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The Importance of Making Learning Inspirational in Daily Life as a Nature Game Instructor
by Junko Oshima, Japan
 

Levels of Nature Game Instructor

Since 1990, we have provided a three-day workshop to experience Nature Game in nature and teach the theory of Flow Learning. Upon completion of this workshop we award a certification of Nature Game Instructor. The aim is to train "shizen-annai nin" (nature guides) who share the joy of nature through using Nature Game activities and philosophy. At the moment there are something like 6500 Elementary, 120 Intermediate and 11 Advanced instructors in Japan. During the year we hold about 50 three-day workshops all over Japan and approximately 1500 people, who vary from teachers, outdoor educators to community group leaders attend the workshop in a year. Most participants are given the certification of Elementary Instructor and register with us at the end of the workshop.

The different role of each Nature Game Instructor

The Elementary Instructor has an important role in encouraging people, particularly families, to go outside and interact with nature using Nature Game. They put the theory of Nature Game into practice in community areas like local parks, bush areas and forest parks in creative ways. The Intermediate Instructors' role is to introduce Nature Game activities, in half-day workshops, to an audience that is mainly teachers and others who are involved with presenting and interpreting nature. Advanced Instructors conduct three-day workshops for people who are the organizers of the workshops in their local area. They also provide further skills as well as encourage Elementary Instructors to uplift attitudes, behavior, and experience of life in a follow-up workshop for members. All Advanced Instructors have attended Joseph Cornell's workshop at Ananda Village. One of the things that we encourage each of the instructors to ask themselves is, "What should we do as a Nature Game Instructor to deepen our consciousness of nature in our daily lives?"

The tenets of becoming a good Nature Game Instructor

Joseph Cornell suggests in his book, Sharing Nature with Children that there are five tenets for teachers and guides, they are:
1. Teach less, and share more.
2. Be receptive.
3. Focus the child's attention without delay.
4. Look and experience first; talk later.
5. A sense of joy should permeate the experience.

In the three-day workshop I explain and develop these tenets as well as develop an understanding of Flow Learning theory through Nature Game activities. These principles are basic attitudes of respect for participants in Nature Game activities and reverence for nature. This all looks simple, even obvious, but there is a fundamental premise that is easy to miss when presenting a course. Presently I am teaching elementary school children in Australia, and I have found that these suggestions are valuable tools in the classroom as well. I apply them in my class and enjoy sharing what I see, what I hear and what I feel with the children.

Unfortunately many Nature Game Instructors may miss out on getting direct experience in nature themselves even as they become more involved in teaching "Nature Game activities." This results in the situation where many fail to develop new appreciation of nature and instead draw on their older experience and inspiration when they teach Nature Game activities. I know from my own experience that it is important to maintain this, because whenever I felt inspired and full of wonder, the children I was with also had a wonderful time. The converse is also true, that whenever I was not feeling enthusiastic, no matter how good the group was, the activities were not particularly special. I believe that the instructor's own inspiration is the vital factor in creating meaningful nature experiences for others.

To become an effective Nature Game Instructor, I feel it is extremely important to uplift our consciousness so that we truly change our way of looking at and relating to the world around us. In order to achieve this I think that the most important thing is to remain receptive to what's going on around us. We should take a lesson from the children when we are going for a walk in the wild, focusing on feeling a kinship with everything you see, and having fun outdoors. I think this is well phrased in Joseph Cornell's book Sharing the Joy of Nature: "To communicate wonder, we must have a spirit of wonder. A leader who's filled with wonder, joy, and love for the natural world draws these good feelings out of others. They want eagerly to experience them for themselves". This makes me feel confident that I will remain an effective Nature Game Instructor. I believe that every person is able to share in these feelings toward nature, and that when shown the way, people will want to change their lifestyle to live their ideals.

Importance of conducting Follow-up workshops for Instructor members

A follow-up workshop for Instructor members is often very useful to assist the instructors to consolidate the skills that they have acquired and incorporate them into their methods. Recently we have been discussing keeping impact on the environment to a minimum doing Nature Game activities. When we teach Nature Game activities in the bush, no matter how absorbed we are in what we are doing, we still need to take care to keep the impact of our activities to a minimum. We need to keep in the back of our mind that although we are a part of nature, we're just visitors. We should aim to leave the area as undisturbed as it was before we came.

Keeping in touch and sharing experiences with other like-minded people is an important thing for the instructors. Nature Game Association provides some tools to help the Advanced Instructors communicate with each other, such as an email mailing list on the internet, as well as a WWW homepage, to coordinate and inform them. This system gives Advanced Instructors a chance to share and discuss any difficulties and topics which relate to the three-day workshop. This creates a powerful and supportive environment for working together and keeping us all focused on the goals.

Participants pose while the instructors demonstrate how to be a camera in"Camera Game."

Lecture at indoor classroom

Participants and instructor enjoying "What Animal Am I?"

Junko Oshima

Junko has been involved in Japan Nature Game Association since taking Joseph's workshop at Ananda Village in 1990. Her main work was developing curriculum and presenting three-day workshops as a chief trainer in the association in Japan. More recently she has been developing her skills in Environmental Education and has completed a Masters of Environmental Education at Griffith University in Australia. Presently Junko is undertaking a research Ph.D. on the contribution of NGOs to Education for sustainability.e-mail:J.Oshima@mailbox.gu.edu.au

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