Professional development: teacher education and training in outdoor education

This thesis focuses on teachers' professional development and education with respect to outdoor classroom. The target audience encompasses teachers who are creating the lesson plans, curriculum, and facilitating outdoor time for children 18 months to 5 years of age. The study took place in a private preschool located in Woodland Hills, California. The participants (N=13) ranged in experience from 2 years to 43 years. Two workshops were offered to the teachers as part of their ongoing professional development. The goal was to improve the quantity and quality of time spent outdoors measured by self-reported increased time in the outdoor classroom. The study discovered that the teachers are interested in developing curriculum that engaged children in their outdoor classroom. The teachers' interests and evaluations indicated that they needed guidance on how to set up the outdoor classrooms in order to create provocations that would lead to a variety of learning opportunities outdoors, from the arts to science and literature.