The Benefits of Outdoor Learning

From preschool through high school, Schoolyard Habitat projects act as living laboratories where students participate in hands-on exploration of the natural world. These projects enrich the teaching and learning of science, math, social studies, and English in numerous ways.

In 1999, a consortium of education agencies from 12 states, called the State Education and Environment Roundtable, published a groundbreaking study entitled: Closing the Achievement Gap: Using the Environment as an Integrating Context for Learning. The roundtable studied schools nationwide that are using the environment as the context for interdisciplinary, student-centered, hands-on learning and teaching across all subject areas.

The study reports that students in such programs:

• Better performance on standardized measures of academic achievement in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies
• Reduced discipline and classroom management problems
•Increased engagement and enthusiasm for learning
•Demonstrate an increased ability to think creatively and problem-solving abilities
•Greater pride and ownership in accomplishments

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LIVING LABRATORIES

Schoolyard Habitats projects serve as living laboratories where students engage in hands-on science inquiries and design investigations into the natural world.

They provide students with the opportunity to apply math concepts to the real world; whether estimating numbers of plants in an on-site plant community or tracking and graphing ongoing wildlife observations, the outdoors is full of mathematical wonders.

Schoolyard Habitats sites provide a quiet space for creative writing about nature or a research laboratory where students can develop strong English skills through research, writing and communication skills.

The Schoolyard Habitats program can be applied successfully to help teach about connections between people, social constructs and the environment. These concepts of geography and social studies come to life as students gain real-life expe- rience of their local community in a global context.

 

“When I taught the kids math skills like measuring in the classroom, they forgot it and couldn’t make use of it. When the students had a chance to use these skills on our nature trail, they not only learned better but could apply and remember their math skills longer.”

— Kim Flynn, Math Teacher,
Jackson County Middle School, Kentucky

 

“The kids became so excited about simple topics that kids didn’t become excited about before in traditional classes, they really convinced me that the integrated environmental education was worthwhile. Now, science-wise…the kids remember things better for a longer period of time.”

— Michael Melin, Science Teacher,      
Tahoma High School, Washington

“Now, I find myself trying to make connections in everything I do. It’s a subconscious thing that happens. After you learn this way for two years, it just comes naturally”

— Doug, Junior, Lincoln High School, California

 

“These habitats will strengthen the children’s understanding of life’s interdependency and provide hands-on opportunities to learn life skills and reinforce curriculum expectations...These habitats provide a natural, real-life, hands-on learning experience to enhance many of our K-5 science learning outcomes. Students will be able to learn about living/non-living things and how different weather conditions affect the plants. They will be able to observe habitats, adaptation of plants and animals, food chains/webs, and life cycles of plants and animals. Higher grades study the impact humans have on ecosystems and how a community of living things changes over time.”

— Johnson Elementary, Schoolyard Habitats site #1423, Milford, MI

“I have said for years that eco-science is the glue that can tie many subjects together. I call it the “by the way” technique. You are talking about biodiversity in Ethiopia, and you say, by the way, what countries surround Ethiopia? What direction does the Nile flow? What sea does it dump into? The kids don’t get it as “Name three of these...” or “Do this worksheet.” They see it as the nuts and bolts of the discussion. I have countless [more] examples...with the paperwork as the proof.”

— Teacher featured in Environment-based Education Creating High Performance Schools and Students Guide

 

“Kids make connections across disciplines. We believe this not only brings [learning] alive, but also reflects real life and allows students to do the kind of thinking that problem solving in the real world requires”

— Dan Bodette, Principal, School of Environmental Studies, Apple Valley, Minnesota

“Environmental education does cut down discipline problems. Kids relate well to studying the world around them and they want to learn reading and math.”

— Estelle Vollmers, Hawley Elementary School,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

 

“Annie is a Third-Grade student in an inner-city school that incorporates an environmental focus into their curriculum. Like many people raised in urban environments, she had learned to fear snakes. But Annie’s class was studying interdependence, or as she called it, “teamwork,” in the natural world, and Annie chose to study snakes. When a school visitor later asked her about her work, Annie didn’t hesitate. “My project is on snakes,” she said. “They’re beautiful.” And then she told the visitor all about how snakes team up with nature and why they belong in the world.”

— Annie, Third Grader, Florida

“When students “become scientists” rather than learn “about science,” their skills in questioning, investigation, data interpretation, analysis, and problem solving grow. Exploring their environment capitalizes on students’ intrinsic interest in the world around them. Using problem-solving as a teaching strategy enhances students’ ability to apply knowledge from one area to another..”

— Condit Elementary School, Bellaire, Texas