If you haven’t heard, outdoor and environmental education works! Studies
show it increases test scores across the curriculum and has a positive effect onstudent achievement and behavior. Here are some key studies: (you will need pdf viewing software – get free Adobe Reader)
STUDYING THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF ONLINE EDUCATION, Education Database Online Blog, February 2013
“Online learning has grown into an integral element of higher education. No longer an experimental novelty practiced by a handful of tech-loving pioneers, digital classrooms have enjoyed a steady surge in popularity for their low cost and ease of access. But you can’t change the way people approach learning without permanently impacting a few things along the way. Recent studies offer plenty of insight when it comes to better understanding how online and blended courses influence the students enrolled in them. And current trends and undertakings might reveal some of the possible hamstrings they might encounter — and, thankfully, some of their possible solutions.”
NATIONWIDE SURVEY SHOWS TODAY’S KIDS ARE ENVIRONMENTALLY SAVVY, Education Research Report, May 2006
According to the findings of the “Caring About America” survey conducted on behalf of Doubletree Hotels (NYSE:HLT), ninety-nine (99) percent of kids ages six to eleven surveyed across the country believe that it’s important to take care of the environment. More details in the article.
The Doubletree “Caring About America” Survey was conducted in March 2006 by Kelton Research. The survey polled 400 parents and 400 pre-teens (ages six to eleven years old) across the U.S. to learn more about the attitudes and actions of parents and kids on the environment and taking care of it.
NEW NYLC REPORT REVEALS THE IMPACT OF SERVICE-LEARNING ON YOUNG ADULTS November 2, 2006
The National Youth Leadership Council just released “The National Survey on Service-Learning and Transitioning to Adulthood.” The report reveals that, in relation to their peers, young adults who participated in K-12 service-learning are more satisfied with their current status in life; are more likely to discuss politics or community issues and vote in an election year; are more politically and socially connected to their communities, both as leaders and as role models; understand the importance of lifelong learning and, as a whole, are more educated and have higher aspirations; and are more active members of society. Download a pdf of the full report or download an article summarizing the report. To learn more, visit http://www.nylc.org/happening_newsarticle.cfm?oid=5453
School Trips Do Change Lives, from the UK, February 6, 2006
National Trust research shows lasting value of nature-based school trips. Learn more about the study at National Trust: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-global/w-news/w-news-top_story.htm. The National Trust works to preserve and protect the coastline, countryside and buildings of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
As the Government’s consultation into out-of-classroom education draws to a close, the National Trust is today releasing the results of a pioneering study confirming school trips can change the lives of children.
‘Changing Minds: The Lasting Impact of School Trips’ is the result of the first ever study of its kind. It was conducted over one year for the National Trust by Dr Alan Peacock of Exeter University, a leading expert in environmental education and education outside the classroom. Download the complete study as a pdf here: Changing Minds: The Lasting Impact of School Trips (167K)
‘We looked at whether school children’s learning about their local environment would influence the way they treat it. We found that not only was this the case, but high quality out-of-classroom learning also influenced how children behave and the lifestyle choices they make. It shows the potential for schools trips not just to change children’s lives, but the lives
of whole communities,’ Dr Peacock said. Read more here: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-chl/w-learning_discovery/w-schools/w-schools-guardianships/w-schools-guardianships-research.htm
SEER: State Education & Environment Roundtable
Report on the Educational Efficacy of Environmental Education, Linda Hoody, 1995 (pdf – 67K)
California Student Assessment Project: The Effects of Environment-Based Education on Student Achievement, March 2000 (pdf-259K)
Follow up study, 2005 – California Student Assessment Project Phase II(pdf – 229K)
Closing the Achievement Gap: Using the Environment as an Integrating Context for Learning
This report, prepared by the State Education and Environment Roundtable, is the story of the schools, teachers, and students who are involved in implementing EIC programs (using the Environment as an Integrating Context for learning).
It presents the results of a nationwide study; describes the major concepts and assumptions underlying EIC; explores a range of successful EIC programs across the; United States; identifies the major characteristics of successful EIC programs; and, analyzes the implications of EIC-based education for student learning and instruction.
