Aesthetic experiences play a vital role in meaning-making processes in outdoor learningA case study was conducted with thirteen 6th grade students over a period of four months as they participated in an outdoor nature education program. The focus of the study was on the students’ aesthetic outdoor education experiences and their meaning-making processes. These concepts are drawn from Dewey's conceptualizations of aesthetic understanding and meaning making. Aesthetic understanding is the combination of rich knowledge with a deep appreciation for the beauty and power of ideas that is perceived as transformative. More simply, an ‘aesthetic experience’ is a crucial element in experiential learning which includes emotional engagement in the learning process. Meaning-making in this context refers to an active process of learning where people make sense of their experiences, either individually or in collaboration with others. The aim of this study was to explore what it is within outdoor aesthetic experiences that makes an event meaningful and how such experiences contribute to the creation of new meaning.
The data collection process included participatory observations, field notes, logbook entries and audio-recordings of interviews. Written assessments and evaluations were also collected. The data presented in this report relates to five days of the students' outdoor nature studies, where the learning activities were led by an “outdoor expert teacher.” The five days were organized around the following themes: aquatic life; decomposers; energy and fire; mosses and lichens; and winter ecology with a focus on animals.
The experiential learning theories of Dewey were followed in the qualitative content analysis the data. Experiences were considered to be “aesthetic experiences” when students included expressions of emotions (through actions, talk or writings) in relation to the specific content of outdoor education.
Data analysis revealed expressions of aesthetic experience in four important components of the students’ meaning-making processes: prior personal experiences; responses to environments and artifacts; social interaction; and situations allowing for responsibility, trust and independence. Results indicated that students appreciated both the content and the activities of their outdoor experiences. They reported gaining new insights into local plants and animals, developing practical skills (e.g. how to use tools and light fire), and appreciating the social aspects of their experiences (such as spending time together and teamwork). The students’ prior experiences appeared to be very important in helping students create meaning about the context of questions under consideration. Their social interactions also played an important role in their meaning-making process.
The results of this study confirm the importance of both emotional engagement and prior experiences for students’ meaning-making for outdoor learning. Results also indicate that aesthetic experiences were present in all phases of the meaning-making processes, formed links between the phases of learning, and moved the processes forward to new meanings.
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