THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS THROUGH OUTDOOR CANOEING ACTIVITIES IN PRIMARY SCHOOL

This work sets the frame for one of the most important transverse competencies: communication. Learning how to communicate is the earnest aspect of primary school teaching-learning activities. Teaching it through experiential learning is the fastest, more modern, handy and most pleasant way of all. (Chis, 2007). Outdoor learning, puts children in various states, which impel them to form basic skills in communication. The research that have been done, shows that those children who engage in outdoor learning activities at least two times per month, have better results in communication even inside the classroom. Canoeing, represents an unprecedented learning method, which if it is used in primary school, can lead to great results in developing communicative competencies. The results show that after the participation into canoeing activities, a group of fourth graders have better results in focusing, team work, socialization, independence and responsibility. Planning the activities with the involvement of the whole group improves the quality of the communication per class, but working together in order to practice canoeing brings the greatest benefits regarding communication. Conclusions show that every primary school teacher should involve the group in a canoeing activity at least once a semester in order to achieve a better cohesion of the group, which leads to better results in the learning activity, developing inter human relationships. (C) 2018 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org.UK