AB 1330 Research on the Effects of Outdoor Education on Children in California, January 2005
Study Final Report (Summary): “Children who attended outdoor school significantly raised their science scores by 27 percent as measured by a pre- and post survey administered upon their return to school” and more good news about the effectiveness
of outdoor school programs!Full Final Report – 51 page pdf file (200K); Appendices - 25 page pdf file (1MB)
LA Times article on this study: “An outside chance for schoolkids – Environmental courses improve science scores and build confidence, a study finds.” By Hugo Martín, Times Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, June 7, 2005
Woodleaf Study: http://www.woodleaf.org/results.htm
In a survey taken in 1997, 75% of high school students surveyed indicated that their Woodleaf Outdoor School experience
was the most important experience of their school careers. In 1996 a study was completed to see how students who attended Woodleaf faired on their standardized tests as compared to those who had not.It was shown that students who attended Woodleaf scored significantly better in all areas than their peers who had not. Within the State of California as study was sanctioned and completed through the Department of Education to determine the impact of utilizing the environment as an integrating factor in school studies.
The results demonstrated a clear achievement gap favoring those students who had utilized the environment in their classrooms (See The Effects of Environment-Based Education on Student Achievement and Closing the Achievement
Gap, from SEER, above).
Washington Assessment Project
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION REPORT CARD SHOWS POSITIVE RESULTS ON STANDARDIZED TESTS IN ASHINGTON STATE.
Results of the Report Card on Environmental Education in Washington State show students involved in environmental education score higher on standardized tests, than do students with more conventional schooling. The report highlights successful ideas, projects, and innovations in environmental education. View full report here (pdf – 1.9 MB)
Demonstrating the Efficacy of Environmental Education:Using Criterion Referenced Tests to Demonstrate Student Achievement on State Discipline Based Exams, Catherine Taylor, et al (PDF-1.81MB) Pacific Education Institute
Technical Report #7Better Test Scores Through Environmental Education? Article from Clearing Magazine
The EE-Works.org -Update: According to NEETF, “The EE works.org website was not a NEETF funded program, but a separate website with information about the value and benefits of EE. We will be incorporating the theeeworks.org content into the National Environmental Education Week website, www.eeweek.org in the next few months.”
Does environmental education actually work and how? Does it help young people and adults do a better job of conserving environmental resources and the natural world? And, can human health, one’s overall education and even the economy be improved through basic environmental education? Are the effects measurable and significant?
The quick answers are yes, yes, and yes!. This website has information you can use as an educator, a community leader, a business executive or public official to explain the reliable results from environmental education to friends and skeptics alike. The information is in six main categories: Environmental Stewardship, Standardized Testing, Science
Learning, Reading Proficiency and Learning Skill, Character Education and Responsible Behavior, and Context
for Diversity. The EE-works is a service of the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation
This site may have some of the information that was lost when the above site went offline, or other useful items.
Other Environmental / Outdoor Education Research
- Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Environmental Education Resources
- ASCD publishes Educational LeadershipBooks: Advancing Education Through Environmental Literacy, by Michele L.
Archie - Better Test Scores Through Environmental Education?
- Article from Clearing Magazine on the Washington Assessment Project
- Bibliography of Reports and Studies on Environmental Literacy
- Linked list from Earthgate Services: Earthgate Services was founded on a simple premise: Life on the planet as we know it cannot be sustained unless greater environmental literacy informs all human endeavors.
- Coalition for Education in the Outdoors – Research Symposia Proceedings
- These publications of 100 pages plus contain the latest research on outdoor education presented at the Coalition’s biennial symposia. Copies of the proceedings are a benefit of membership. Copies of past symposia proceedings may be purchased
for $18 each, including shipping and handling. - The EE-Works.org Update: According to NEETF, “The EE works.org website was not a NEETF funded program, but a separate website with information about the value and benefits of ee. We will be incorporating the theeeworks.org content into the National Environmental Education Week website, www.eeweek.org in the next few months.”
- Does environmental education actually work and how? Does it help young people and adults do a better job of conserving environmental resources and the natural world? And, can human health, one’s overall education and even the economy be improved through basic environmental education? Are the effects measurable and significant? The quick answers are yes,
yes, and yes!. This website has information you can use as an educator, a community leader, a business executive or public official to explain the reliable results from environmental education to friends and skeptics alike. The information is in six main categories: - Environmental Stewardship,
- Standardized Testing,
- Science Learning,
- Reading
Proficiency and Learning Skill, - Character Education and Responsible Behavior, and
- Context for Diversity.
