STEAM on campus: a student-designed outdoor classroom

Our school was designed in the early 1980s by Larry Boston, alongside founders John and Forrest Woodbury. Like all well-designed spaces, it was built for purpose and the light, bright classrooms are still delightful places to learn.

Our latest design project is a bit different. As part of a STEAM project, our students are designing a brand new outdoor classroom for our school—and it’s designed by students, for students.

outdoor classroom project objectives

At Woodbury Boston, STEAM projects are designed to build community, communication, and leadership—as well as fostering an inclusive, multidisciplinary approach to the curriculum. 

Together, our students will:

  • Develop designs for an outdoor classroom

  • Follow a design brief

  • Build a model

  • Showcase, feedback, and reflect

This process will take place over several sessions, which are designed around leadership (for the Year Sixes) teamwork, communication, active listening, respect, and kindness.


Session 1—Understand

In this session, student leaders will introduce the project, the design brief, and go over the group agreements. Inspired by photos of outdoor classrooms from around Australia and the world, the children will discuss their favourite ideas.

During this process, there will (of course) be disagreements about what’s most important, but the purpose of the session is for each group member to share one feature they’d love to see included in the outdoor classroom. 

Session 2—Design

Student leaders revisit the purpose of the outdoor classroom (as well as the photos from last session). In small groups, partners, or individually, the students will start the design process. 

The students are welcome to design in a way that works for them—whether they want to work on a single element of the outdoor classroom or the design as a whole. And leaders will be on hand to make sure everyone has a chance to share (and that the ideas are recorded effectively).

Session 2.5—Design consolidation by Peer Leaders

The Chuditch class (Year 5-6) will pull the school’s ideas together. It’s their job to make sure the designs are on track to meet the brief. Not only that, the Chuditch class will work to include as many features as possible from the ideation stage into the final design. 

At the end of this process, we’ll have eight outdoor classroom designs, representative of the eight Peer Support groups. The student leaders will also make decisions about materials and scale for the next stage: building a model. 

Session 3—Build

In this session, each group will build a 3D model of their proposed outdoor classroom. This will be a great lesson in task delegation and cooperation. And it will involve very high levels of collaboration and negotiation—a fun challenge for everyone.

As well as creating their model, each group will complete a short description of their outdoor classroom, including a list of the features, to share during the showcase. 

Session 4—Showcase and reflect


The eight completed models and descriptions will form an interactive gallery—the perfect chance to appreciate each other’s work. With the whole school gathered, each group will share their model and celebrate their hard work. 

After the presentation, Peer Support groups will debrief and discuss the project, including:

  • What are the similarities and differences of each model?

  • What went well with our model and our teamwork?

  • Did we meet the design brief?

  • What might we do differently next time?

Real world learning

At Woodbury Boston, we’re always on the lookout for evidence-based and innovative ways to engage the students. This STEAM-based project is a new take on our Peer Support program and we’re looking forward to seeing the students’ enthusiasm for the project. 

If you’re keen to learn more about STEAM education, check Part One of this article, or take a deep dive into the five educational models we use at Woodbury Boston. 

And If you’d like to learn more about our school community, why not book a tour? It’s a great way to get a feel for the place. Our Year Six students will show you and your child the ropes and our Principal, Nick, will answer any questions you have.

 

Recommended Reading

Woodbury Boston Primary School is a progressive independent school nestled in the bush between Denmark and Albany WA. We know that children learn best when they’re happy and having fun. With a strong focus on community, respect, independence and nature-based teaching, our students learn the Western Australian Curriculum and so much more. For more information or to book a personal tour, please ring 9845 1185.

Martha Barnard-Rae