Journaling has been used to encourage student reflection in numerous fields. In the area of environmental education, the regular documentation of observations about the natural world can help students make a habit of environmental awareness. This study utilized an entry level college environmental studies course to investigate the impact of keeping a weekly nature journal on the amount of time students spend outdoors and their awareness of and perceptions about the natural environment. At the beginning of the course, the 60 students were directed to select a nature site that they would visit weekly for at least 15 minutes for the purpose of completing 12 web-based multimedia journal entries responding to a variety of course content related prompts. The journal entries were viewed only by the instructor and were worth 25% of the course grade. At the end of the course students were given an eight-item survey designed to assess the effects of the journaling activity. Eighty-three percent (83%) of the students (39 males and 21 females) completed the survey.
A primary objective of the journal activity was to motivate students to spend more time outside. The survey responses suggest that most students spent about an additional 15.5 minutes outdoors each week due to the journaling assignment, which was an almost 5% increase in the average of 5.66 hours the students reported spending in nature. Seventy-four percent (74%) of the students indicated that journaling “increased their awareness of nature somewhat or a great deal.” Specific examples provided by the students were that "journaling helped me be more in tune with seasonal changes," "when going to my nature place each week I became more aware of how it contributes to the neighborhood," and "there are things you don't notice when you are just passing through. But when you spend time there just sitting and watching and enjoying the nature, you notice a lot more and that made me appreciate it more." Sixty-eight percent (68%) of the students indicated that the nature journaling assignment “changed the way they thought about nature somewhat or significantly.” Specific examples provided by the students included cognitive changes such as "[I] realized how much I impact nature" and "I realized what could happen to my nature place if taken away. I saw that many people enjoyed my nature place." The students that did not report an increased awareness of the environment and/or change in their perceptions of nature frequently indicated that their level of awareness and time spent outdoors was already substantial. Fifty-six percent (56%) of the students that participated in the journaling assignment, and completed the survey, indicated that the experience “somewhat or significantly increased their interest in spending time outdoors.”
The researcher acknowledged that the study design and tools were simple in nature and called for more robust follow-up research that addressed the limitations of the initial study. In particular, a pre- and post-test design was recommended to help better understand causal relationships. In addition, this study investigated students' own assessment related to the research questions. An approach that involved behavior observations and/or tests of environmental awareness, nature-related perceptions, and interest in spending more time outside would add to the depth and validity of the results. Finally, an analysis of the nature journal content would complement the quantitative data gained from the survey and add a deeper insight into changes in student's environmental awareness, perceptions, and behaviors.
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