Does nature connectedness affect students enough in order to make changes to school systems?
Background and History
In the 1950’s urbanization began to spread across America at a rapid pace. There were 30 houses being built each day. People began to feel accustomed to the feeling of isolation within the confined walls of their houses. This also transferred over into the classroom making students used to being indoors. Needless to say, kids began to spend more of their time indoors rather than outdoors. This urbanization has led citizens to have increased stressors by being overcrowded, being in a polluted environment, and having reduced social support, according to the Urbanization of Mental Health. Because of urbanization, it has led to a call out for more positive contact with nature. One way that it is possible to reconnect with nature is having outdoor classrooms in schools. The classroom is a very dreadful learning environment for a child. Students are tired of the same old boring classroom that puts them to sleep. However, there is a way that scientists have been researching that has improved the wellbeing of students and produced better grades. This new idea is nature connectedness. Nature tends to affect mental health and learning in a positive way with improving focus, relieving stress, developing more discipline and more creativity. Some schools have already started using this tactic and have increased test scores and state of wellbeing. Although, this nature of connectedness idea involves a great amount of funding to implement the programs in schools and adding new curriculum. An outdoor classroom costs anywhere from $500 to $150,000, depending on the landscape plan, labour, materials and maintenance. Outdoor classrooms will improve a child’s school experience, but it also will cost a pretty penny to make the classroom.
Current Status on Topic
There’s a bunch of studies and essays on the issue and there’s a research association on the subject. The research association made a programme called The Get to Know which was designed to get closer with nature through activities, such as an art competition, outdoor nature trail and virtual hiking. The study was conducted on Elementary school kids and the conclusion was that they need more information. In Greece there’s a nursery that has a forest school program, the study was on 11 children, age 5 to 7, the program went on for 3 years. The studies compared scores to a local and found the Forest program schools had higher scores. There are instruments to test people’s nature connectedness such as the Nature Relatedness scale, Nature in Self Care and Nature Connectedness scale. Most of these studies are conducted in Europe. However the controversy is whether or not nature connectedness affects students enough in order to make changes to school systems.
Key Players
Throughout our research we’ve contacted professors such as Miles Richardson. Richardson is one of the main leaders that pushes for nature connectedness. He runs a Nature Connectedness Research group for the University of Derby, the group's research was honored in 100 best breakthrough lists. Also another member that has lots of experience with outdoor learning is Erica Yoss. Yoss is the coordinator for the Environmental Education Program in Waukesha, Wi. Erica is also a teacher/coach who is a part of the SDW (School District of Waukesha). These people have helped us gain a better understanding of different perspectives on this debatable topic.
Solution
A solution that we have come up with includes students interacting with nature. However, because the price of putting in an outdoor classroom is quite pricey, there are other solutions that improve the mental health of students. These solutions consist of art classes taking place outside or students taking a physical education class. Anything that relieves stress is a good solution. For example, weight training is a very good way to relieve stress and to improve the mental wellbeing of a student. According to fitnessgenes.com, weight training allows people to be attentive, allows students to make better decisions, helps with memory, reduces stress and raises self esteem due to a positive change in body definition. With this in mind, there are other ways to allow students to express their full learning potential. Adding in some physical exercise to a kids school day in order to make them focus and be more attentive, is a much cheaper way than building an outdoor classroom.
Works Cited
“[No Title Found].” Frontiers in Psychology.
“The Positive Effects Of Nature On Your Mental Well-Being.” PositivePsychology.Com, 11 Mar. 2019, https://positivepsychology.com/positive-effects-of-nature/.
Kuo, Ming, et al. “Do Experiences With Nature Promote Learning? Converging Evidence of a Cause-and-Effect Relationship.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 10, Feb. 2019. PubMed Central, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00305.
CloseDeleteEdit
https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/leaf/school-grounds/documents/outdoor%20education%20research%20for%20school%20Grounds.pdf
“Experiences of Nature Boost Children’s Learning: Critical Review Finds Cause-and-Effect Relationship.” ScienceDaily, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190312123754.htm. Accessed 20 Mar. 2020.
Srivastava, Kalpana. “Urbanization and Mental Health.” Industrial Psychiatry Journal, vol. 18, no. 2, 2009, pp. 75–76. PubMed Central, doi:10.4103/0972-6748.64028.
Tillmann, Suzanne, et al. “Mental Health Benefits of Interactions with Nature in Children and Teenagers: A Systematic Review.” J Epidemiol Community Health, vol. 72, no. 10, Oct. 2018, pp. 958–66. jech.bmj.com, doi:10.1136/jech-2018-210436.
“5 Mental Health Benefits of Strength Training | FitnessGenes®.” FitnessGenes Official Website, https://fitnessgenes.com/blog/5-mental-health-benefits-of-strength-training. Accessed 20 Mar. 2020.
