Outdoor Education Commons^™

Implementing Transformative Education With Participatory Action Research: A Review, Niroj Dahal

The Qualitative Report

I write this review of the book, Implementing Transformative Education with Participatory Action Research, for readers, writers, and novice and veteran researchers in various social sciences disciplines and educational landscapes. The book explores using Participatory Action Research (PAR) to implement transformative education. The book argues that PAR can be used to create contextualized, sustainable, and student-centered learning environments. It offers invaluable insights from experts who have actively worked on innovative approaches to school transformation. The book also provides practical guidance and research-based strategies to help scholars effectively navigate challenges and implement transformative education. Overall, the book is a valuable …

Book Review It Takes An Ecosystem: Understanding The People, Places, And Possibilities Of Learning And Development Across Settings, Denise Montgomery

Journal of Youth Development

It Takes an Ecosystem: Understanding the People, Places, and Possibilities of Learning and Development Across Settings, edited by Thomas Akiva and Kimberly H. Robinson, is a call to take a holistic and dynamic ecosystem approach to thinking about, designing, developing, and investing in the allied youth fields to more equitably and effectively support young people’s learning and development. Published in 2022, the volume outlines a vision for out-of-school time programs and systems, schools, community-based organizations, and the public sector to move beyond focusing separately on individual systems to a learning and development ecosystem approach that more accurately and inclusively reflects …

The Challenges Of Supporting Young Children’S Outdoor Play In Early Childhood Education And Care Settings, Ji Hyun Oh

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This study explored preschool teachers’ beliefs about the challenges they have experienced when supporting young children’s outdoor play. Through Charmaz’s (2006) constructivist grounded theory data analysis process, two types of challenges for providing outdoor play were specified including: (1) natural environmental challenges, such as insect bites, allergies, and severe weather issues and (2) physical environmental challenges that include lack of play materials/environments and playground maintenance. The participant teachers perceive that these challenges are related to their preparation and planning for outdoor play including the provision of outdoor play, allotted play time, and a number of outdoor learning activities.

“A Word For Nature”: A Reflection On A Contemplative Teacher-Training Course In The Desert, Netta Baryosef-Paz, Nirit Assaf

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This paper reflects on an interdisciplinary, environmental, and contemplative course the authors taught at Kibbutzim College of Education in Tel Aviv. Entitled “I am in Nature,” the course was co-taught by an ecologist and a literary scholar. It included a two-day base camping and hiking experience in the Negev Desert and three on-campus meetings. The students read Nature Writing and Ecopoetry, practiced guided mindfulness meditations in the field, and kept contemplative-writing journals. In this community voices piece, we offer an innovative pedagogy for higher education that centers on the integration of the learner’s mind, body, and heart through interdisciplinary, contemplative, …

الرضا الحركي وعلاقته بمستوى التعلم المهاري (الأداء) لسباحة الزحف على البطن لدى طالبات كلية التربية الرياضية في جامعة اليرموك, Ghaid Mandoub Obedat

Journal of the Association of Arab Universities for Research in Higher Education (مجلة اتحاد الجامعات العربية (للبحوث في التعليم العالي

هدفت الدراسة التعرف إلى علاقة مستوى الرضا الحركي بمستوى التعلم المهاري (الأداء) لسباحة الزحف على البطن لدى طالبات كلية التربية الرياضية في جامعة اليرموك على عينة تكونت من (49) طالبة من الطالبات المسجلات في مساقات السباحة في كلية التربية الرياضية في جامعة اليرموك. واستخدمت الباحثة المنهج الوصفي، ومقياس الرضا الحركي والاختبارات المهارية لقياس مستوى الأداء في السباحة. توصلت الدراسة إلى أن أفراد عينة الدراسة يتمتعن بمستوى متوسط من الرضا الحركي، وأن هناك علاقة وثيقة ما بين مستوى الرضا الحركي ومستوى الأداء لسباحة الزحف على البطن. وتوصي الباحثة على ضرورة التأكيد على مفهوم الرضا الحركي وتعزيزه لدى المتعلمين للمهارات الرياضية من …

