Effects of making connections between science concepts and the outdoors on student comprehension

Abstract

In this investigation, science concepts were taught in an outdoor setting with the intent of students making connections between the science concepts and the outdoors to determine the effect on student comprehension for three units of study. Lessons became progressively difficult with each unit. Results indicated that lessons lower in difficulty increased student comprehension for all samples, but only higher-achieving students showed an increase in comprehension with increased difficulty. Also, in comparison to lessons taught indoors, results indicate that block class samples benefited most from outdoor lessons, while skinny class (short class period) samples benefited more from instruction inside the classroom.