Science outside the box

Abstract

The impact of outdoor and environmental education on student motivation and achievement was studied in the high school biology classroom. Prior to this treatment, students spent the majority of their academic time indoors. In past years, students were becoming less and less motivated in their science courses as the school year wore on. Students seemed apathetic at times, disinterested, and did not believe that the science they were learning had any relevance to their daily lives. The purpose of this study was to gather evidence from students who were frequently exposed to the outdoors to see if they will be more motivated and display higher levels of achievement than students who spend the majority of their academic time indoors. Data Collection Instruments for this study included an Outdoor Attitudes Questionnaire, a Science Motivation Survey, Time on Task Check Sheets, Pre and Post Assessments, informal Student Interviews, Student Journals, and a Teacher Field Journal with daily reflections and observations, all included in the appendices for review. The data gathered from this study indicated that a positive relationship existed between the amount of time students were engaged outdoor activities and their level of motivation. Results from this study suggest that higher levels of student motivation lead to greater student achievement. The data from this study also support the conclusion that students felt less stress when exposed to the outdoors, and this reduction in stress resulted in more positive feelings toward their educational experience.