Outdoor Education Commons^™

Slow Education, Sit Spot, And Holistic Well-Being: A Narrative Case Study In Secondary Science Education, Steph Dean, Jim Lane, Paul Bocko, Albert Gilbert, Devan A. Jones

Publications

The demands of a test-dominant education system point towards the need for students to have opportunities for unhurried learning engagements, a movement known as slow education. The purpose of this study was to examine the long-term influence of Sit Spot–a recurrent, structured time to reflect outdoors–on students’ holistic well-being. Using a narrative case study approach, we interviewed a secondary field ecology teacher and seven of his former students to understand the impact of high school Sit Spot experiences during a semester-long science class. Three primary outcomes emerged: (1) enduring impact on the whole person, (2) engagement with affect, and (3) …

Climate Change In An Educational Context: A Model Addressing Psychological Distance, Hope, And Concern, Brooke E. Kasl-Godley

Scripps Senior Theses

As the threat of climate change becomes more urgent, educators should focus on fostering climate concern and action instead of simply providing climate information. These studies present a novel model of climate education where locally-framed and action-oriented curriculum increases students’ environmental concern through the mechanisms of psychological distance and hope. This curriculum was taught over two years to sixth-grade students at a school in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. Study 1 examines students’ environmental concern and sense of responsibility before and after delivery of the curriculum. Study 2 is a proposed follow-up study, that will address limitations of Study 1 …

Nature Journaling: A Tool For Designing A Responsive Science Methods Course For Adult Learners, Meenakshi Sharma, Divya Gangadin, Francy Gomez

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

We examined an outdoor, experiential learning approach within a science methods course for nontraditional adult learners who are often career changers or individuals transitioning into teaching later in life. Through immersive, nature-based experiences, the course connected adult learners to science via direct engagement with the natural world. We include reflections from two nontraditional learners who participated in a 6-week nature journaling process, showcasing how they embraced inquiry-based experiences in natural settings. These reflections reveal a supportive learning environment that values diverse learning styles and life experiences and encourages exploration. Insights from these experiences can guide science teacher educators in developing …

Perceptions, Limitations, And Impacts Of An Outdoor Learning Garden On Elementary-Age Students In A Rural North Carolina District, Kimberly M. Smith

Doctor of Education Dissertations

Outdoor learning gardens are environments where science meets the wonder of a child as they cultivate crops within the boundaries of their schoolyard. When students have opportunities to leave the four walls of their classroom and move outdoors, their minds are awakened and they can explore, analyze, and synthesize information. This mixed methods research investigation took place in a rural North Carolina district on an elementary school campus. The study sought to consider the perceptions of teachers and parents of outdoor learning and the limitations that prevent teachers from including experiential learning opportunities for students. The methodology for the research …

Beyond The Bin: Transforming Relationships With Waste Through A Collaborative Inquiry-Based Environmental Education Curriculum, Kaylee V. Morris

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis presents Beyond the Bin, a collaborative inquiry-based environmental education curriculum designed to transform how young learners understand and interact with waste. Motivated by the limitations of current downstream waste education—focused primarily on consumer behavior and individual disposal practices—this project argues for an upstream approach that identifies the underlying cause of these prevalent systems of disposability. Grounded in environmental education theory, affective learning, and ecological literacy, the curriculum encourages students to rethink waste as a material with creative potential rather than something to discard. Through creative engagement, experiential learning, and community-based initiatives, the curriculum fosters collaboration between students, teachers, …

Avoiding Racial Equity Detours: Racial Equity Trainers’ Visions Of Racially Equitable Residential Environmental Education, Anna Mooney Ph.D.

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study investigated how racial equity trainers envision racially equitable residential environmental education (REE). While addressing racial inequities has been central to environmental scholarship, equity detours undergirded by systemic power structures continue to pose significant barriers in addressing inequities in practice. The research explored the question: “How do racial equity trainers envision racially equitable residential environmental education?” Using constructivist grounded theory and drawing on portraiture’s “search for goodness,” the study conducted 1-hour virtual interviews with six racial equity trainers, employing iterative coding through the constant comparative method. A 2-hour virtual focus group and subsequent 30-minute “dissertation reality check” provided additional …

Decolonial Possibilities For Non-Indigenous Environmental Educators, Emeric Bisbee

Master's Theses

Non-Indigenous environmental educators must incorporate Indigenous knowledges and worldviews to successfully teach about contemporary environmental problems such as sustainability. However, there are several barriers for non-Indigenous environmental educators to incorporate Indigenous knowledges, such as (a) Western science as the primary epistemology of environmental education, delegitimizing Indigenous ways of knowing, (b) non-Indigenous peoples’ reliance on the privileges gained by settler colonialism which works to erase and replace Indigenous peoples and knowledges, and (c) the historical and current injustices experienced by Indigenous peoples in schools because of settler colonialism. This study explored how experienced non-Indigenous environmental educators who incorporate Indigenous knowledges and …

Benefits Of Environmental Education For Low-Income Elementary School Students, Victoria Denoyer

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This study analyzes the benefits of environmental education for low-income elementary school students. As the world is seeing a turbulent downfall in the state of the environment, fostering a healthy and eager generation to find solutions to this crisis is essential. Through analysis using a literature review and qualitative interviews and surveys with in-service teachers and outreach educators, the results determine there are benefits to implementing environmental education for low-income elementary school students. These benefits extend beyond environmental agency and profoundly impact the cognitive, mental, and physical development of low-income students.

