The benefits of outdoor activities in nature may go beyond what can be achieved in school

The benefits of learning outside the classroom are well documented; yet in many places, children are not being given frequent opportunities to learn outdoors. This study examined teacher’s perceptions of the impact of primary students’ music-making in various outdoor natural locations.

Students from six primary schools in the UK created and performed musical ceremonies in outdoor natural environments near their schools. The natural environments were referred to as “rural locations”, as they occupied relatively quiet areas, free from urban noise pollution. The rural locations were either fields, woods, or beaches. With each group, the music making activity was introduced by a member of the research team, with teachers serving as observers. After introducing the activity, the researcher withdrew to allow the students to organize the music making on their own terms. In each case, the students formed their own groups and completed the task. The day after the music making activity, students and teachers from each school were interviewed about the experience. Seven teachers and 33 students participated in the interviews. Teacher responses served as the primary data for this study. Student responses gleaned from semi-structured interviews with six groups of children from the six different classes were used to validate the teachers’ perceptions. All of the children were between the ages of 7 and 10.

Six primary themes emerged from the data: Improved behavior, Use of space, Soundscape, Impact of the natural environment on music-making /creativity, More experimental and expressive, Immersion, and Improved focus. According to the teachers, “a potent convergence” occurred when the students’ music-making and the affordances of the rural environments were combined. “It was not just music-making, or being outdoors, that mattered, but the combination of both.” The teachers noted improved behavior and focus in the children. The “improved behavior” included productive collaboration and seemed to carry over into the classroom. The teachers were “consistent in asserting that being outdoors ‘in nature’ achieved something they could not achieve in school.” Student responses were consistent with the teachers’ perceptions.

This study adds to the literature on the benefits of outdoor learning. While this study focused on music making, it may be beneficial for teachers to explore outdoor learning in other areas of the curriculum.