In the 1950’s urbanization began to spread across America at a rapid pace. There were 30 houses being built each day. People began to feel accustomed to the feeling of isolation within the confined walls of their houses. This also transferred over into the classroom making students used to being indoors. Needless to say, kids began to spend more of their time indoors rather than outdoors. This urbanization has led citizens to have increased stressors by being overcrowded, being in a polluted environment, and having reduced social support, according to the Urbanization of Mental Health. Because of urbanization, it has led to a call out for more positive contact with nature. One way that it is possible to reconnect with nature is having outdoor classrooms in schools. The classroom is a very dreadful learning environment for a child. Students are tired of the same old boring classroom that puts them to sleep. However, there is a way that scientists have been researching that has improved the wellbeing of students and produced better grades. This new idea is nature connectedness. Nature tends to affect mental health and learning in a positive way with improving focus, relieving stress, developing more discipline and more creativity. Some schools have already started using this tactic and have increased test scores and state of wellbeing. Although, this nature of connectedness idea involves a great amount of funding to implement the programs in schools and adding new curriculum. An outdoor classroom costs anywhere from $500 to $150,000, depending on the landscape plan, labour, materials and maintenance. Outdoor classrooms will improve a child’s school experience, but it also will cost a pretty penny to make the classroom.
Current Status on Topic
There’s a bunch of studies and essays on the issue and there’s a research association on the subject. The research association made a programme called The Get to Know which was designed to get closer with nature through activities, such as an art competition, outdoor nature trail and virtual hiking. The study was conducted on Elementary school kids and the conclusion was that they need more information. In Greece there’s a nursery that has a forest school program, the study was on 11 children, age 5 to 7, the program went on for 3 years. The studies compared scores to a local and found the Forest program schools had higher scores. There are instruments to test people’s nature connectedness such as the Nature Relatedness scale, Nature in Self Care and Nature Connectedness scale. Most of these studies are conducted in Europe. However the controversy is whether or not nature connectedness affects students enough in order to make changes to school systems.
Key Players
Throughout our research we’ve contacted professors such as Miles Richardson. Richardson is one of the main leaders that pushes for nature connectedness. He runs a Nature Connectedness Research group for the University of Derby, the group's research was honored in 100 best breakthrough lists. Also another member that has lots of experience with outdoor learning is Erica Yoss. Yoss is the coordinator for the Environmental Education Program in Waukesha, Wi. Erica is also a teacher/coach who is a part of the SDW (School District of Waukesha). These people have helped us gain a better understanding of different perspectives on this debatable topic.
Solution
A solution that we have come up with includes students interacting with nature. However, because the price of putting in an outdoor classroom is quite pricey, there are other solutions that improve the mental health of students. These solutions consist of art classes taking place outside or students taking a physical education class. Anything that relieves stress is a good solution. For example, weight training is a very good way to relieve stress and to improve the mental wellbeing of a student. According to fitnessgenes.com, weight training allows people to be attentive, allows students to make better decisions, helps with memory, reduces stress and raises self esteem due to a positive change in body definition. With this in mind, there are other ways to allow students to express their full learning potential. Adding in some physical exercise to a kids school day in order to make them focus and be more attentive, is a much cheaper way than building an outdoor classroom.
Works Cited
“[No Title Found].” Frontiers in Psychology.
“The Positive Effects Of Nature On Your Mental Well-Being.” PositivePsychology.Com, 11 Mar. 2019, https://positivepsychology.com/positive-effects-of-nature/.
Kuo, Ming, et al. “Do Experiences With Nature Promote Learning? Converging Evidence of a Cause-and-Effect Relationship.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 10, Feb. 2019. PubMed Central, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00305.
CloseDeleteEdit
https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/leaf/school-grounds/documents/outdoor%20education%20research%20for%20school%20Grounds.pdf
“Experiences of Nature Boost Children’s Learning: Critical Review Finds Cause-and-Effect Relationship.” ScienceDaily, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190312123754.htm. Accessed 20 Mar. 2020.
Srivastava, Kalpana. “Urbanization and Mental Health.” Industrial Psychiatry Journal, vol. 18, no. 2, 2009, pp. 75–76. PubMed Central, doi:10.4103/0972-6748.64028.
Tillmann, Suzanne, et al. “Mental Health Benefits of Interactions with Nature in Children and Teenagers: A Systematic Review.” J Epidemiol Community Health, vol. 72, no. 10, Oct. 2018, pp. 958–66. jech.bmj.com, doi:10.1136/jech-2018-210436.
“5 Mental Health Benefits of Strength Training | FitnessGenes®.” FitnessGenes Official Website, https://fitnessgenes.com/blog/5-mental-health-benefits-of-strength-training. Accessed 20 Mar. 2020.