Diverse Minds, Shared Planet: Designing, Assessing, And Adapting Curricula To Engage Diverse Learners With Their Environment And Inspire Positive Change, Mallory Rose Lampe

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

The pieces that compose this portfolio together explore how environmental education can connect diverse learners to their environment through the integration of accessible curricula to inspire stewardship and action to take care of the planet we share.

The Impact Of Environmental Education Delivery Methods And Outreach Messaging On Attitudes, Interests, And Intended-Behavior Changes Toward Nature, Vanessa Elizabeth Hoffman

Theses and Dissertations

Environmental education (EE) is important for environmental awareness and stewardship. Involving youth and adults in EE ensures current and future generations will conserve natural resources. This thesis explores impacts of delivery methods on participants’ environmental attitudes and behaviors toward nature through middle school classroom- and camp-based EE instruction, focus group interviews with rural minority youth, and adult responses to aquatic conservation outreach messaging. I observed no difference in environmental attitudes between online versus in-person delivery of EE lessons for middle-schoolers. Outdoor-based learning may be more impactful for EE than experiential, classroom-based learning. Focus group outcomes suggested youth EE programs should …

When St. Louis School Nature Leaders And Environmental Partners Work Together Nature-Based Learning Inspires Joy And Curiosity In K-2 Students, Julie Frisch, Melissa Politte

Dissertations

This study focused on what values teachers saw in nature-based learning, what outcomes they saw for their students, and what factors have enabled them to do nature-based learning. This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study looked at nature-based learning in St. Louis elementary schools with kindergarten through second-grade students.

We used purposive sampling to choose six schools to examine further through case studies. We then conducted interviews with 8 teachers on qualities of nature-based learning captured in 12 words.

We identified five themes from our interviews and observations: Every School Needs a Nature Champion, Community Bridges in Nature-Based Learning, There is Magic …

Starting The Conversation: Race, Ethnicity, And Land At A Predominantly White Environmental Education Organization, Carolyn A. Waters

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Environmental Educators use land as the locus and content of their work. However, dominant environmental narratives often exclude Indigenous and Black perspectives on land (Bang et al., 2014; Calderon et al., 2014; Engel-Di Mauro & Carroll, 2014). To address this and other issues related to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI), environmental organizations nationally have called for JEDI initiatives (NAAEE, 2020), such as professional development for their employees- the majority of whom are white (Green 2.0, 2021; Taylor, 2014). Research questions for this study were: 1) How do white environmental educators perceive race and ethnicity in their work as it …

Winter Wings: An Introduction To Environmental Education, Samuel G. Mothner

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.

The Power Of Outdoor Learning Experiences: A Narrative Inquiry, Vincent M. Case

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Outdoor learning experiences offer schools an initial avenue to address global community issues, including climate change, natural resource depletion, disconnection from nature, and the current global coronavirus pandemic. This narrative inquiry study, grounded in the theoretical work of Vygotsky, Cajete, Brody, and Kahn, seeks to understand how children’s perceptions of their outdoor learning experiences provide insights into their learning processes. This study’s findings suggest that regardless of the location (mountains, home, school campuses, local natural areas), students say that they: experience positive affect and enjoyment; observe through their senses to explore, discover, inquire, change their behavior, and build deeper relationships …

Teaching For Transformation: Developing Agency And Solidarity Consciousness In A Critical-Transdisciplinary, Garden-Based Urban Environmental Studies Program, Pieranna Pieroni

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation focuses on “Community Roots,” an instantiation of urban, garden-based environmental education that employs a “critical-transdisciplinary” design framework and pedagogies. The “crit-trans” construct, articulated by the Urban Environmental Studies Research Coven (Strong et. al., 2016) is offered as both a generative approach to liberatory (environmental) pedagogies with applications across the curriculum and as a form of resistance to neoliberal logics shaping educational (and other) settings. After situating Community Roots in its socio-environmental, institutional, historical and theoretical contexts, a detailed description of the course’s instantiation of crit-trans pedagogy is offered. Additionally, reflections of 14 youth and adult participants are analyzed, …

Educating For Hope: Building Climate Change Resilience In The Middle School Classroom, Cambry J. Baker

