The challenge isn’t convincing a handful of teachers to take students outside; it’s creating a system in which outdoor, place-based learning is an expected part of every student’s education.
In 2025, The Learning Institute published an article titled ‘Educating in the AI Era: The Urgent Need to Redesign Schools.’ The Learning Institute is a nonpartisan research organization that conducts independent research to improve education policy and practice in the United States.
Contrary to what the title might suggest, the story advocated for an educational model rooted in experiential learning.
“[The] contemporary science of learning and development confirms that young people grow and thrive in environments designed to support individualized development and inquiry-based, hands-on learning, where they have strong, supportive relationships, and where their social, emotional, physical, and cognitive needs are met,” said author Linda Darling-Hammond, Chief Knowledge Officer. “Policymakers must . . . shift accountability systems away from narrow test-based measures toward assessments that reflect real-world performance and deeper learning.”
To create such an environment, schools and school districts need a systemic approach that includes all teaching staff and students rather than just those who are already passionate about experiential education. PEI’s Systemic School and District Implementation core program is designed for such deeper work with educators who are ready to take their schools and districts to the next level with place-based, outdoor learning.
Joanne Duncan, administrator of Damman School District and Andrew Perkins, Superintendent of Thorp School District, both have experience implementing PEI’s FieldSTEM model with their teams. Under Duncan’s leadership, Ida Nason Aronica Elementary School in Ellensburg, developed field experiences at every grade level, brought in community partners and created a native plant garden with lessons integrated throughout subject areas.
“Our future depends on kids now being connected to nature and seeing that they are not apart from it, they are a part of it. We need thinkers and doers who can solve the issues we’re facing with our resources. To ignore that and not include this in a school system is just negligent. This is the kind of education everyone needs.”
— Joanne Duncan, Former Principal, Ida Nason Aronica Elementary School
In Thorp, educators used a farm-to-school model to build their Career and Technical Education program, with secondary students taking a leading role in the project. This served as an example and means to connect younger students with outdoor learning through a plant nursery, nature trail, pollinator garden and school farm.
Benefits of Systemic FieldSTEM for Students
In most schools, just one or two teachers are excited about place-based outdoor learning. This can create animosity and perceptions of
unfairness, says Duncan. “When you do this as a system, it removes any anxiety around, ‘Why does that class get to go outside and I don’t?’ she explains. “When you have planned FieldSTEM experiences and outdoor-based units, every experience is different, which is amazing. When every student gets outside, kids and parents are happy.”
Perkins points out that hundreds of studies exist on the benefits of place-based outdoor learning. “We don’t need any more studies,” he says. “This is something we know is good for kids. For the psychological health of students, getting outside costs pennies on the dollar.”
A University of Nebraska Lincoln review of the literature on place-based learning noted that it has been shown to foster a sense of belonging, increase student learning, increase academic persistence and narrow equity gaps. A 2018 study at the City University of New York School of Technology found that instructors reported higher student engagement with place-based learning than with traditional classroom [instruction].
Keys to Creating Teacher Buy-in For Systemic Change
While some teachers may already be on board with FieldSTEM, convincing an entire team that this approach will strengthen learning and add value takes effort. Duncan and Perkins were able to bring their teachers along through a variety of strategies, including:
Involving Parents. At Ida Nason, parents participated in a core team along with teachers representing every grade level. “The parents were so excited about that, because they’re the ones at home who sometimes hear their kids saying, ‘I don’t want to go to school,’ says Duncan. “If we’re doing outdoor learning and the kids are looking forward to a signature FieldSTEM experience, they become more motivated to want to come to school. Parents see that.”
Perkins and his team created a parent group at Thorp in the early stages of the farm-to-school project. “They can be great motivators for the staff to remind them that we like outdoor education,” he explains. “We like kids to learn how to grow their own vegetables. When you get parents involved, it adds a level of expectation. If you try to do something like this in isolation, you’re really going to handicap yourself.”
Creating a cross-grade-band team. Duncan’s core team members were part of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) within their grade levels and regularly reported their successes and challenges to both the core group and their larger teaching community. “You have to be intentional,” she says. “Whether it’s five to ten minutes at every staff meeting, you can have the first-grade team reporting on how FieldSTEM is going. It’s a way to build excitement so that they all feel a part of it.”
Demonstrate Value. Not everyone at Thorp was thrilled at the farm-to-school approach initially, according to Perkins. One teacher told him, ‘We’re not farmers, okay?” When he explained that, by working with PEI to gain strategies and resources for implementation, they could earn STEM clock hour credit and a stipend, attitudes shifted. “Any initiative you do as a school administrator, you have to look at the value to the school, the students and the teachers,” Perkins maintains. “When they realized that I was giving them value and saw how other teachers were benefitting, that’s when the buy-in happened.”
Making Systemic FieldSTEM Sustainable
Starting a systemic program is a challenge; making it sustainable takes planning, infrastructure and ongoing support, according to Duncan and Perkins. Keys to success include:
Time. Systemic change doesn’t happen overnight, and teachers need planning and reflection time to fully integrate the new approach. “It’s hard sometimes, but you’re going to have to provide a half-day or full-day sub so that teachers can think about what they’ll be implementing this year,” says Duncan. “You also need to build time into your staff or PLC meetings for teams to report.”
Strategic Planning and Physical Infrastructure. Thorp’s project started with building outdoor infrastructure for secondary classes, which more classes started using over time. The approach is embedded in the district’s strategic plans and learning improvement plan, which minimizes the risk of it disappearing when new leadership takes over. “We’re going to continue it,” says Perkins, who is retiring after the 26-27 school year. “We have it in the strategic plan. We have it in all the CTE classes. We have the actual infrastructure built out outside, so it has a life of its own now.”
Involve PEI. Schools and districts contract with PEI to design customized professional development for their staff and ongoing consultation as teachers try new strategies. This support is invaluable, says Duncan. “Working with PEI was huge,” she notes. “The PEI coordinator would come in and give ideas so that teachers felt supported. That was an important piece of what we did.”
At Thorp, PEI provided workshops for elementary school teachers once the project was underway with older students. “We created a vertically aligned strategic plan, starting with the secondary students, putting in STEM-based career and technical education classes,” says Perkins. “PEI helped us train the pre-K through 6th-grade teachers. We told them, ‘These kids are going to land in seventh grade and be able to take a horticulture or construction class. They’ll be building things outside.’ The benefit is that every student in the district is getting outdoor education.”
Why It Matters
FieldSTEM’s applications go beyond content or skill development, Duncan maintains. “Our future depends on kids now being connected to nature and seeing that they are not apart from it, they are a part of it. We need thinkers and doers who can solve the issues we’re facing with our resources. To ignore that and not include this in a school system is just negligent. This is the kind of education everyone needs.”
