Learning in the Finnish outdoor classroom: Pupils’ views

Sjöblom, Pia; Svens, Maria

doi:10.1080/14729679.2018.1531042

Cited by 25 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…In fact, some research has emphasized the benefits of observation for science learning. For instance, one research study on learning in an outdoor classroom found that the students "pointed out the importance of direct experiences and observing real organisms in their real environments" (Sjöblom & Svens, 2018, p. 8). Moreover, Lavie Alon & Tal (2017 recommend that in natural environments, teachers should "encourage the students to observe and explore the environment themselves."…”

Section: Discussion Factors Related To Students' Perception Of Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Related to Students’ Perception of Learning During Outdoor Science Lessons in Schools’ Immediate Surroundings

Ayotte-Beaudet

Potvin

2020

Int J Env Sci Ed

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The research presented in this paper answers the question: What factors are most related to students' perception of learning during outdoor science lessons occurring in schools' immediate surroundings? Twenty-six science teachers, as well as 71 classes of seventh (51 classes) and eighth (20 classes) graders participated in our study (n = 2007). All 26 teachers agreed to plan and carry out five outdoor lessons in their schools' immediate surroundings for each class they decided to include in the study. The 11 influencing factors we examined in this quantitative study were: the duration of the outdoor lesson, the students' level of preparation, the students' opportunity to make choices, the outdoor environment, the position in the lesson sequence, the presence of a laboratory technician, the scientific discipline, the grouping of the students, the teacher's outdoor teaching experience, the type of activity, and the weather conditions. To identify the factors most related to students' perception of learning, we ran a bivariate correlation analysis and then used a three-level hierarchical linear model (HLM) with the significant factors from the bivariate correlation. Our results showed that students' perception of learning was significantly and positively correlated with the factors listening to scientific explanations, being grouped with the entire class, students' level of preparation, and students' opportunity to make choices, and negatively correlated with observing. We conclude this paper by arguing that students' perception of learning is really a perception that is based on their anticipated success on school assessments.

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Section: Discussion Factors Related To Students' Perception Of Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Related to Students’ Perception of Learning During Outdoor Science Lessons in Schools’ Immediate Surroundings

Ayotte-Beaudet

Potvin

2020

Int J Env Sci Ed

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“…EOtC is experienced in almost all issues and is frequently interdisciplinary. The learning practices in EOtC are frequently conducted by pupils, who utilize their physical bodies and emotions in collaborative activity in "real-world" backgrounds with the aim of getting private experiences (Bentsen et al, 2009;Bentsen et al, 2019;Bølling, Pfister, Mygind, & Nielsen, 2019;Otte, Bølling, Elsborg, Nielsen, & Bentsen, 2019;Sjöblom & Svens, 2019;Waite, 2011;Waite, Bølling, & Bentsen, 2016).…”

Section: School's Open Yards and Natural Environments Impacts On Studmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sustainable and environmental perspectives are of much importance in today's world. Schoolyards are no exception and much research has been conducted on the subject (Sjöblom & Svens, 2019). After proposing Takahashi and Titman's related theories, designing, managing, and monitoring outdoor classrooms were regarded as remarkable issues throughout the world (Billmore, Brooke, Booth, Funnell, & Bubb, 1999;Takahashi, 1999;Titman, 1994).…”

Section: Fundamentals Of Designing Landscapes and School Groundsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The impact of nature and outdoor learning on students

Sam¹,

KOUHİROSTAMİ²,

Azimi³

2020

GRID - Architecture, Planning and Design Journal

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The human innate tendency to interact with the natural environment has been proven by psychologists. This interaction should be placed in educational environments (schools). Unfortunately, interaction with nature is not considered in schools today, and the schoolyard, a place where students can interact with open space and nature, is designed to be completely separated from the classrooms. That means the schoolyard and the classrooms should be designed in harmony with each other. Students spend a majority of their educational period in classrooms, so to create diversity and increase student's productivity, it is necessary to combine outdoor natural spaces with indoor educational areas. So, the schoolyard plays a complementary role to the classroom. Additionally, the natural environment can be considered as another educational setting option. The major goal of this review paper is analyzing the impact of the school's outdoor and natural spaces on enhancing students' learning abilities. Accordingly, first, the landscape architecture theories related to individuals and the natural environment, the importance of nature in learning spaces, and its impacts on students are presented. Then, the outcome of designing learning spaces in combination with outdoor spaces is displayed. Finally, the results can provide guidelines to education stakeholders, designers, and policymakers focused on creating more encouraging environments for students' learning.

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“…On the policy level, some countries -such as in Finland (Sjöblom & Svens, 2019), Scotland (Perlman et al, 2020) and Australia (Passy et al, 2019) -have implemented environmental education as their core standards. In Israel, environmental education is not a major requirement of the public school curriculum.…”

Section: Introduction and Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental education using distance learning during the COVID-19 lockdown in Israel

Assaf,

Gan

2021

pie

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Education systems and environmental education professionals have been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp transition to distance learning that has necessitated a rapid response. Environmental education as part of a social-ecological system is dependent on the adaptability and the scope of the change with which the system responds to crisis. It is therefore important to explore the ways in which environmental educators choose to increase students' proximity to nature under conditions of lockdown. The aim of this study, therefore, was to examine environmental educators' perspective on and teaching methods for implementing environmental education under distance learning conditions. To this end, we conducted 16 interviews and analysed teaching methods (e.g. videos, lesson plans and written assignments) that were used by Israeli environmental educators in March-April 2020. The findings highlight the creativity of the educators who used a variety of teaching methods, involving active/ passive learning and the direct/indirect experience of nature, using nature for observation, investigation and in-depth personal, social and environmental learning. The study's contribution stems from its exploration of the crisis from the perspective of environmental education in the context of social-ecological systems. Key findings present challenges (e.g. lack of direct outdoor interaction and feedback) and opportunities (e.g. public access to online lectures and the nationwide sharing of teaching materials) that were faced by environmental educators in Israel and that led to the development of diverse teaching methods for contending with the crisis. The study recommends incorporating diverse activities in nature, implementing outdoor teacher training for all teachers and creating professional teacher networks.

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Learning in the Finnish outdoor classroom: Pupils’ views

Cited by 25 publications

References 46 publications

Factors Related to Students’ Perception of Learning During Outdoor Science Lessons in Schools’ Immediate Surroundings

Factors Related to Students’ Perception of Learning During Outdoor Science Lessons in Schools’ Immediate Surroundings

The impact of nature and outdoor learning on students

Environmental education using distance learning during the COVID-19 lockdown in Israel

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