Senior Independent Study Theses

Children increasingly express feelings of anxiety and hopelessness about climate change. Recent research has shown that cultivating hope in climate change education can increase young people’s emotional resilience and environmental behavior. This study asks: How does middle school teachers’ engagement with climate change and climate change emotions impact students’ hope? And how do students’ climate anxiety, self-efficacy, and connection to nature affect their environmental behavior and climate change hope? Data were collected in October 2020 through an online survey of middle school students (n=96) in Ohio. On average, students experienced low climate anxiety, moderate constructive hope and low-moderate hope based …

A Qualitative Case Study Research Investigation Of Youth Outcomes During An Appalachian Water-Quality Citizen Science Program, Jessica Kaplan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Citizen science has grown in the past decades to not only include everyday people in research, but also varying levels of engagement with diverse opportunities for participant learning and growth. However, few studies reflect the actual learning outcomes of educational citizen science specifically in youth. This single case study research study focuses on assessing learning and other outcomes of an environmental education, collaborative citizen science program with youth in Morgantown, West Virginia. In this study, a water quality monitoring citizen science program focused on Deckers Creek in Morgantown, WV was adapted for a high school afterschool club. Potential outcomes of …

Agricultural Education Teachers' Perceptions And Use Of Environmental Education In Louisiana Schools, Olivia M. Soler

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to describe the status of environmental education (EE) in Louisiana high school agriculture classrooms. A census of Louisiana Agriscience Teacher Association (LATA) members was conducted to understand their perceptions, attitudes, and barriers regarding EE implementation. Icek Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior was utilized as the theoretical framework. Data were collected through an online survey research method and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results suggest that most LATA members incorporate EE into their curriculum relatively sparingly, perceive EE to be beneficial for students, and are in need of funding to incorporate EE into their curriculum as …

Teaching Place-Based Science In Kindergarten, Lucy Atkins

Capstones, Research Projects, and Curricula

This action research explores how kindergarten students learn about forces and motion through inquiry-based, place-based methods. The learning took place as part of an existing day spent learning outdoors, known as Forest Monday, that includes extended time for free play. The three sub-questions addressed 1) science content learning, 2) science practice application, and 3) the incorporation of science content and practices into free play time outdoors. It was a mixed-methods study, with science assessment data supporting observations and interviews. The participants were 12 kindergarten students in a rural elementary school. All students were assessed and interviewed but observations were focused …

Journeying The James: A Study Of A Multidisciplinary Environmental Education Program In The Non-Formal Sector, Ashley A. James

VA Engage Journal

Because the world is faced with an abundance of environmental problems, environmental education is essential in creating citizens that can solve them. Many studies show that when people are educated about the environment, they become environmental stewards. This paper investigates an experience and place-based environmental education program for high school students by the James River Association, a non-governmental organization in Richmond, Virginia. The study aims to identify whether or not the program meets the goals of environmental education, as well as its own goals. Fifty-four past program participants responded to an internet survey. Descriptive statistics and analysis of qualitative data …

A Retro Development In Education: Evaluating The Feasibility Of Integrating Place-Based Education Into Mississippi Curriculum Standards, Colby K. Mcclain

Honors Theses

This thesis evaluates the feasibility of integrating place-based environmental education activities from Think Green, Take Action: Books and Activities for Kids into the Mississippi Department of Education’s (MDE) Frameworks for Science and Social Studies for K-5. As children develop and experience the world, their ability to understand and interpret the surrounding environments expand; however, Mississippi schools are not focused on experiential environmental education, even though experiencing and understanding the surrounding environment is vital in fostering eagerness to learn. Due to a growing disconnect between humans and the natural world, this thesis examined 37 place- and environment-based activities for children, sixteen …

Chapter 1 - Introduction, Julie A. Carlson

The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement in the United States

Chapter 1 of the book The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement contains introductory materials on L.B. Sharp.

Chapter 3 - Extending Education (Newsletter Of Life Camps), Julie A. Carlson

The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement in the United States

Chapter 3 of the book The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement contains information on Extending Education, the newsletter of Life Camps.

Chapter 4 - Broadcasts And Interviews, Julie A. Carlson

The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement in the United States

Chapter 4 of the book The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement contains broadcasts and interviews of L.B. Sharp.

Chapter 5 - Speeches And Lectures, Julie A. Carlson

The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement in the United States

Chapter 5 of the book The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement contains speeches and lectures by L.B. Sharp.

Chapter 8 - Epilogue, Julie A. Carlson

The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement in the United States

Chapter 8 of the book The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement contains the epilogue.

Chapter 7 - Poems And Prayers, Julie A. Carlson

The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement in the United States

Chapter 7 of the book The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement contains the poems and prayers of L.B. Sharp.

Chapter 6 - Films, Julie A. Carlson

The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement in the United States

Chapter 6 of the book The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement contains films on L.B. Sharp.

Front Matter, Julie A. Carlson

The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement in the United States

Cover and dedication for the book The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement in the United States.

Chapter 2 - Publications In Journals, Books, Reports, Julie A. Carlson

The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement in the United States

Chapter 2 of the book The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement contains publications of L.B. Sharp found in journals, books, and reports.