Field trips to natural environments: how outdoor educators use the physical environment

Lavie-Alon, Nirit; Tal, Tali

doi:10.1080/21548455.2016.1250291

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In this study the MEs always followed the same strategy (of asking “do you know how to operate the exhibit?”). This tendency to follow structured pedagogy has also been observed in outdoor learning settings among environmental educators, who tend to follow the single instructional strategy of describing and explaining what is seen in the environment, rather than varied facilitation strategies that involve observation and exploration (Lavie Alon & Tal, ). This kind of instruction might result from the fact that shifting from being a didactic source of information to being a mediator, who listens, observes and then responds strategically, is no simple task for museum educators (Ash & Lombana, ; Tran & King, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

An examination of the interactions between museum educators and students on a school visit to science museum

2018

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Today, science is a major part of western culture. Discussions about the need for members of the public to access and understand scientific information are therefore well established, citing the importance of such information to responsible citizenship, democracy, socially accountable scientific research and public funding (National Research Council [2009] Learning science in informal environments: People, places, and pursuits. National Academies Press). In recent years there has been an increased interest in investigating not just what visitors to informal environments have learnt after a visit, but also how visitors interact and engage with exhibits during the visit (Davidsson & Jakobsson [2012] Understanding interactions at science centers and museums: Approaching sociocultural perspectives. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers). Within the field of school visits to science museums, however, interactions between students and museum educators (MEs) remain relatively unexplored. In our study of such school visits, we are mainly interested in the interactions that take place between three agents—the students, the museum educator and the physical setting of the exhibit. Using moment‐to‐moment fine grain analysis of multiple interactions allowed us to identify recurring patterns between students and the museum educators around exhibits, and to examine the MEs’ mediational role during the interactions, and the practices they employ to engage students with exhibits. Our study revealed that most interactions between MEs and students consist of technical explanations of how to operate the exhibits. The interactions that do move past this stage often include two main practices, which the MEs use to promote students’ engagement with the exhibits: physical instruction and engaging the students emotionally. Understanding what is actually happening in the learning process that occurs during students’ interactions with exhibits can help museum educators and exhibit designers improve the experiences of students on school visits.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

An examination of the interactions between museum educators and students on a school visit to science museum

2018

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“…Rea (2008) argued that 'the power of outdoor learning may also lie in the informality and deeply contextual learning activities engaged in, approaches to learning that traditional schooling struggles to do well'. Lavie Alon and Tal (2017) found that outdoor educators' use of the natural environment was primarily structured and teacher-led, and they also suggest that less structured activities and more free choice time could promote learning as well as positive attitudes.…”

Section: Formal Outdoor Teachingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although concerns about the limited use of outdoor education are typical (Lock, 2010;Lloyd et al, 2012;Kärnä, Hakonen, and Kuusela, 2012), there is no consensus on how much fieldtrips should even follow the institutions' formal structures and classroom-like teaching practices (e.g. Rea, 2008;Rickinson et al, 2004;Lavie Alon and Tal, 2017). Berger and Luckmann (1966) analysis of the process and mechanisms of institutionalization provides a valuable tool for understanding the potential of outdoor teaching in institutionalized school practices.…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

How fieldwork-oriented biology teachers establish formal outdoor education practices

Kervinen

Uitto

Juuti

2018

Journal of Biological Education

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Fieldwork is an important part of biology as well as science and biology education. However, teachers perceive several reasons for the limited use of fieldwork in schools. Further, outdoor education is often organised as a single fieldtrip guided by outdoor educators, and little research has been done on fieldwork as a regular part of formal biology education. This case study explores three secondary-school biology teachers who untypically use outdoor education as a major part of their ecology courses for 8 th grade students (median age 14). Berger and Luckmann's theory of the process of institutionalization as a theoretical background is used to interpret the pedagogical and organizational choices of the case study teachers. Analysis of the interviews of the selected three teachers revealed pedagogical and organizational means through which outdoor teaching is institutionalized into a regular activity in biology lessons. The teachers considered regularity, assessment practices and the school curriculum as major tools to legitimate outdoor learning as a formal schoolwork and foster successful learning. However, they also emphasised students' freedom during outdoor activities. The findings are discussed in terms of how the teachers succeeded in combining the institutional order of formal schooling with students' freedom in nature.

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“…One of the most frequently mentioned benefits is that outdoor science offers the opportunity to contextualize scientific concepts in authentic settings (e.g., Fägerstam & Blom, 2013;Lustick, 2009), which allows "their relevance to become immediately obvious" (Sahrakhiz, Harring, & Witte, 2018, p. 223). In the outdoors, students can also develop scientific field skills (Glackin, 2016;Glowinski & Bayrhuber, 2011)2016; Glowinski & Bayrhuber, 2011 that might not necessarily be developed in a classroom or laboratory (James & Williams, 2017;Lavie Alon & Tal, 2017). Moreover, schools' immediate surroundings provide various environments for developing competencies in deploying science learning in new contexts, that is, transferring students' learning from one situation to another (Chen & Cowie, 2013;Glackin, 2016)2016.…”

Section: Challenges and Benefits Of Outdoor Science Education For Stumentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Related to Students’ Perception of Learning During Outdoor Science Lessons in Schools’ Immediate Surroundings

Ayotte-Beaudet

Potvin

2020

Int J Env Sci Ed

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The research presented in this paper answers the question: What factors are most related to students' perception of learning during outdoor science lessons occurring in schools' immediate surroundings? Twenty-six science teachers, as well as 71 classes of seventh (51 classes) and eighth (20 classes) graders participated in our study (n = 2007). All 26 teachers agreed to plan and carry out five outdoor lessons in their schools' immediate surroundings for each class they decided to include in the study. The 11 influencing factors we examined in this quantitative study were: the duration of the outdoor lesson, the students' level of preparation, the students' opportunity to make choices, the outdoor environment, the position in the lesson sequence, the presence of a laboratory technician, the scientific discipline, the grouping of the students, the teacher's outdoor teaching experience, the type of activity, and the weather conditions. To identify the factors most related to students' perception of learning, we ran a bivariate correlation analysis and then used a three-level hierarchical linear model (HLM) with the significant factors from the bivariate correlation. Our results showed that students' perception of learning was significantly and positively correlated with the factors listening to scientific explanations, being grouped with the entire class, students' level of preparation, and students' opportunity to make choices, and negatively correlated with observing. We conclude this paper by arguing that students' perception of learning is really a perception that is based on their anticipated success on school assessments.

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Field trips to natural environments: how outdoor educators use the physical environment

Cited by 22 publications

References 31 publications

An examination of the interactions between museum educators and students on a school visit to science museum

An examination of the interactions between museum educators and students on a school visit to science museum

How fieldwork-oriented biology teachers establish formal outdoor education practices

Factors Related to Students’ Perception of Learning During Outdoor Science Lessons in Schools’ Immediate Surroundings

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