Professional Development

In Spring 2020, we started a virtual Community of Practice to bring outdoor school educators together to discuss solutions to challenges, share lessons learned, and build a stronger outdoor school community. We hold informal bi-weekly meetings (every other Thursday from 2 to 3 p.m.) that are driven entirely by questions and discussion items from participants. The group is a combination of regular attendees as well as educators who drop in as they are able or when they have specific questions. You can find more details about the group and register for the Zoom link on our Events page. 

Our Self-Evaluation Tools are designed to support outdoor school programs in engaging in reflection as they continue to grow and improve their programs. Each Self-Evaluation Tool is accompanied by a resource page that provides links to videos, online courses, documents, and other resources. If you are looking for resources that will support curriculum and instruction; equity, diversity, inclusion, and cultural responsiveness; and special education and accessibility, visit our Self-Evaluation Tools to access all three resource pages.

The Oregon Natural Resources Education Program (ONREP), a partner program in OSU Forestry and Natural Resources Extension, offers PD to preK-12 classroom teachers and nonformal educators, including outdoor school instructors. We sometimes offer joint workshops focused specifically on supporting natural resources education before, during, and after outdoor school. These workshops are visible on both our website and the ONREP website and are marked as "ODS-ONREP" workshops.