This research study, grounded in experiential learning theory, utilized a draw-and-explain assessment to measure change in secondary students’ knowledge before and after an experiential field trip....

Experiential learning theory: the importance of outdoor classrooms in environmental education

This study compared the impacts of traditional classroom and outdoor schoolyard instruction on the environmental science content knowledge and attitudes of 285 third- and fourth-grade students. A modified Solomon Four Group design, including control, classroom treatment, and schoolyard treatment groups, was used. Both the indoor classroom and outdoor schoolyard treatments consisted of corresponding 10-day units focusing on plant and animal ecology. Valid and reliable content knowledge and attitude assessments were administered before and after instruction. Analyses of variance and post hoc analyses of posttest scores and gain scores indicated that elementary students learned significantly more about selected environmental science topics through outdoor schoolyard experiences than through traditional indoor classroom experiences. Both classroom and schoolyard treatment groups developed more positive environmental attitudes as a result of instruction, but the attitude posttest and gain scores of these two groups were not significantly different from each other.

The Effectiveness of Schoolyards as Sites for Elementary Science Instruction

Environmental education (EE) is a powerful educational tool with a complex and somewhat tumultuous history Since its rise to relative prominence in the 1970s, it has often been misunderstood with regard to its exact definition, its origins, its objectives, its goals, and often its value to society and K-12 education The primary contributing factors to this dilemma may be the broad set of disciplines from which EE sprang, from which it continues to draw, and its relationship to other disciplines and fields of study The situation is further exacerbated by the lack of uniform terminology applied to EE and many related areas of study and practice This chapter traces the historical and philosophical development of the field, relates environmental education as presently practiced to the mosaic of K-12 education with a focus on its relationship to science education, and lays the groundwork for further discussion of EE’s place in the education of teachers of science for the twenty-first century

The History and Philosophy of Environmental Education

Environmental education is becoming an increasingly important focus for educational research in a school context. This research reflects a number of contrasting environmental and educational research paradigms and these are evident in definitions of environmental education, curriculum objectives, curriculum content, and pedagogy. This review seeks to examine the nature of environmental paradigms and their relationships to environmental education in school curricula. Technical, interpretive and critical curriculum theories are discussed. Future research directions are indicated and suggestions are made for employing various forms of curriculum inquiry in the context of environmental education.

Researching environmental education in the school curriculum: An introduction for students and teacher researchers

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) can be thought of as the bringing together of a wide variety of educational strategies aimed at addressing the existential problems of human socio-economic development. But, as we near the end of the UN’s ESD Decade, what can we say about how ESD is conceptualised and interpreted; about its coherence and usefulness as an idea; about how well it fits within education systems and schools; about its potential as a strategy to change educational experiences across the globe; and about the uncertainties and ambiguities at its heart? This chapter examines these questions and puts forward a number of issues for both practitioners and policy makers to consider in the UN’s post-Decade global action programme.

John F. Disinger

Papers

What Research Says

What Research Says: Learning in the Environment

What Research Says: Instruction in Awareness of Environmental Issues.

What Research Says: A Look at National and International Environmental Education Conferences