Feeling connected to nature is an integral part of developing pro-environmental behaviors and values later in life. Research shows that some of the strongest bonds connecting people to nature are formed during childhood. As youth begin the transition to adulthood, many youth begin spending less time in nature. Even if students enroll college and pursue nature-related college coursework, most courses focus on knowledge acquisition rather than experiential, reflective learning. This study compares different types of environmental college courses and assesses the potential for higher education courses to increase nature connectedness among college students.
The author of this study assessed the effectiveness of three courses at Pennsylvania State University during the fall semester of 2016. Participants were drawn from a nontraditional, introductory ecology course for non-science majors called BiSci 3. Instead of focusing on knowledge acquisition, the instructor for BiSci 3 focused on fostering feelings of connectedness with the natural world among the students. Rather than taking exams and writing term papers, students in BiSci 3 focused on reflection. Students kept a weekly journal and completed a project detailing their personal ecological identity. Classroom sessions were experiential and interactive: students shared experiences with nature in front of the class and during several classes students handled live specimens. As a comparison to BiSci 3, the researchers analyzed the experiences of students from two traditional courses: an introductory Environmental Science course and introductory sustainability course.
Data was collected via quantitative surveys measuring levels of Nature Relatedness (NR) among students in the three environmental courses. The NR scale is a tool developed by environmental education researchers to measure individuals' feelings of connectedness to nature. The tool uses survey questions to assess cognitive, affective, and experiential connections to nature. Surveys were distributed once at the beginning and once at end of the 15-week semester to students in all three courses. Almost all students who were present the days surveying occurred completed the questionnaires. In total, 246 students in BiSci 3, 54 students in the traditional Environmental Science course, and 88 students in the traditional sustainability course completed the survey for a total of 388 participants. The survey questions asked students to self-report feelings of connectedness to nature via the NR scale. Survey results were used to compare NR scores at the beginning versus the end of the semester.
Students in BiSci 3 (the nontraditional ecology course) showed a significant increase in nature connectedness by the end of the semester. The most significant changes were increases in students' personal identification with nature and nature-focused worldviews. Students' physical comfort with nature over the course of the semester did not show significant changes. The author hypothesized that this may have occurred because the majority of BiSci 3 took place indoors in a large lecture hall with limited time spent outside. Students in the traditional environmental courses did not demonstrate any significant changes in NR scores over the course of the semester. This shows that environmental education in higher education does not necessarily create feelings of connectedness to nature.
One limitation of the study was that NR scores were self-reported. There was no confirmation of students' relative levels of nature connectedness with observable changes in behavior or lifestyle. Secondly, there may have been a potential bias in the types of students who decided to enroll in traditional versus nontraditional courses. Finally, this study took place over a relatively short time period of 15 weeks. Levels of nature connectedness may decrease over time as students enroll in non-environmental courses and exposure to nature diminishes.
The author recommended that educators make fostering feelings of connectedness with the natural world a specific goal for environmental courses. For example, the BiSci 3 instructor found that assignments focusing on reflection were a particularly good way to foster these feelings among students. BiSci 3 students completed weekly reflection journals, conducted extended observations of nature and developed questions, and participated in outdoor group walks to develop a better awareness of the natural world.
The Bottom Line
<p>Environmental coursework at the college level does not necessarily lead to an increase in nature connectedness; in other words, knowledge acquisition does not have a direct correlation with pro-environmental behavior change. However, this study found that found that college-level courses can successfully foster connectedness with nature when educators place a pedagogical focus on exposing students to the wonders of natural world rather than simple knowledge acquisition. Instead of taking exams and writing term papers, students in a non-traditional biology course focused on reflection activities such as journaling, observations of natural areas, and experiential learning. These students showed significant increases in nature connectedness scores over the course of a semester.</p>
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