- The EE-works is a service of the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation
- Effects of Outdoor Education Programs on Children in California
- The American Institutes of Research, a prominent evaluation research center, is conducting an evaluation study of how California Outdoor Schools impact students’ stewardship of the environment, personal and social skills, as well as learning outcomes, especially in science. Of particular interest is their “delayed treatment” design, which provides some attributes of an experimental design. The final report is due in January 2005. Funding for the study was made possible through advocacy efforts by the Sierra Club.
This is the result of AB 1330. STUDY RESULTS-CLICK HERE - LA Times article on this study: “An outside chance for schoolkids – Environmental courses improve science scores
and build confidence, a study finds.” By Hugo Martín, Times Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, June 7, 2005
- Environment and Behavior
- Environment and Behavior brings you current research and theories as they develop. The articles are always fresh, the information consistently at the forefront of the discipline. Environment and Behavior analyzes and records the influence of environment on individuals, groups and institutions. Through feature articles, discussions and book reviews, you’ll explore such topics as: · Beliefs, meanings, values and attitudes of individuals or groups concerning various environments such as neighborhoods, cities, transport routes and devices, or recreational areas · Evaluation and effectiveness of environments designed to accomplish specific objectives · Interrelationships between human environments and behavioral systems · Planning, policy and political action aimed at controlling environments and behavior.
- Environmental Education Research
- A Journal publication of NAAEE (North American Association for Environmental Education) Environmental Education
Research is an international refereed journal which publishes papers and reports on all aspects of environmental education. The purpose of the journal is to help advance understanding of environmental and sustainability education
through a focus on papers reporting research and development activities. The journal also carries more diverse papers including, for example, conference reviews, retrospective analyses of activities in a particular field, critical commentaries on policy issues and comparative aspects of an environmental education issue. The criteria for acceptance of papers are that they are analytical and critical; that the ideas being discussed are transferable to other educational systems and cultures; and that they are accessible to
an international audience.
- Environmental Education Research Web Resources Everyone’s redesigning their websites. I can no longer find the research web resources that used to be on this site. Good luck.
- From The Center For Environmental Education of Antioch New England Institute:
Antioch New England Institute promotes a vibrant and sustainable environment,
economy, and society through informed civic engagement. A nonprofit environmental
and educational consulting organization of Antioch New England Graduate
School, the Institute provides training and resources to communities and
organizations in the following areas: environmental education, leadership
training, environmental policy development, nonprofit management and governance,
exhibit planning and design, public administration, facilitation, and democracy
building. - Environmental Education
- Great resource put together by Annique Sampson of Prescott College: Includes
1: What is EE? 2: Why is EE Important? 3: Is EE Under Attack? (see article
below) 4: What Can You Do to Help? 5: Resources and Bibliography - Environmental Education: Promise and Performance
- Paper by Michael Sanera, Environmental Education Research Institute, USA
Published in the Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 3, Spring 1998
pp. 9-26 This article presents a negative point of view, not born out by
more recent studies. It’s good to know the different “sides” of an issue,
however. - Green power
- Studies find natural settings help both kids and adults shrug off stress;
By Karen Patterson, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS May
5, 2004. A patch of greenery isn’t just another pretty space. A growing body
of research is showing that natural settings provide tangible mental health
benefits. Children are better able to shrug off stress and better able
to concentrate when they have contact with natural surroundings, studies
show. Adults are less overwhelmed by their problems when there’s green space near their
inner-city homes. Read the article for more -
References and related stories
for Green Power article:Frances E. Kuo, PhD and Andrea Faber Taylor, PhD, American Journal of Public
Health, September 2004Jean Marie Cackowski and Jack L. Nasar, Environment
and
Behavior, Vol. 35, No. 6, 736-751 (2003)CU researcher: Green space is beneficial to children
By Susan Lang; Cornell News,
January 24, 2002Aggression and Violence in the Inner City: Effects of Environment via Mental
FatigueFrances E. Kuo, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 33, No. 4, 543-571 (2001)
The Nature of the View From Home: Psychological Benefits
Rachel Kaplan, Environment and Behavior,
Vol. 33, No. 4, 507-542 (2001)Environment and Crime in the Inner City: Does Vegetation Reduce Crime?
