Studies show that spending time in nature has numerous developmental and wellness benefits and may motivate pro-environmental behaviors. Given these benefits, an increasing number of educators are integrating outdoor education, environmental education, and nature play into their curricula. Additionally, university-level pre-service teacher programs have started integrating outdoor learning courses into their programs. In the U.K., outdoor learning has gained traction in recent years, but it is not a core part of university-level teacher education programs. The authors of this study suggest that integrating outdoor learning courses into teacher education programs could inspire a new wave of ecologically minded teachers committed to environmental education. This study investigated how a college-level outdoor learning course impacted pre-service teachers' ecological identities (defined as feeling part of the ecosystem) and their relationships with the natural world.
This study took place at an urban university in Scotland and focused on a Bachelor of Education program. The 10-week outdoor learning course at the center of this study was designed to provide foundational information about outdoor learning, expose participants to outdoor learning experiences, and encourage reflection about these experiences. Throughout the course, participants were directed to use their senses to explore nearby natural areas, including nature preserves, parks, and gardens and use online forums to reflect upon their experiences. Course assignments and projects aimed to: (1) foster feelings of affinity toward nature; (2) promote awareness of the connections among body, mind, and environment; and (3) boost understanding of how the environment shapes identity and worldview. The course also demonstrated outdoor education teaching methods that pre-service teachers could implement in their future classrooms. A total of 33 first-year undergraduate students (30 female, 3 male) enrolled in the course, but only 13 opted to participate in the study.
The researchers used two complementary methods to investigate course impacts on participants' ecological identities and their relationships with nature. The researchers asked participants to complete a questionnaire, the Nature Relatedness (NR) scale, before and after the course. The NR scale measured participants' overall connectedness to nature, as well as three components of nature connectedness: ecological identity, environmental attitudes and behaviors, and attraction to nature. The researchers were primarily interested in course impacts on participants' ecological identities. The researchers used statistics to analyze survey responses. To gather narrative information about course impacts on participants' sense of self with relation to nature, the researchers analyzed participants' weekly reflections on their outdoor learning experiences. Participants posted a total of 89 reflections on the class's online discussion board, and the researchers analyzed these narratives for common themes. The surveys were analyzed using statistics.
Survey results indicated that the course had a significant impact on participants' ecological identities, which, in turn, increased their overall feelings of nature connectedness. Results showed no significant changes in participants' environmental attitudes and behaviors or their attraction to nature. This indicates that increased feelings of nature connectedness were attributable primarily to shifts in ecological identity.
Analysis of the online narratives revealed how shifts in ecological identity and nature connectedness manifested throughout the course. The researchers found that the two most impactful aspects of the course were walking outdoors and intentionally using all five senses to explore the environment. These body-mind-environment activities shifted participants' perceptions of the natural world, encouraged engagement with nature, and expanded awareness of human-nature interconnectedness. The authors found 11 themes in the narratives that provided insight into how course activities changed participants' perspectives on and relationships with the natural world:
Walking in nature heightened participants' awareness of their surroundings and enhanced the learning process.
Participants were emotionally moved by their experiences in and the beauty of their surroundings. They felt a variety of emotions, from apprehension to joy, while exploring the natural world.
The course encouraged participants to explore their natural surroundings with new eyes and inspired them to see greater value in outdoor learning for young people.
Sensory exploration of different natural areas helped participants notice sights, sounds, and smells they had never noticed before.
The course opened participants' minds to new ways of teaching.
Through course activities, participants made connections between disciplines and between humans and nature.
The weather was an important factor in terms of how participants experienced different activities.
Outdoor activities made participants nostalgic of childhood experiences in nature and helped them reconnect to childhood feelings of adventurousness and joy.
The course made participants want to share nature experiences with others.
Outdoor activities inspired participants to imagine and think creatively.
Outdoor activities encouraged participants to consider the importance of ecosystems and human-nature interactions.
This study was limited by the small number of participants and its findings are specific to its context. The same study in another location with varied participants could yield different results. Further, this study focused on pre-service teachers in their first year of a university education program. Pre-service teachers with a more substantial background in teaching methods and philosophies might have experienced the outdoor learning course differently. Finally, the results offered no insights into long-term impacts of the course and whether the course influenced teachers' pedagogies.
The researchers recommend that educators integrate outdoor movement and sensory nature exploration activities into their curricula. They further recommend that educators embrace outdoor learning by allowing students freedom of movement while outdoors and encouraging them to drive the learning process. The authors emphasize that their recommendations will likely require that teachers be adaptable and open to lessons unfolding organically.
The Bottom Line
This study investigated the impacts of a 10-week outdoor learning course on pre-service teachers' ecological identities and relationships to nature. First year undergraduate students in a Scottish teacher education program completed surveys and written reflections. The researchers found significant increases in both ecological identity and nature connectedness, and that the course changed participants' relationships with nature. They recommend that educators integrate movement and sensory nature exploration into their outdoor curricula.