Out Teach

Out Teach is working to advance education equity by bringing hands-on, outdoor learning in science to young children from low-income backgrounds who historically have not had access to this experience. We know that early exposure to engaging science instruction coupled with rigorous supports for teachers can help drive equity for our nation’s youngest learners. However, far too often, the education system waits until middle or high school to expose students to science and STEM, and the research tells us that this is too late. Students’ career interests begin to solidify by 6th grade. Training educators to provide high-quality, outdoor, hands-on learning experiences for students from low-income backgrounds paves the path for them to pursue higher education or a career in STEM fields, making a significant impact on their workforce success and overall life trajectory. Furthermore, research has found that teachers have a particularly strong impact on the decision to pursue STEM careers, especially for girls.

Out Teach focuses on underserved students. Out Teach works in states that have some of the largest opportunity gaps in the country. 100% of the schools we reach serve children predominantly from low-income backgrounds, and over 90% of the schools are Title I eligible. We are reaching educators and students in schools that have been called “STEM deserts”—those with limited access to or support for engaging science instruction and those where we can unlock the most potential.

Out Teach starts early. Most initiatives aimed at STEM begin in middle or high school, but research shows that this is too long to wait since students begin to solidify career interests by 6th grade. Out Teach knows that exposure to nature and science in the early years is research-proven to spark an interest in science and to increase long-term academic success. Out Teach trains teachers to expose students to key science concepts starting in the early childhood years, opening opportunities in the long run.

Out Teach moves learning outdoors. While several organizations seek to improve educational outcomes inside classrooms, Out Teach moves learning outside and creates research-based outdoor learning spaces in urban areas. Recent research by Indiana University surveyed scientists at the National Science Foundation to learn what sparked their interest in the field. Results showed that spending time outdoors or in nature was selected most often as the type of experience that sparked interest in STEM among female scientists (and second most among male scientists).

Out Teach integrates with schools’ curricula and goals. Out Teach trains and coaches teachers to deliver a new approach to education that is hands-on and based in natural phenomena. Out Teach is curriculum neutral and can support any school’s goals.

Out Teach engages students from a wide variety of backgrounds. Science instruction often depends on prior knowledge, yet not all students come to school with the same experiences. Some have been to the beach, but many have not. When we relate standards, like those about erosion, for example, to distant lands, not all students will share that experience. However, when students experience erosion together in the Outdoor Science Lab, they now have an experience in common that the teacher can build from. In this way, Out Teach sets children from diverse backgrounds up for success by providing hands-on opportunities to build background knowledge.

Out Teach makes a sustainable impact by building teacher capacity. Once Out Teach trains an educator, they can implement the instructional practices that they learned for the rest of their career. In this way, Out Teach can scale its innovative model and continue to impact teachers and students for many years into the future.

Out Teach is making an impact on both student and teacher outcomes because it is built on a rigorous evidence base. Early science learning has been shown to nurture traits such as curiosity, critical thinking, problem-solving, and positive attitudes toward math, all crucial to overall academic success, and immersive science and STEM education can hold the key to improving equity and overall academic outcomes for children regardless of learning ability, race, zip code, gender, or access to resources. The STEM sector is growing rapidly, and students need early learning experiences such as those Out Teach promotes that create opportunities to pursue STEM as they get older. Effects of Research and Mentoring on Underrepresented Youths’ STEM Persistence Into College, a study in the Journal of Experiential Education found that “Authentic research experiences during experiential learning were effective at supporting youths’ science interest, intentions to pursue STEM majors, and perceptions that STEM would be part of their future careers.”

Additionally, Making Everyday Phenomena Phenomenal: Using phenomena to promote equity in science instruction, a study published in the journal Science & Children, shows that instruction anchored in outdoor phenomena helps “students from diverse backgrounds to engage in three-dimensional learning and build their science understanding coherently over a sustained period of instruction.” This is “especially critical when working with students who have not experienced science and engineering as real or relevant to their lives or future careers.”

The idea for Out Teach was planted in 2003 by a group of committed teachers in Fort Worth, Texas who knew that children are most successful and learn best through engaging hands-on science lessons that utilize their natural surroundings. The organization has grown significantly since then and now offers programming in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, North Carolina, Georgia, and across Texas.

In FY 2023, we empowered over 1,500 teachers to turn the outdoors into an active classroom through professional learning and support experiences. Through these educators, we engaged 39,900 students in real-world, outdoor learning, reaching almost 20% more children than in 2021.

We collaborated with partners to create 31 new outdoor learning spaces in partnership with communities that have historically not had the chance to learn outdoors, increasing equitable access.

Our most recent data found that 91% of teachers trained by Out Teach reported feeling more prepared to teach science after our training, filling a pressing need among elementary school teachers.

65% of our educator participants identify as people of color (based on analysis of a sample group), and 100% of our teachers report that incorporating real-world learning into lessons has a positive impact on their job satisfaction, meaning that Out Teach is helping to retain committed educators who reflect the student population served.

82% of teachers report that students are highly engaged in their lessons after Out Teach training, setting students up for increased academic achievement.

Out Teach is driven to expand by the need and the demand for impactful, hands-on, outdoor science education around the country. What began as a community-based group of teachers has expanded into a national organization that is poised to elevate science education by preparing 10,000 teachers and reaching 250,000 students by 2025.