The Effects of School Gardens on Children's Science Knowledge: A randomized controlled trial of low-income elementary schools

Wells, Nancy M.; Myers, Beth M.; Todd, Lauren; Barale, Karen; Gaolach, Brad; Ferenz, Gretchen; Aitken, Martha; Henderson, Charles; Tse, Caroline; Pattison, Karen Ostlie; Taylor, Cayla; Connerly, Laura; Carson, Janet B.; Gensemer, Alexandra; Franz, Nancy K.; Falk, Elizabeth

doi:10.1080/09500693.2015.1112048

Cited by 51 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Opportunely, other studies have demonstrated that outdoor EE has led to gains in science knowledge for all students (Jon Schneller et al, 2015;Wells et al, 2015). In our study, those findings seem to hold true for ECBD students specifically, suggesting outdoor EE can help teachers supplement science instruction for all students using a single approach.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Impacts of Outdoor Environmental Education on Teacher Reports of Attention, Behavior, and Learning Outcomes for Students With Emotional, Cognitive, and Behavioral Disabilities

2018

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There are over 4 million students with reported emotional, cognitive, and behavioral disabilities (ECBD) in the United States. Teachers most frequently situate instruction inside, however, outdoor environmental education (EE) can improve academic and affective outcomes for many students, including students with ECBD. In North Carolina, U.S.A., an EE program utilizes outdoor science instruction for fifth-grade students. The program takes place over four to 10 full-school days across the year, and instruction occurs in both schoolyards and natural areas. The program aligns outdoor EE with state and national science education standards. Using a quasi-experimental design, the present study examined the impacts of the program on indicators of ECBD (e.g., student behavior, attention span), science efficacy, nature of science, and academic achievement for students with ECBD. We measured these factors using online surveys from both students identified with ECBD and their classroom teachers, as well as students with ECBD from matched control schools and their respective teachers. Students in both treatment (n = 99) and control (n = 62) classrooms took the survey two times over the school year. Quantitative data revealed teachers perceived students had significantly improved attention spans and decreased disruptive behaviors when learning outdoors. Students in the treatment group maintained measures of nature of science, science efficacy and science grades, keeping in line with their peers in the control group. We supplemented survey data with teacher interview data about their impressions of the outdoor program and the experiences of their students identified with ECBD. Teacher interview responses supported quantitative findings. These findings indicate that outdoor EE has the potential to be at least as effective a method for science instruction as classroom teaching, and in the case of addressing indicators of ECBD, outdoor EE may be a successful strategy for student learning.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Impacts of Outdoor Environmental Education on Teacher Reports of Attention, Behavior, and Learning Outcomes for Students With Emotional, Cognitive, and Behavioral Disabilities

2018

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“…The 2.5-year, USDA-funded, randomized school garden pilot project included examination of FV consumption in elementary schools (Wells, N.M., lead researcher). Cooperative Extension educators recruited schools from low-income rural, urban, and suburban communities; without a school garden; and with at least 50% of students qualifying for FRPM at the time of selection [41]. Trained researchers in New York and Washington and trained Cooperative Extension Educators in Iowa and Arkansas collected CAFES data.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cafeteria assessment for elementary schools (CAFES): development, reliability testing, and predictive validity analysis

Rollings

Wells

2018

BMC Public Health

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BackgroundStrategies to reduce childhood obesity and improve nutrition include creating school food environments that promote healthy eating. Despite well-documented health benefits of fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption, many U.S. school-aged children, especially low-income youth, fail to meet national dietary guidelines for FV intake. The Cafeteria Assessment for Elementary Schools (CAFES) was developed to quantify physical attributes of elementary school cafeteria environments associated with students’ selection and consumption of FV. CAFES procedures require observation of the cafeteria environment where preparation, serving, and eating occur; staff interviews; photography; and scoring.MethodsCAFES development included three phases. First, assessment items were identified via a literature review, expert panel review, and pilot testing. Second, reliability testing included calculating inter-item correlations, internal consistency (Kuder-Richardson-21 coefficients), and inter-rater reliability (percent agreement) based on data collected from 50 elementary schools in low-income communities and 3187 National School Lunch Program participants in four U.S. states. At least 43% of each participating school’s students qualified for free- or reduced-price meals. Third, FV servings and consumption data, obtained from lunch tray photography, and multi-level modeling were used to assess the predictive validity of CAFES.ResultsCAFES’ 198 items (grouped into 108 questions) capture four environmental scales: room (50 points), table/display (133 points), plate (4 points), and food (11 points). Internal consistency (KR-21) was 0.88 (overall), 0.80 (room), 0.72 (table), 0.83 (plate), and 0.58 (food). Room subscales include ambient environment, appearance, windows, layout/visibility, healthy signage, and kitchen/serving area. Table subscales include furniture, availability, display layout/presentation, serving method, and variety. Inter-rater reliability (percent agreement) of the final CAFES tool was 90%. Predictive validity analyses indicated that the total CAFES and four measurement scale scores were significantly associated with percentage consumed of FV served (p < .05).ConclusionsCAFES offers a practical and low-cost measurement tool for school staff, design and public health practitioners, and researchers to identify critical areas for intervention; suggest low- and no-cost intervention strategies; and contribute to guidelines for cafeteria design, food presentation and layout, and operations aimed at promoting healthy eating among elementary school students.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-6032-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…In summary, this article illustrates one way to further students' understandings about science while teaching mathematics and capitalizing on the current thrust in school gardening (e.g., Wells et al, 2015). This article contributes to the education practitioner literature by describing a novel means through which elementary teachers can integrate science with mathematics in the context of GBL.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…A review of the research literature by Williams and Dixon (2013) and controlled research by Wells et al (2015) suggests that school gardening/garden-based learning (GBL) has promise for academic achievement in science and math and in science, respectively. Additionally, GBL responds to calls to increase physical activity and exposure to nature as part of the school day (Rye, O'Hara-Tompkins, Eck, and Neal, 2008; Louve, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Action Research to Integrate Science with Mathematics through Garden-Based Learning at the Elementary School Level

Rummel¹,

Rye²,

Selmer³

et al. 2017

JAER

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Abstract. Practical action research--an iterative and inquiry-based sequence of study--can help guide collaboration in university-school partnerships, in this case, towards the integration of garden-based learning with core disciplines in the elementary curriculum. The study focuses on grade 3 mathematics instruction about measurement and data, the integration of science standards such as structure and function, and math-science practices of attending to precision, modeling, conducting investigations, and interpreting data. Students collect, graph, and make meaning of data as well as solve a problem related to buoyancy of garden produce. Student performance revealed that the majority of students achieved mastery at the distinguished level in producing scaled graphs; and that considerable scaffolding is necessary for students to adequately attend to precision. A field-tested learning cycle is provided, which can be adapted by elementary teachers for classroom instruction and by teacher educators to model for preservice teachers mathematics-science integration that incorporates school gardening.

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The Effects of School Gardens on Children's Science Knowledge: A randomized controlled trial of low-income elementary schools

Cited by 51 publications

References 37 publications

Impacts of Outdoor Environmental Education on Teacher Reports of Attention, Behavior, and Learning Outcomes for Students With Emotional, Cognitive, and Behavioral Disabilities

Impacts of Outdoor Environmental Education on Teacher Reports of Attention, Behavior, and Learning Outcomes for Students With Emotional, Cognitive, and Behavioral Disabilities

Cafeteria assessment for elementary schools (CAFES): development, reliability testing, and predictive validity analysis

Action Research to Integrate Science with Mathematics through Garden-Based Learning at the Elementary School Level

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