Scents Of Place: Exploring Self, Place And Planet Through Botanical Fragrance, Jennifer L. Kitson, Donna M. Sweigart

Open Educational Resources

This learning module provides instructors with an experiential field guide for introducing students to the United Nations Inner Development Goals Framework through self-guided mindful smelling activities and reflection prompts related to botanical fragrance. The interdisciplinary nature of this module allows for use or adaptation in a wide range of courses looking for outdoor, place-based and self-guided experiential learning to explore the role of botanical fragrance for people, plants and pollinators. The overarching goal is to deepen students’ connections to their senses (and scents) of self, place and planet through exploring botanical fragrance with mindful smelling. The learning activities in this …

Game-Based Learning In Elementary Mathematics, Sophia Greenfield

Graduate Teacher Education

This paper analyzed 15 primary, peer-reviewed research articles about how to integrate game-based learning in elementary mathematics to increase conceptual understanding. The purpose of this paper was to inform teachers about how to integrate digital and traditional games, including factors to enhance effective implementation, in a way that increased conceptual understanding. Key factors were gleaned from the articles that had a significant impact on the effectiveness of game-based learning. In Chapter Two, traditional and digital games were divided into two sections to analyze the benefits and drawbacks of each method. These benefits and drawbacks were compared in the Appendices to …

Exploring The Importance Of Values, Place, And Perceptions In Conservation Decision-Making In Maine: A Mixed Methods Approach, Alyssa R. Soucy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conservation inherently involves intertwined ecological systems and human societies. In Maine, USA conservation decision-making brings together many viewpoints, values, motivations, and experiences to balance diverse goals. Socio-cultural, experiential, financial, and ecological factors can all influence an individual’s ability to make or support a decision. This dissertation aimed to broadly explore how people perceive their role in conservation decision-making in Maine. In doing so, we articulate a diverse set of perspectives, experiences, and values. We used a mixed methods approach which enabled an in-depth understanding of the complexity of conservation decision-making while providing the opportunity for different voices to be heard. …

A Phenomenological Study Of Women Principals Who Resigned During The Pandemic, Jessica A. Urbaniak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is well established that principal turnover is of grave concern in the U.S. (Goldring & Taie, 2018; Levin et al., 2020) and may have been exacerbated due to the pandemic (Steiner et al., 2022). This transcendental phenomenological study explored the experience of women principals at P-12 schools in the U.S. who voluntarily left their roles during the pandemic. Data was collected from five participants through two semi-structured interviews and a visual representation of their experience. The essence of this phenomenon was: the pandemic allowed for reflection which intensified the need for women principals to feel in harmony with their …

Supporting Students In Learning English Outside The Classroom, Mubariz Zirman

Journal of Research Initiatives

Both inside and outside the classroom are essential in learning a language. However, the importance of these two environments may change from here to there. For instance, in Afghanistan, English is a foreign language, and it is mainly learned inside the classroom. Therefore, the classroom is considered an essential place for learning. This paper aims to identify ways of supporting students in learning a language outside the classroom. Specifically, it will discuss ways of learning English outside the classroom, such as the flipped classroom approach, involving students in out-of-classroom learning, online learning, project-based learning, interacting with native speakers, surfing social …

Self-Reported Water Competency Skills At A Historically Black College & University And The Potential Impact Of Additional Hbcu-Based Aquatic Programming, Knolan C. Rawlins Ph.D., Shaun M. Anderson Ed.D, Tiffany Monique Quash Ph.D.

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

This article provides an analysis of self-reported water competency skills at a Historically Black University (HBCU). A survey was administered to undergraduate students who lived on campus at one HBCU. Of the 254 respondents that reported the ability to swim, only 187 respondents self-reported the ability to swim and the ability to perform water competency skills. The biggest discrepancy occurred within individuals that identified as Black or African American. In this group, 142 out of 250 participants proclaimed the ability to swim. However, the number of Black or African Americans that could swim dropped to 84 when researchers operationally defined …

Cultivating Joy: Play, Rest, And Connection In Regenerative Cycles, Tim D. Howe

Leadership for Sustainability Education Comprehensive Papers

As dominant systems continue to lean towards unsustainable patterns, fueled by models of white supremacy and capitalism, these paradigms can be challenged by prioritizing joy and wonder as essential inputs rather than measurable outcomes. This paper seeks to imagine the ways in which failing systems that promise eternal growth and insatiable power dynamics can be in part dismantled through creating the conditions necessary for joy to take precedence over productivity.

