me a world that is different from a traditional style of learning and helped me learn that my job as an educator is far more than meeting standards and raising test scores. Learners are whole humans not just brains ready for inputs and responses. I embrace the opportunity to mentor my students on the animals in the old-growth forest of my school, helping them put words to their emotions and teaching them how to regulate their emotions. When they are regulated they can listen and learn. Through affinity spaces, mentorship, and following the lessons of social learning theory, I create powerful opportunities for my students to gather information.

References

The British Psychological Society. (2024, April 17). Neurodiversity-affirmative education: Why and how?. BPS. https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/neurodiversity-affirmative-education-why-and-how

 Dana, D. (2024). Polyvagal theory. Rhythm of Regulation. https://www.rhythmofregulation.com/polyvagal-theory

 Gee, J. P. (2017). Affinity Spaces and 21st Century Learning. Educational Technology, 57(2), 27–31. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44430520

 Bandura, A. (1971). Bandura social learning theory. Social Learning Theory. https://ia903002.us.archive.org/15/items/BanduraSocialLearningTheory/Bandura_SocialLearningTheory_text.pdf

 What is a mentor?: The Leadership Alliance. What is a Mentor? | The Leadership Alliance. (n.d.). https://theleadershipalliance.org/resource/what-mentor

 What is co-regulation?. Child Mind Institute. (2024, September 23). https://childmind.org/article/what-is-co-regulation/