Frances E. Kuo, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 33, No. 3, 343-367 (2001)
Dec. 3, 2001; Susan S. Lang; Cornell News
At
Home With Nature: Effects of “Greenness” on Children’s Cognitive
FunctioningNancy M. Wells, Environment and Behavior,
Vol. 32, No. 6, 775-795 (2000) - Guide to Outdoor Education Research
- From the Outdoor Education Research and Evaluation Center – an excellent
summary of Outdoor Education Theory, History, Research and Practice (below).
This is a great primer for research which will help you get started, and
give you great direction and resources to keep going.
- The Journal of Environmental Education
- Any educator in the environmental field will find The Journal of Environmental
Education indispensable. Based on recent research in the sciences, social
sciences, and humanities, the journal details how best to present environmental
issues and how to evaluate programs already in place for primary through
university level and adult students. University researchers, park and recreation
administrators, and teachers from the United States and abroad provide new
analyses of the instruction, theory, methods, and practices of environmental
communication and education in peer-reviewed articles. Reviews of the most
recent books, textbooks, videos, and other educational materials by experts
in the field appear regularly. Not only for teachers, JEE is for those who
administer and fund environmental education programs for schools, parks,
camps, recreation centers, and businesses.
- Outdoor Education Research and Evaluation Center
- This site provides resources about outdoor education and related programs
and methods, such as residential camping, experiential education, environmental
education, and adventure therapy. They provide online access to academic
resources such as articles, essays, papers, and theses about philosophical,
theoretical, research, and evaluation aspects of outdoor education. An excellent
resource! Site includes not only research on outdoor education, but also
lists of team-building games, resources and so much more. Take some time
to explore this site – you will learn something useful! Guide to Outdoor
Education Research and Evaluation - Place Based Education
- Page from the Funder’s Forum on Environment and Education.
- Review of Research Literature on Environmental Education
- Reviews of many books and publications on EE Research from the Funder’s Forum on Environment and Education.
- Teaching Personal Responsibility in Environmental Education
- Article from the Fall 2000 AEOE Newsletter by Jeri Pollock of Pepperdine University and Moorpark College.
- What Is Environmental Education
- GREAT page of resources – articles about Environmental Education and Literacy from the Funder’s
Forum on Environment and Education. Includes Review of Research Literature on Environmental Education (draft), National Council for Science and the Environment, July 16, 2003 – Covers the topics of: the need for environmental education; the challenges of building interdisciplinary environmental programs; the environmental curriculum; what happens post-grad; analyses of the growth of environmental programs; integrating environment into campus operations and campus life. Many other resources. - Measuring the Success of Environmental Education Programs
- by Gareth Thomson and Jenn Hoffman
- This document is an attempt at outlining and describing pertinent educational
evaluation methodologies and tools. Its purpose is not to reinvent the wheel,
but rather to connect environmental educators with solid, practical evaluation
strategies, methods and advice. Outcome-Based Evaluation is rapidly growing
in popularity and use among both funding and the non-governmental community,
and the authors describe a program logic model and an evaluation scheme that
flows from this model, using illustrative examples from existing environmental
education programs. Finally, some outcome indicators are suggested that can
be used to assess the ‘hard to measure’ long-term outcomes that
pertain to values, behaviour, and environmental benefits. This report also
briefly reviews the basic tenets of environmental education, reports on ten
principles of excellent environmental education, and includes a glossary
and written and online resources to assist the reader. - What Good is Environmental Education?
- Talk by Sue Staniforth, June 19,
2002, “An overview of some of the current research in the field of EE
in order to provide some context and background and touch on some challenges
and potential ways to address these challenges: Specifically – Focus
further on some of the key elements that make good EE, such as: The 3 C’s – connection,
concern and care, Experiential learning, Learning stages and ages appropriate
for specific topics, Teaching Controversial Issues, Values Clarification,
Cultural diversity, Action Learning, Student engagement”