Learning In The Natural Environment: Taking Education Outdoors, Alisa Kahle

M.Ed. Literature Reviews

This research explores the benefits, challenges, and barriers of outdoor education in elementary school students. Three themes were identified: barriers and challenges, effects of learning outdoors, and risks and consequences of outdoor education. The paper examines how research in this area can align with the practices at a Washington State elementary school in the West Puget Sound area. Furthermore, the paper explores implications for future research in this domain. This paper highlights many strategies for educators to increase learning opportunities in nature.

The Physical Activity Of Spanish Speleologists: Accomplishment Of Recommendations And Differences By Sociodemographic Variables, Miquel Pans, Laura Antón-González, Maite Pellicer-Chenoll

International Journal of Speleology

Outdoor adventure activities are becoming more popular due to their potential health benefits, although there is little scientific information on speleology as a physical activity (PA). The purpose of this study is to expand the scientific evidence in this field in two ways: (a) describe the PA performed by speleologists, taking into account the variables of interest such as gender, age, education, speleological level, participation in ‘Alpine’ explorations and body mass index (BMI) and (b) identify how far the World Health Organization’s (WHO) PA recommendations were accomplished (i.e.,150 min of moderate-intensity aerobic PA or 75 min of vigorous-intensity aerobic). A …

Making Pla(Y)Ces: Softening The City Through Play, Shivani Pinapotu

Masters Theses

Cities that grow naturally over time integrate spaces of gathering that allow for serendipitous happenstance. However, the cities we design today instruct and codify through intentional planning and design; they assign use, hardening specific function to place. Such strategies lead to spaces devoid of spirit, inculcating in city-dwellers to a sense of disconnect from the city.

In contrast to this, the places we make as children, express our intuitive, direct, and unselfconscious relationships with space and one other. These spaces embody softness through their malleability and adaptability, borrowing from the world around them and imbuing the ordinary with imagination. …

The Center For Centering Dome, Olek Piechaczek, Ryan M. Scharf

Architectural Engineering

The Center for Centering seeks to create a large-scale healing center, conducive to individual centering of the mind and body. This mobile installation provides a relaxing, enclosed space while still maintaining a connection to the outdoors. The clients liked the idea of having a pop-up installation that could be easily set up as a touring display. With a deadline for installation looming in June 2022, a team of students had five months to design and manufacture the structure.

In winter 2022, the students developed custom geometry to minimize the number of individual parts and built a ¼ scale model of …

The Benefits Of Outdoor Education For Students With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Annabelle Winking

University Honors Theses

ADHD diagnoses and pharmaceutical treatment have increased dramatically within this century. However, non-pharmaceutical treatments have not reflected this increase. One area where those diagnosed often struggle the most is within academic settings. This study argues for the benefit of outdoor education for students with ADHD, and suggests the importance of future research on this topic. In this study I examine the recent history of ADHD and evaluate trends in treatment, particularly green space as a form of treatment. These studies show both immediate and long-term benefits within a variety of settings. Within these studies, I identified a research gap in …

Poem: Adrienne Rich's (1955) "Ideal Landscape"

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

No abstract provided.

Death Cafés As A Strategy To Foster Compassionate Communities: Contributions For Death And Grief Literacy

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

The death-positive movement, the most recent manifestation of the death awareness movement, contends that modern society is suffering from a “death taboo” and that people should talk more openly about death. This movement is striving to shift the dialogue about (and place of) death and dying into community spaces. Death literacy is defined as a set of skills and knowledge enabling people to learn about, understand, and act on end-of-life and death-care options. People and groups with a high level of death literacy have a context-specific comprehension of the death system and can more easily adapt to it, becoming better …

Editorial Introduction Vol 6 (1) 2023

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

No abstract provided.