Family collaboration enhances learning during nature walks

This study sought to enhance understanding of family learning processes during outdoor experiences to inform the design of family programs for nature centers. The study location was an environmental center in a rural area of the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States that has a focus on offering family and youth programs. The unique study methodology focused on “ethnographically informed video-based procedures to analyze families in situ as they engaged with tools and the natural setting.”

Multidimensional data collection strategies were used to gather holistic data on how families work and learn together on a nature trail at the environmental center. During phase one of the study, 28 families completed a brief survey and were ethnographically shadowed during their hike to allow the researchers to make observations and develop anonymous field notes about families' behaviors and use of exploratory tools. During phase two, in-depth video-based data was collected on nature walks taken by 16 of the original 28 families for the purpose of conversational analysis. The 16 families participating in phase 2 comprised 54 individuals; 25 adults and 29 children ranging in age from two to fourteen years old. Both phases of the research utilized the same trail for the families' nature walks. Before each walk families were prompted to select nature exploration tools including binoculars, notepads and pencils, trail maps, magnifying glasses, bug boxes, compasses, butterfly nets, and field guides. Families carried the exploration tools they wanted to bring in a provided backpack or hip pack. Other than the starting point, the families' controlled the remainder of experience such as direction, duration, and exploration opportunities.

The study found that there was a difference between the exploration tools that families envisioned would be useful on the trail and those tools that they actually used to explore nature, with most families overestimating their ability to successfully use tools for exploration either due to lack of knowledge, inappropriate play with the tools, or the cumbersome nature of carrying or using the tools. Field guides were particularly difficult to use. Parents also encountered challenges in teaching their children how to use the tools. A significant finding was the importance of family collaboration in the nature exploration and inquiry process, with “families working together to achieve moments of discovery and investigation.” Notably, the children in this study (especially older children) were just as likely as the adults to make observations that aided in the family's identification of a natural element. An unanticipated learning outcome was that some families developed “their own norms about accepted trail side family activities” and picked a tool to use for exploration rather than finding something to explore and then identifying appropriate tools to aid in their discovery process. It is also notable that without prompt, every family in the study attempted to identify at least one plant or animal species during their walk and were observed to enjoy “finding, observing, and identifying species and inanimate objects that they found.” The authors offer practical and research methodology recommendations.