The impact of outdoor experiential education on fifth-grade students

Abstract

Outdoor education is not a new concept to education and has historically been shown to increase student connectivity to nature. Experiences through outdoor experiential education have also been used as a tool to build student social, emotional, and physical skills. Being outside the four walls of the traditional classroom presents a unique opportunity to challenge students in a new environment and develop skills outside their normal routine. This study aimed to evaluate the current impact of outdoor experiential education on fifth-grade students at La Jolla Country Day School. The goal was to investigate what skills were developed through the programming, in order to make changes beneficial to student development. To determine how students perceived their baseline attitude towards science and evaluate their perceived confidence to complete certain skills, students completed two Likert surveys prior to the treatment, the outdoor experiential education program. After completion of our outdoor experience, students were asked to re-evaluate their perceived attitude towards science, and perceived confidence to complete the same skills on identical Likert surveys. Students engaged in journal entries about the trip, and one student from each trail group was randomly selected to be interviewed about their experience. Faculty trail group leaders were also asked to fill out a Likert-style post-survey and provide feedback on the experience. Analyses of the results indicate that outdoor education has a positive impact on a student's perceived attitude towards science and their perceived confidence to take risks, be flexible, problem solve, lead their peers, collaborate, and have a growth mindset. These results conclude that outdoor experiential education is a beneficial addition to education as it contributes to a student's attitude towards science and their development of life skills.