A school lesson in a natural setting provided cognitive and emotional benefits, particularly for students experiencing emotional difficultiesExisting research indicates that brief exposure to nature during school breaks, such as recess, can positively influence children’s cognitive functioning and emotional well-being. However, little is known about whether a single, brief passive exposure to nature during a school lesson offers similar benefits. To address this gap and extend the existing literature, this study investigated whether teaching a single lesson in a green school garden, compared with teaching a lesson in a classroom, influenced children’s cognitive and affective functioning. Specifically, the study examined differences in selective and sustained attention, academic performance as measured by math calculation tasks, and positive and negative affect after a lesson conducted in the school garden versus the classroom. The study also examined children’s perceptions of the restorative qualities of the two learning environments. Finally, the study investigated whether emotional difficulties influenced the relationship between learning setting and children’s cognitive and affective outcomes.
Sixty-five second- and third-grade students (average age 8.25) from four classes at two primary schools in Italy participated in the study. Each student had two 45-minute lessons, one taught outdoors in the green school garden and the other indoors in their regular classroom. The same class teachers taught both lessons, and the content difficulty (grammar or science) was similar. Data collection occurred over three sessions. In the first session, students’ emotional difficulties were assessed using the child version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). A week later, the second session took place in the school garden or classroom. Before the lesson, children reported their affective state using a short version of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). At the end of the lesson, students again reported their affective state and completed attention and math calculation tasks. Attention was evaluated with the Bells test, a four-page test containing 35 black bells among 280 distracting stimuli. Children were asked to find as many bells as possible in two minutes for each sheet. Selective attention was scored by the number of bells marked on the first sheet, and sustained attention by the number marked on the fourth sheet. The math calculation task also involved two components. The first task involved solving as many addition and subtraction problems as possible within three minutes. The other, longer-duration task involved solving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems within five minutes. Children also completed a short version of the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS) to assess how restorative each setting felt. The third session was held a week later in the alternate setting and used the same assessments. During the lesson in the school garden, children did not interact with the natural environment to ensure that any differences would be attributed to passive exposure to nature. At one school, students sat in a circle on wooden logs to listen to the lesson and complete the tasks. In the other school, they sat on the grass. Both gardens had nearby trees. Data was analyzed using statistical methods.
For selective attention, both children with lower and higher emotional difficulties had significantly better scores after the green lesson than indoors. This finding suggests that “paying attention to the lesson in the greenness was less demanding in terms of attentional resources compared to the classroom lesson.” Notably, children’s self-reported emotional difficulties were found to influence the relationship between environment and selective attention, with students with greater emotional difficulties benefiting more from the outdoor lesson. However, sustained attention did not significantly differ between settings, although scores were slightly higher after the green lesson. For both math calculation tasks, children scored higher after the green lesson than in the classroom. Children with lower self-reported emotional difficulties performed better on the longer, more difficult task, regardless of setting. Regarding affect, although the green vs. classroom setting did not influence positive affect when considered alone, emotional difficulties did affect the relationship between setting and affective outcome. Students with greater emotional difficulties reported a significant increase in positive affect after the green lesson compared with the classroom lesson. They also reported lower negative affect after the green lesson, although the difference between settings was not statistically significant. On the other hand, positive and negative affect of students with lower emotional difficulties did not vary by learning setting. Finally, students rated the outdoor setting as much more restorative than the classroom.
Importantly, the study demonstrates the cognitive and emotional benefits that students can experience from passive exposure to a natural environment during a single school lesson, with particularly pronounced benefits among students experiencing emotional difficulties. The findings suggest that listening to a lesson outdoors may improve children’s ability to focus on a task and boost mood, which may support overall academic achievement. Results highlight the importance of the physical learning environment and suggest that incorporating time in nature into the school day, even occasionally, may support children’s cognitive, academic, and emotional functioning. Consistent with previous research, the findings also indicate that children experiencing emotional difficulties may benefit more from exposure to natural environments. Integrating a green schoolyard or nearby park into teaching can be a feasible approach to supporting students’ cognitive performance and emotional well-being, particularly among those who are more emotionally vulnerable and may benefit from the calmer, quieter, and restorative qualities of learning in nature.
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