Table 2.
Terminology and taxonomy of the Play, Learn, and Teach Outdoors—Network (PLaTO-Net)
| Root termsa | PlaTO-terms | Sub-terms | Proposed definition | Synonym/co-hyponym |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outdoors | Any open-air, wild, natural, or human-made space | |||
| Nuances: The space may include a temporary or fixed cover (e.g., awning or roof) but maintain exposure to ambient environmental conditions | ||||
| Built environment | Human-constructed physical surroundings (e.g., structures, features, facilities) in which people live, learn, work, travel, and play | |||
| Green space | Any vegetated land, an area of grass or trees that may also contain bodies of water (e.g., pond, creek), in an urban environment | |||
| Nuances: The space may either set apart for recreational or aesthetic purposes or wasteland areas that have been colonized by nature in an otherwise urban environment | ||||
| Loose parts | Natural or manufactured materials with no specific set of directions that can be used alone or combined with other materials, moved, carried, combined, redesigned, lined up, and taken apart and put back together in multiple ways and used for play | |||
| Playground | A piece of land usually equipped with facilities and/or equipment that is used for outdoor play and recreation | |||
| School ground | Proprietary outdoor area on the land of educational institution buildings | Synonym: School yard | ||
| Natural environment | Non-built surroundings and conditions in nature in which living and non-living things co-exist | Synonym: Nature | ||
| Garden | Planted, developed, or cultivated land used to grow vegetables, fruit, herbs, flowers, and other living plants and organisms | |||
| Outdoor play space | Any outdoor area where people can play | |||
| Play | Voluntary engagement in activity that is fun and/or rewarding and usually driven by intrinsic motivation | |||
| Nuances: Not all play is self-directed and intrinsically motivated | ||||
| Outdoor play | A form of playa that takes place outdoorsa | Co-hyponym: Outdoor recreation | ||
| Active play | A form of playa that involves physical activity of any intensity | |||
| Free play | A form of playa that is unstructured and self-directed | Synonym: Unstructured play | ||
| Nature play | A form of playa that takes place in a natural environment and/or involves interaction with natural elements and features (e.g., water, mud, rocks, hills, forests, and natural loose parts, such as sticks, pinecones, leaves, and grass) | Co-hyponym: Nature-based recreation | ||
| Risky play | A form of playa that is thrilling and exciting, which involves uncertainty, unpredictability, and varying degrees of risk-taking | |||
| Social play | A form of play that involves interacting with others | |||
| Learning | The development of knowledge, skills, values, morals, beliefs, and habits | |||
| Outdoor learning | Learninga that takes place outdoorsa | |||
| Teaching | The process of facilitation of learning | |||
| Outdoor teaching | Teachinga that takes place outdoorsa | |||
| Education | The process of learninga and teachinga | |||
| Outdoor education | Educationa that takes place outdoorsa | |||
| Environmental education | A form of educationa aimed at increasing knowledge, awareness, and appreciation of the environment | |||
| Forest schools | An educationala approach that includes regular and repeated access to natural space and participant-directed, emergent, and place-based learning | Co-hyponym: Forest kindergartens, forest preschools, forest programs | ||
| Outdoor classroom | A shared space of learninga and teachinga in the school context that is entirely outdoors | |||
| Nuances: Unlike outdoor education, an outdoor classroom takes regular pedagogy and curriculum outdoors in the school context | ||||
| Place-based learning | Learninga that considers the importance of connecting learners with their community by anchoring pedagogy within the context of the locally natural, cultural, and social ecosystems | Co-hyponym: Place-based education | ||
| Nuances: The learning focuses on a specific physical space which may or may not involve the natural environment | ||||
| Land-based education | An approach to educationa that recognizes a deep connection and relationship of reciprocity between people and the land | Co-hyponym: Land-based learning | ||
| Nuances: This is specific to the North American context based on Indigenous epistemology of which the land is being understood beyond the physical sense and as with spiritual, emotional, and intellectual sense | ||||
| Nature-based education | A form of teachinga and learninga situated in the context of outdoor natural settings | Co-hyponym: Nature-based learning, nature-based preschool | ||
| Learning for sustainability | A cross-curricular approach to life and learninga which enables learners, educators, schools, and their wider communities to build a socially just, ecologically sustainable, and equitable society | |||
| Other terms related to PLaTO | ||||
| Outdoor activity | Leisure, recreational, educational, occupational, and/or health-enhancing activity engaged in the outdoors | |||
| Outdoor time | Time spent outdoors | |||
aRefer to the definition of corresponding root term