‘Wow! is that a birch leaf? In the picture it looked totally different’: a pragmatist perspective on deep learning in Norwegian ‘uteskole’

Abstract

This study investigates pupils' experiences with learning outside the classroom and discusses how these experiences might contribute to 'deep learning' according to a pragmatist theoretical framework and a situated perspective on knowledge. The data comprise materials from three months of fieldwork with participatory observations and qualitative interviews of pupils from two Norwegian primary schools. The results are interpreted according to John Dewey's two criteria for educative experiences, 'transaction' and 'continuity', and to our operationalisation of deep learning. We argue that learning activities that entail both transaction and continuity can be regarded as facilitating deep learning.

Education Outside the Classroom in Norway: The Prevalence, provision, and nature of uteskole

“…In addition, EOtC research has demonstrated positive effects on students' health, well-being, and academic achievement (Becker et al, 2019;Dettweiler et al, 2017;L. Mygind et al, 2019;Otte et al, 2019;Winje & Løndal, 2021b), including better biological stress regulation, brain function and development (Dettweiler et al, 2023) and improved attention spans and reduced disruptive behaviours among students with emotional, cognitive, and behavioural disabilities (Szczytko et al, 2018). EOtC has also been found to strengthen student-teacher relationships (E. Mygind et al, 2019), to have a positive effect on students' pro-social behaviour (Bølling, Niclasen et al, 2019) and social relationships (Bølling, Pfister et al, 2019), although the latter association is still inconclusive (Ellinger et al, 2023;Lauterbach, 2023).…”